Ask HN: How do you choose what gifts to buy?

for gifts, i either craft them by hand, or i find something which makes me think of a person in my life, and then i gift it to them.

After my being embarrassed in the first year of my marriage by an expensive gift from a poor member of the extended family, I suggested to my wife that she and her sister in-law pull names out of a hat, where one family member buys one thing for one other member. It's common knowledge I really like business socks and a casual shirt. I often get the black sheep of the family, who looks forward to his bottle of bourbon, I'm told he makes it last several months.

For close family, we decide on a more expensive 'family present' which might be a new TV or a holiday, usually a road trip. One year it was to replace the broken air-conditioner.

I encourage my kids to buy experiences, not 'stuff'. I still get nice hand drawn gift cards with socks or joke T-shirts.

My wife is the fussiest person in town so I ask her what she would like, and she knows my favourite gift is the smile on her face when I give it to her.