4 Common Gift-Giving Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

It’s something many of us struggle with—how can we find the perfect gift for a colleague, friend, or relative?

The right gift is sure to make them happy, but giving a bad gift can actually harm friendships. It can be hard to figure out how much to spend, what to get, and how to present it.

If you’re shopping for a gift, be sure to avoid these common gift-giving mistakes!

1. Buying What You’d Like—Not Them

When buying gifts for friends, it can be tempting to get a present you’d like yourself and just assume that the other person would like it too. However, this can be an embarrassing mistake if the recipient feels like you gave them a gift without considering their interests.

To avoid this, give some thought about what the other person likes and what they’d be glad to receive as a gift. If it’s someone you don’t know well, you might want to ask another friend for advice or glance over their social media accounts to get a better idea of what they’ll like.

2. Ignoring the Gift Registry

If you’ve been invited to a wedding, anniversary, or baby shower, the event probably has a gift registry. This has been set up by the people organizing the party, outlining which gifts they’d appreciate.

Registries are useful because once something has been purchased, it’s checked off the list, helping to avoid duplications.

Never ignore the registry! You might think it’s more creative to get something else, but try to shop from the registry, since you know the listed items are what your friends really want.

3. Regifting

There are many types of gifts, but there’s nothing worse than one that’s regifted. If someone gives you a gift that you don’t want, don’t regift it to someone else.

The other person will almost always realize what you’ve done and will likely feel sad that you didn’t make the effort to get them their own gift.

4. When Giving Corporate Gifts, Don’t Overstep Personal Boundaries

Giving corporate gifts can be great for networking and sales, but be considerate of what you give. Corporate gifts shouldn’t be of a personal nature—for example, giving perfume or cologne to a colleague is probably crossing the line.

Keep it safe with something you know they’ll appreciate, like birthday flowers delivery on their big day.

Give Them What They Really Want By Avoiding These Gift-Giving Mistakes

If you want to give a present that’ll be remembered, in a good way, then avoid these gift-giving mistakes.

The best gift is always one that’s thoughtful and from the heart, so spend some time thinking about what the other person would love. That way, you’ll find the perfect gift for any budget, showing the other person how much you care about them.

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