Gift Giving.

Giving the right gifts can be very difficult. It is easy to be given a list and then proceed to get for the person exactly what they want. But I can see a problem in that. Yes it's the easy way and makes for an enjoyable experience for the receiver, but to truly show the person that you love them and know them well is to get them something that they would really like, even though they don't necessarily know that they wanted it.

This shows that person that you are very close to them and understand who they are. It's easy to fall away from that though. Especially if you are not close to that person. It's easier to get them something that you like and think that they will also like it. But that is rarely the case. The gesture of giving someone a gift is something special. But to get them something that they like without them asking for it is the ultimate.

A friend of mine got carving knives for Christmas from his Dad. He didn't ask for them at all. But once he got the gift he realized just how good a gift like that is. It's a timeless gift, one that he may not use immediately but later on could find useful, like when he has kids or even grandkids of his own. He can then use those carving knives to carve his family some timeless gifts of their own. This to me is a perfect example.

I guess what I am saying is that those who give gifts even though receiver may not like the gift just for the gesture can be a bad thing. Giving a bad gift for the gesture can show just how out of touch the giver is with receiver of the gift or likewise. But at least it's nice of them to give something.

So, if you're going the list route, think about getting that person something independent of the list as a way to show them that you are connected to them in a special way.