Gift giving advice: Only give gifts to people who will initially refuse them.
What?
How to buy gifts that people actually want
261–270 of 285 posts
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#262Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#263Save all the trouble. Gift money. They can buy whatever they want/need/like : groceries, fruits, ice-cream, DSLR, iPhone, Tesla, accesories for stuff they already have, etc. Absolutely full freedom on what to buy, where to buy, when to buy. We need to de-stigmatise / un-shame gifting cash.
Imagine everyone in a group of people gifting everyone else in the group $20. Everyone ends up with the exact same amount of money they started with. How is that a good idea? If we're just going to get each other cash, why bother gifting at all at that point?
The everyone gets something they like and tells what they got "from" each other.
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#264Earlier quoted context omitted.
When possible, this is when gift cards are great. My niece is an aspiring artist, and rather than trying to find out what art supplies she wants/needs, I got her a gift card to the art supply store that I know she shops at. Of course, "when possible" is a key word here. Not every store sells gift cards, and sometimes the well-known stores aren't the best deals. Like, I might be interested in making fun electric gadge…
I know it's somewhat taboo to give cash, but surely cash is better than a gift card (with a note to spend it on their hobby, if you like)? If the gift card value is too low to get the treat that I wanted, then I feel obligated to spend more money than I would have; if the gift card value is too high, then I have to buy things I don't want. Or I wait until I actually need the gift card (as I suspect most people do), a…
In my opinion as a gift receiver and a gift giver...
Cash is the best thing for adults or anyone old enough to pick something out on their own. Gift cards, if you already know someone was going to spend their own money somewhere anyway, are an OK way of displacing cash they were going to spend anyway (and often perceived as more socially tolerable).
Kids meanwhile? Ask the parent, it's OK to bring an idea of your own to that parent, or just get a theme, but ask the parent. That allows for co-ordination of who's getting what type of gift and also helps get the gifts that the parent will let the kids have.
This xmas / fall gifts season (various birthdays) a brand of magnetic edge building walls (piccaso tiles, I think?) was the rage with some family I gave gifts to. I hope they like the mother-load hoard of tiles that are in the que for Xmas.
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#265Everybody just write wishlists so your friends would enjoy rather than struggle every time you invite them to your birthday.
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#266Best gift advice I give regularly: Keep a note on your phone (doesn't matter the app Apple Notes, Google Keep, SimpleNote, Drafts, etc) with a header for each person you want to get a gift for. Throughout the year whenever you hear them say "I love X author" or "I'm getting into Y hobby" then add a little note under their name. These can be as simple as "Coconut La Croix is their favorite seltzer flavor and brand" to…
I was having this same problem, I always felt unprepared when it came time to give gifts (Holidays, Birthdays, etc). I ended up building a simple app for myself that let me take notes for my closest relationships throughout the year. Once it’s gift giving time I now have a list of ideas already built up. I call it a PRM, essentially a personal CRM. I worry it sounds inauthentic to treat personal relationships like a…
There was actually a big thread about this category of software earlier today: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25270001
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#267Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was having this same problem, I always felt unprepared when it came time to give gifts (Holidays, Birthdays, etc). I ended up building a simple app for myself that let me take notes for my closest relationships throughout the year. Once it’s gift giving time I now have a list of ideas already built up. I call it a PRM, essentially a personal CRM. I worry it sounds inauthentic to treat personal relationships like a…
I seem to get stuck on the splash screen, the "Get Started" text doesn't show on the screen as I'm on the smaller iPhone SE (1st generation), and therefore I can't seem to click to be able to continue. BTW, if you ever need a feature idea, I think that being able to add a small collection of pictures (perhaps up to about 9 images) for each person would be pretty killer.
Thanks for pointing out the screen size issue, I’ve just submitted a new version to allow scrolling for smaller screen sizes. Hope you can try the app out when Apple approves!
I like the images idea. I was imagining I could integrate with the iOS photos app - then your photo memories could be seamlessly linked to your contacts. The mobile focus opens up many integration possibilities.
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#268Earlier quoted context omitted.
Personally, I haven't implemented this though I know I should... but I came across this idea in Robert Heinleins Double Star as a reference to Farley Files. In essence, Farley was Roosevelts aid and kept files on everyone he met so before meeting them again Roosevelt could cram study and "recall everything about them" like they were a close personal friend. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Farley_file For some reason th…
This is very interesting and something I've been playing around with in my head. I keep "chasing the dragon" when it comes to note taking apps/approaches. I've played with everything from NvAlt+SimpleNote (for iOS), Evernote, Notion, Drafts, Editorial, Obsidian, and more. Most recently when I was experimenting with the Zettelkasten notes system (in Obsidian) I got the idea that I would want to do exactly what you tal…
You sound like me.
Have you found any note taking mobile apps that can also sync with Dropbox to be edited as plain text files? I do most of my note taking in vim on my laptop, but when I only have my phone I'm reduced to use simplenote and Google Keep and can't easily access my normal notes.
After 15 years of searching I haven't found that seemingly simple combination of features.
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#269Interesting that they didn't really touch on what I consider the hardest part of buying for someone: domain expertise. If I am known as 'into' something, then the likelihood that someone who isn't also into that same thing will come up with a good gift is shockingly low. I bake bread, for example. A book of 100 bread recipes is basically dead weight to me. I have a friend who is really into knives of various sorts. E…
If they are interested in cooking you can buy them a top pepper mill from Kickstarter. Maybe for the next Christmas though.
Its from the things that would be great to have but i cannot justify the cost.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mannkitchen/mannkitchen...
Re: How to buy gifts that people actually want
#270What do you do if you genuinely don't want anything? It seems like people don't believe you and keep harassing you asking for what you really want, and then get really frustrated when you keep saying "No, really I don't want anything ". Then they either respect your wishes and don't get anything, but seem to harbor some kind of resentment against you in their heart, or they get some random garbage you don't want and…
> What do you do if you genuinely don't want anything? Exactly that, people react offended when I say I don't want anything. Nowadays I ask for coffee, or beer. You end up with kilo's of coffee beans, and enough alcohol to get you killed. But, at least it's not more stuff. Who needs random stuff? Most people don't, so they make up lists and do shopping for each other. It's a waste of time to me. Kids want stuff, and…
People often want symbolic things whose main purpose is to remind you of that person, like ornaments, a card or a personalized home-made thing. I know someone who embroidered a Thor's hammer picture for a friend who was a fan of those comics. It wouldn't have mattered if it was somehow inaccurate - it showed they were important enough to spend time on - proof of work maybe?
I keep little trinkets that people have given me. It's nice to see them every now and then.