Giving gifts to friends, family, and coworkers isn’t always straightforward. With so much riding on gifts, from what they communicate about your relationships to how they impact the way people perceive you, it’s crucial to avoid breaking gift-giving etiquette. Unfortunately, few people receive a crash course on the do’s and don’ts of giving a great gift. To solve that, let’s go over seven unspoken rules of gift-giving to follow:
General Gifting Etiquette
Let’s start by discussing general etiquette and rules to keep in mind no matter the scenario in which you’re giving gifts. These rules apply in most cases, whether you know the recipient well or not. Like all rules, failing to adhere to these guidelines can put a bad taste in the recipient’s mouth and lessen the impact of the message you mean to send.
Put Care Into the Gift’s Presentation
How a gift looks impacts how a recipient feels about it. While you don’t necessarily need to accomplish perfect wrapping or always use the most expensive gift bag, it’s important to put some care into how a gift looks. Choosing to spend a bit of extra time on the presentation demonstrates that you care about the exchange and the experience of the person you’re giving the gift to.
Include a Note With Less Personal Gifts
Sometimes, less personal gifts are unavoidable. Gift cards are a common option for gifters who aren’t quite sure what to get or who prefer shopping with practicality in mind. However, gifts like these are always made better with a personal touch. A card or small note of well wishes or appreciation can replace the heartwarming factor that less personal gifts otherwise leave behind.
Generally, Try To Avoid Regifting
Regifting is considered one of the most iconic gift-gifting faux pas. In most situations, it’s dismissive and often seen as the lazy way out. In general, it’s best to avoid regifting.
That said, there are a few scenarios where regifting is acceptable. If you know you don’t want something you own, but your recipient really does, then regifting is a good option. The best items to regift are ones that’re still unopened and unused, aren’t personalized in any way, and aren’t seen by the original gift-giver.
Rules for Group Gift Exchanges
One of the most common ways in which we exchange gifts is in a group setting. Whether it be at work or a family get-together, giving gifts to multiple people and receiving multiple in turn can get surprisingly complicated. Here are a few rules to keep in mind when giving gifts in a crowd:
Keep Special Gifts Discreet
It’s no secret that at work, we have friends, and at a reunion, we have family members we know better than others. There’s nothing inherently wrong with treating those you’re close to with a gift that goes above and beyond. However, it’s common courtesy to give these unique gifts discreetly. Some people may not be aware of your pre-established relationship or wonder why your friendship with them didn’t warrant a more impressive gift. Consider giving that gift while away from the crowd or giving a small, separate gift during the exchange and saving your larger gift for later.
Don’t Give Everyone the Same Thing
One easy way to gift to a large group of people is to simply buy everyone the same thing. While convenient, this gifting option is often too impersonal for recipients to appreciate. If you’re going to buy multiple gifts, look for ways to do a little bit extra for your recipients to make them feel cared for. Even catering treats to their personal tastes or the color of the wrapping to their preferences is a show of kindness.
Rules for One-on-One Gift Exchanges
One-on-one gift-giving scenarios are among the most complex. After all, these situations are typically birthdays, anniversaries, or some type of holiday. The gifts you choose to give to close friends and loved ones to celebrate your relationships are among the most important. Here are a couple rules that help alleviate the pressure of a gift exchange between two people:
Create a Considerate Budget
While a budget is often reserved for corporate gift exchanges, a limit on spending can significantly ease the anxiety around gift buying for a loved one. There is a quiet pressure to spend more on either one grandiose gift or a collection of gifts. While that decision is pressure enough for the gift giver, it can put the recipient in an awkward situation as well as if their spending doesn’t match yours.
One way to avoid all this confusion is to set a budget before the gift exchange even happens. Creating an upper limit for both of your spending takes the complicated aspect of determining what amount is fair to spend out of the equation.
Do Your Best To Give in a Timely Manner
Another unspoken rule of gift-giving to follow is to try to give your gift in a timely manner. For example, you never want to have to buy an anniversary gift after the actual anniversary comes and goes. While not intentional, forgetting to give a gift on time sends the message that the event or exchange isn’t important to you.
Sometimes things happen, especially in the age of online shopping, and gifts aren’t ready when that time comes. It’s best to just communicate that the gift is on the way and enjoy the time you spend together until the gift arrives.
At Crystal Central, we carry gifts that help you avoid many of the trials and tribulations of gift-giving. Crystal gifts are a stunning way to show your appreciation for those around you while including the individualized touch that makes it truly unique. Customize your gift by engraving a personal message directly into the crystal, framed by a design you love on an elegant plaque material.
Crystal is perfect as a first or 15th anniversary gift, with options for every milestone moving forward as well. We also carry crystal gifts that’re ideal for work celebrations, graduations, and even retirements so that no matter the occasion, you can give a gift that everyone will adore!
