How to choose the right gift

HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT GIFT

How do you choose the right gift? How do you avoid wasting money, time, and efficiency by choosing the wrong gift, just when you want to make someone happy with your thoughtful gesture? The chances of error are very high: in the United States, the kingdom of compulsive consumerism, one in three people ends up asking for an exchange every year. And sometimes, they end up clumsily recycling it.

To avoid mistakes, we suggest a foolproof method, with 10 simple and useful steps that will make two people happy: you, the one buying the gift, and the one receiving it.

ALSO READ: A gift book that clearly explains how haste gets us

HOW TO CHOOSE THE PERFECT GIFT

Anticipate the appreciation of the recipient. This is the first, essential step. Ask yourself, without racking your brains too much, what the recipient of the gift will truly appreciate. And above all, what they need, because a good, well-chosen gift is a useful gift.

Banality should not frighten. Sometimes people say: this is too banal a gift. So what? What does it mean? Some things are absolutely banal on paper, but are truly appreciated in practice. Two examples: giving a book as a gift is never banal, especially if you manage to capture the recipient's love of reading. Just as a beautiful houseplant is never banal.

No rush. Haste, as we often remember, comes from the Latin to rub, and so if you rush into gift-giving, simply out of a sense of duty or a deadline, you're very likely to make mistakes. Haste literally "screws" when it comes to gifts, especially during periods when you need to give more than one at a time, as is the case with Christmas presents. And it "screws" twice over: you waste money and fail to reach your goal.

Write yourself a list, like when you go grocery shopping. If you have more than one gift to give, as is the case with Christmas, it's a good idea to write down a list in pen, which you can then think about calmly and make your choices accordingly. This always works with grocery shopping, and it works even when there are multiple gifts to give in a short time.

Don't chase the deal. A gift is a gift, a joy, a message, a gesture. Like a hug or a kiss. So don't chase a bargain; instead, think about making a lasting impression, striking and perhaps surprising the recipient. And the real deal is not wasting money and aiming for a good value, whether it's between quality and price.

Listen to the recipient. Don't be afraid of falling into the trap of feeling unoriginal. It's better to avoid extravagance and originality at all costs (which, to be fair, also causes stress), and think back to the conversations you had with the recipient of your gift: by listening and memorizing, you can very often find the answer to the age-old question of what to give. It will certainly be a good starting point for the perfect gift.

Look at the window display he lingers on the most. We often fall into the trap of thinking we know the person we're giving our gift to like the back of our hand, racking our brains over what they might appreciate or dislike. The answer, however, more often than we think, lies in observing where the person we're giving our gift to most often stops during a walk. That's a clue as to what strikes them most, and we can therefore be sure of what they're looking for. The advice, therefore, along the same lines as the previous one, is to not only listen, but also observe their tastes.

Ask your friends. Don't be afraid of being considered lacking in creativity or ideas if it helps make the recipient happy: ask mutual friends, your friends, anyone who can give you a different perspective than you do. The gift that makes the recipient happy is often something you can find out about, even through indirect means.

Prefer experiential giftsSharing an experience—think of a trip together or even a short stay somewhere relaxing—helps strengthen human relationships of any kind. Furthermore, choosing something unique, something the recipient wouldn't normally do, is a way to allow them to experience something new, becoming a tool for the other person's well-being.

 It's the thought that counts. It's not just a figure of speech, nor a catchphrase: a 2012 study Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, it demonstrated how a small gift—perhaps a travel souvenir, a magnet from a museum we've visited, a sticker, or a beautiful postcard—is much more appreciated than a larger, more elaborate, but perhaps more "cold" gift. And, indeed, it's proof that at that moment our thoughts were directed specifically at the recipient of the gift.

HOW MUCH IS GIVING WORTH IN LIFE? STORIES OF MEN AND WOMEN WHO KNOW HOW TO DO IT:

• Guido, the pensioner from Rome who repairs toys to donate to less fortunate children (photo)
• The number of Italian bakeries choosing to donate bread to the poor is increasing: here are which ones
• A lawyer by vocation, Massimiliano practices law in defense of the less fortunate
• A retired surgeon and his team are providing free healthcare for the poor in Bari.
• Solidarity hairdressers take to the streets of Palermo to shave and hair the homeless.