· 2 min read
The dog gets everything. Buy for the human this time
Everyone buys for the dog. The person walking it in the rain gets nothing.
Gift ideas and advice
What we have learned about choosing a gift that lands: how to read the person, when to spend more, and what to do when nothing comes to mind.
24 articles · Show all
· 5 min read
Torn between two gift ideas is a good place to be
Having two good options means you already know the person well. Three questions decide most ties. Friends who know them can decide the rest.
· 2 min read
They've bought the kit. Buy for the ritual
They already have the grinder and the scales. Buy something that goes with their coffee ritual, not more equipment.
· 4 min read
Gifts for a grandma who spoils everyone but herself
She spends on everyone else and says she has plenty. For once, make her the one who receives the attention.
· 4 min read
Gifts for a dad you've run out of ideas for
After twenty years of socks and gadgets, you have run out of ideas. What you know about his life is where the next gift comes from.
· 5 min read
'Don't get me anything' is four different gift briefs
'Don't get me anything' does not mean you cannot buy a gift. It is a preference, and it points to something small, personal and clutter-free.
· 5 min read
She has never once told you what she wants
Mum rarely says what she wants. The answer is a gift that shows you noticed how she lives, not a bigger budget.
· 6 min read
He buys what he wants. The gift is the thing he wouldn't
The gadget aisle and the 'for him' gift set assume he is short of things. He isn't. Four angles that work for the man who has everything.
· 3 min read
Her birthday is one day. The gift has to work on all the others
'For her' says who the gift is for, but nothing about her. Start with how she spends an ordinary week, and the birthday gift becomes much easier to choose.
· 3 min read
£20 buys 'how did you know?' or landfill
At around £20, choosing well matters most, because the price cannot make a gift look impressive.
· 4 min read
The anatomy of a gift that says 'I get you'
The three qualities that make a gift feel personal (fit, effort and meaning), and how to check for each one before you buy.
· 5 min read
You're still being assessed. Gift accordingly
Warm, but not too personal. Well chosen, without trying too hard.
· 5 min read
The 5 gift rule counts the presents. It can't choose them
Want, need, wear, read keeps a pile of presents in proportion. It says nothing about which present fits the person opening it.
· 4 min read
Leave the people you love until last
Gifts for fifteen people in one afternoon, with no panic in the third week of December. Start with the people, not the shops.
· 4 min read
They own every tool. Buy for the seed, not the shed
Garden tools have been improved for two hundred years, and a keen gardener owns the ones they trust. Buy something that goes with the gardening instead.
· 4 min read
Never guess a reader's next book
A book is a risky gift for someone who reads a lot. The things they use while reading are a much safer choice.
· 3 min read
Nobody reads a gift more closely than your best friend
With most people, choosing a gift gets easier as you get closer. With a best friend, it feels harder.
· 3 min read
You know her taste by heart. It still doesn't tell you what to buy
You know her taste very well, and that is exactly what makes choosing a gift for her hard.
· 5 min read
You know four things about them. That's plenty
A colleague, a new partner's parent, a name pulled out of a hat. Three or four signals go further than you would think.
· 3 min read
The gadget drawer is already full
Do not buy a gadget. Here is what a confident cook does not already have.
· 3 min read
He says he needs nothing. Your brother is wrong
Brothers often get a joke gift or a voucher. Here is what works when you know him well.
· 5 min read
They own everything. Buy the thing they'd never think of
When someone can buy anything they want, another object rarely pleases them. What works is a gift that shows you were paying attention.
· 3 min read
There is no such thing as impossible to buy for
'Impossible to buy for' is usually one of four different problems. Here is each one, and what to do about it.
· 3 min read
Gift ideas won't help you. Gift matching will.
More gift ideas won't help. The right gift starts with the person, not another list. Here is why matching works better than browsing.