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I'm probably not the only one racking their brain for appropriate gifts as the days tick down. But I find myself worrying most over what to get the men in my life, specifically my brother and BILs because I assume I could find some trinket that my sisters would enjoy without much trouble. But perhaps this is because I am a girl so shopping for them is similar to shopping for myself.
So do you tend to have more trouble buying for family of your own gender, or the opposite? Or are you a master gift giver, like a holiday ninja silently defeating your shopping list?
I definitely think men are harder to shop for. We have a limited budget for gifts in my family, and I can always knock out gifts for the ladies pretty quickly. Like you say, jewelry, soaps, candles, home decor stuff, etc.--easy. The men in the family I always end up giving them beer or a bottle of wine or other booze, because I can't think of anything else.
For the men in my family sometimes I find something in the men's section of a dept store. You know those gadgets or other boxed gifts they sell in the men’s dept this time of year? I often have luck there.
Or if they’re big sports fans I’ll get them something with the logo of one of their favorite teams.
I rarely go to the store where they sell men. I'm much more a a fan of the store where they sell women, but only when they're on some sort of sale. They tend to be really expensive.
I'm looking for little stocking stuffer type things to throw in with gifts for my nieces and nephews. For the girls, there's lip gloss or nail polish or hair clips, and for boys there's uh, I don't know.
Fleetie, you can get little Lego packs of limited edition minifigures for $2. My son and his cousin (who will be here over Christmas) are getting glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth, and I always find stuff like crayons, yoyos, bouncy balls, and candy.
UE, it's easier for me to shop for women, but the guy nerds in my life are simple to shop for. I go to Thinkgeek and find marshmallow guns and cool magnets and stuff. My uncle is super hard to shop for, though. He is a bachelor and wealthy so he buys whatever he wants.
I definitely think men are harder to shop for. We have a limited budget for gifts in my family, and I can always knock out gifts for the ladies pretty quickly. Like you say, jewelry, soaps, candles, home decor stuff, etc.--easy. The men in the family I always end up giving them beer or a bottle of wine or other booze, because I can't think of anything else.
Love ya, fleetie (you know I really do), but I hate it when people say this. It perpetuates this myth that many (if not most) men have in their heads that we women like these stupid meaningless fluff gifts.
I can't stand them. I know many women who can't stand them. If you can't think about me and what would truly mean something to me, I would rather get nothing. Not a gift card (I have a drawer full of hundreds of dollars of unused gift cards - I use them now to tip people), not another candle, not some cheezy bauble I'll never wear...in fact, the whole thing about getting women jewelry as some catch-all way to make them happy - THAT is another terrible myth.
I don't care if you spent $20,000 on that bracelet. If it's not something I'd want or like, you just wasted your money and kind of pissed me off by thinking/acting like I'm some drone that you can just buy whatever for. "Oooh, shiny! Me happy!"
No, no, no, no, no.
I don't see difficulty in a gender divide. Everyone is so different.
I have a friend who ONLY likes gift cards. So while it pains me to buy them (they seem impersonal and lazy), I know that is what SHE likes and that's what's important. She buys me the same gift every year and I LOVE IT. It's a collie calendar. I love me my collies and I like them on a calendar.
My brother is easy because he pretty much expects everyone to stick to the script of his amazon.com wishlist.
My mother and father are impossible, because they have everything, their walls and horizontal surfaces are covered in momentos, pictures, art/knickknacks from all over the world (ones that actually mean something - not some dime store tchotchke), etc...this year my dad is getting flying lessons and I have no effin' clue what to get my mom.
Booze and chocolate/food work for a lot of people. Hell, if you know my favorite booze (or something you'd know I'd enjoy trying) or you bake me something you know I love...
Friends who love working out? Under Armour shirts for them...they work out twice a day most days and could use more clothes.
Friends with kids often like it if you get their kids something instead of them. Same with friends with pets.
You can always donate to a charity in the name of your friends, too. I like that. We asked people to do that instead of getting us wedding presents.
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