‘Tis the Season of the Good, the Bad and the Ugly
PDF Brent Sumner, Assistant Tempo Editor
Image courtesy of sxc.hu.
Thanksgiving has passed, and that can only mean one thing: time to indulge in that warm-hearted holiday of giving known as Christmas.
Christmas is the time where everyone shows their love and gratitude for people who put up with them throughout the year. People reward their loved ones with gifts wrapped extravagantly or in newspapers (who’s judging?). However, for every great gift that leaves you teary-eyed, there are others that leave you speechless from sheer disappointment.
This gift guide is here to not only help with picking out great gifts for your friends, but to also warn you about gifts you shouldn’t give to them.
Good Gifts
1) Netflix subscription
Everyone likes movies, however, the hard part about buying movies for a person is that not everyone has the same taste. Some people like independent films, others like animated, or horror or romantic comedies, and the list goes on and on. The best way to buy a movie for a friend is by taking the guesswork out of it. Netflix can be gifted by buying a subscription in one, two, three, six or 12-month intervals. Therefore, you don’t have to spend a whole lot of money on someone if you don’t think they deserve it.
2) Picture frames
Granted, a picture frame isn’t a gift that will keep your friends begging for more, but they are smart and relatively affordable. After all, the saying goes, “a picture is worth a thousand words.” With friends, memories mean a lot, and frames give them an opportunity to remember those great times. Frames can be a very emotional gift for a friend, especially if you include a favorite photo with it.
3) Lotions/Cologne
Let’s start this one off by simply arguing that no one likes people that smell bad. Friends don’t want their friends to smell poorly because let’s face it, what does that say about you? Lotions and cologne can be worn throughout the year, and whenever the friend puts it on, they will think back to who got that for them. Not only will they thank you for a great gift, but also in aiding them in smelling good.
Bad Gifts
1) Ornaments
Granted, this one seems a little insensitive since a lot of families give their children ornaments that are handed down through generations. Even though ornaments are a great gift to carry on family tradition, they should not be given to friends. First off, ornaments are only used once a year, and that is when the tree comes up and decorations are thrown on. Other than that time of the year, the ornament gets wrapped up in tissue paper and put in a box where they will never be seen again until the next Christmas. Although the heart is there, ornaments don’t do much for the receiver.
2) Gift Cards
Nothing shows a lack of creativity like a gift card. Not only is it just like giving someone a piece of plastic full of money, but now the person must go to a specific place to spend it. No matter how much you like Taco Bell, the person receiving the gift might not be as fond of the place as you are, and now they have a card with 20 bucks on it that they have to spend there. Gift cards are an easy out for people who don’t know what to get, and the person receiving it won’t be able to look past that fact.
3) Gift Sets
I think everyone has received one of these at some point in time. It isn’t a terrible idea if the set comes from a place like Bath and Body Works or some other fancy store. However, if you are planning on buying someone a gift set of lotion from Wal-Mart, it may not be as well received. Gift sets are very particular. They might have one good item in the entire set, but the person that receives the gift won’t be able to look past the five other terrible counterparts that come with it.
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