My definition of adventure may change frequently, but I have consistently stated that shopping is not an adventure. Yet in the run up to Christmas, shopping is too prominent of an activity to ignore.
This weekend, I have to brave the malls to finish preparing for the annual gift exchanging ritual. So it seems an appropriate time to share my Christmas shopping strategy.
Tip #1: Empathize
I think gift giving is all about empathy. For person on my list I ask myself, “What does [Insert Relative] want, need and desire?” But that can be a prospect scarier than the most crowded mall. When you get inside a person’s head, it is not always that easy to get out.
And I am only half joking. I think it is an especially difficult question to ask about one’s parents. Can you say what your mother or father needs to be happier?
Tip #2: Investment Rather Than Consume
Christmas is the centerpiece of a consumption based economy. Sure, one can search for American made products, but as long as someone is buying a piece of plastic, it is probably made in China. My favorite type of Christmas gift goes the other way and helps the recipient produce something.
Some people have hobbies for which equipment is easy to buy. For others, it can be trickier to find a healthy experience they will embrace.
Of course, one has to be careful about buying a “gym membership” gift. While it is important to give something people want or need, you cannot give them something you think they need. That said, my girlfriend bought me a gym membership last Christmas and it was a very appreciated and used gift.
Tip #3: Give as Well as Receive
It is better to give than receive. So while you are doing your own shopping, make sure you communicate your own needs. The worst thing to be at Christmas is someone “difficult to shop for.”
In some ways, I think this blog is my Christmas list. I have a year’s worth of hobbies, planned activities and desired experiences. One should be able to gleam gifts from it.
I also wish there was some technology to allow one to find the perfect gift. Of course, there is. It’s called the Internet. Still, I feel things like the Amazon wish lists are underused. But I finally created one this year.
Tip #4: Don’t Be a Hero
The perfect gift is something the receiver would never even have thought of themselves. But one cannot let great be the enemy of good. So I advise not to try to be a hero for every person every year.
Instead, pick one or two people for whom you have not done something special recently and focus on them. Everyone else gets a gift card. Or alcohol.
Sometimes it will work great anyways. Last year, my brother-in-law was the last person on my list. I slipped into Marathon Sports at the last moment to buy him a gift card and on impulse bought him two books on coaching cross-country. They were my biggest hit of the season.
That’s the true lesson of Christmas shopping: nobody knows anything. So do your best and do not forget to buy at least one gift for someone less fortunate. I have bought something for Toys for Tots every year and I’ve never heard a complaint.
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