A couple of weeks ago a friend of Oli’s – Meri Williams – suggested that there might be a scale of gift giving: from the perfect gift at the top down to the worst possible gift at the bottom. We rather liked that idea, here’s our attempt to elaborate.
As we wrote this post we noticed a few key factors including: thought, effort and money. The more thought you put into choosing a present (or effort put into making/finding one) the better. In many cases the more money spent the better too. However thought and effort will always trump money spent. Grandparents, for example, always appreciate home-made gifts and care little for how much has been spent.
1. The “Halcyon” Gift
Right at the top of the tree is gift giving nirvana: the perfect gift that you didn’t know you needed. A thoughtful and inspired choice that was appropriately priced. The halcyon gift is usually something you can use and appreciate time many times over. Perfect timing can also make a good present great – giving a gift when someone really needs a pick-me-up counts for a lot.
Examples include: a more expensive laptop or gadget (we’re thinking Macbook Air and iPod touch) than you would ever buy for yourself, a Mr Frosty ice lolly maker that your kid can use all summer long to make delicious lollies, or even a delicious homemade cake!
2. The “Decent” Gift
A perfectly good gift that you will use and enjoy counts as a “Decent” gift. It misses the level of inspiration required to make it a “Halcyon” gift. It can also sometimes be a carefully chosen “Generic” gift. Most good presents fit in this category.
Examples include: the Slanket, most books, DVDs and computer games.
3. The “Asked For” Gift
The easiest way to get what you want is to ask for it. Of course, your requests have to be reasonable and presented in a friendly way. This type of gift lacks the suprise element required to reach higher levels but, despite that, it beats all of the lower levels!
Examples include: gifts bought from a wishlist.
4. The “Duplicate Decent” Gift
The “Duplicate Decent” gift is a frustrating one. It is a well thought through present but you already have one and enjoy it! Clearly a good choice by the buyer but completely useless to the recipient. Half marks for effort.
Examples include: your second Slanket.
5. The “Generic” Gift
The result of a last minute panic the “Generic” gift is an uninspiring item that rouses little emotion in the recipient.
Examples include: Jeremy Clarkson books, socks, novelty gifts.
NB. Many “Generic” gifts are perceived as much better by the buyer than the recipient. For example: stars, lordships and Oxfam goats.
6. The “Duplicate Generic” Gift
One worse than a “Generic” gift is a generic gift that you have already been given! How many socks, stars and lordships does a person really need!?
7. The “Awkwardly Wrong” Gift
This is without doubt the worst kind of gift. Imagine your grandmother spends an hour driving to the shops and after trawling round HMV and comes out with an Eminem box-set. The wasted time, effort and money make it a painful and embarrassing gift. One giveaway of an “Awkwardly Wrong” gift is that it’s virtually impossible to write a nice thank you letter without lying.
Examples include: a camel-skin bag from your mother-in-law or anything you just can’t stand whatsoever.
We think every gift ever bought fits into one of these categories (or did we miss a category?). It also seems that the higher up the scale you can get the better. We’re going to keep this in mind as we build wishli.st!
If you have two minutes – we’d love to hear the best and worst presents you’ve ever received!
