Gift Thoughtfully This Holiday Season
During the season of gift giving we run through an entire checklist of high standards that our gift must meet. Whether it’s whimsical, practical, thoughtful or indulgent, you can be sure that we all put thought into our gifts, especially if we don’t have the gift-recipient’s list with clickable links at our fingertips. Where’s the fun in that method anyway?
At frego, we love the creative process of gift giving. We’ve been making our list, checking it twice and we’re offering up our tips to you for a holiday season of stress-free present selection. It starts with a mantra to help focus your mindset. This year, we’re drawing our inspiration from Vivienne Westwood: Buy less, Choose well, Make it last.
Tip #1: Buy Less
Buying less when everything in American marketing is enticing us to BOGO (buy one, get one… some percentage off or free) is challenging. Often, bulk pricing of quality items can be a good gift giving strategy, but it typically means buy one for me and one for the person on my list because it was a deal that could not be passed up. This leads to unwanted, discarded items that contribute to clutter and are destined for a joyless life.
Another way to buy less stems from the concept of buying quality, sustainable items. I adopted this buying mindset early on as a mother, from shoes and clothing to school items and more. This mindset translated into the creation of frego’s eco-friendly food storage container system and it’s at the heart of why we designed frego to meet high standards. We live by the idea that if we are resourceful we can buy quality items and use them longer, which equates to buying less of poor quality, disposable items.
A third way to buy less is to not even buy at all! Give the gift of time and talent. It’s always meaningful and it also creates lasting memories.
Our suggestion here: create a healthy buying mindset, avoid adding extra gifts to the list, don’t buy for yourself, hold yourself to quality purchases only and consider giving of your time and talent.
Tip #2: Choose Well
When selecting a gift for someone on our list it’s tempting to get them more of what they already have and we know they will love. By putting a bit of additional thought into it you can choose something that is tied to their interests, but unique enough that even they may not have thought of it.
Write down the names of everyone on your list. Add a column to note up to three of their interests I.e. cooking, reading, cross-country skiing; and a column to note the feeling you’d like to evoke like practical, sentimental, inspirational, motivational or whimsical. In a fourth column, add the type of gift i.e book, coffee mug, dinner at a favorite restaurant or a time or talent related gift. Lastly add the cost and where to buy, jotting down your options from bricks and mortar to online. Carry this with you during the holiday season. When you find the perfect gift, you’ll confidently be able to select it.
Our suggestion here: create your list when you’re in the right and thoughtful mindset, get out of your own head to consider a valuable gift from the recipient’s perspective and continue to refine and reference your list.
Tip #3: Make It Last
Making things last is all rooted in making sustainable buying and giving choices in the first place. Because of the nature of a gift, the experience of it is always tied to the gift-giver. It’s important to get it right. Consider how your gift can be something that the recipient can use and continue to bring them joy.
Our suggestion here: think about gifts in holistic ways and how the recipient will experience them. Most likely there are time and talent related ideas that further your gift, whether it’s a shared experience or a new experience that carries over into an interest in their life.
There you have it! Take our tips and put them to great gift giving this season. We’d love to hear your ideas – please share them in the comments below.
Happy holidays to you from frego!
