She
invited the others, "Come over to my house, and within 20 minutes I
can select an appropriate present for any of you from my gift
closet." That promise was made by a woman who attended one of our
gift-giving seminars years ago. Her skill and enthusiasm for gift giving
came from years of experience and the development of a system that
worked for her. She traveled all over the world with her husband, an
international business consultant. In her travels, she purchased a
variety of gifts that she took home and was later able to match—with
great success—to a recipient. Her gift closet—complete with a
computerized inventory management system—was like having her own
worldwide gift shop. There are numerous variations on the gift-closet
theme and you don't have to travel the world to adapt the idea to your
own needs.
When
you see something you know a certain person on your gift list would
like, buy it to give for a future occasion.
Keep
notes about birthdays, anniversaries, and upcoming weddings, births,
graduations, and other events with you at all times so you can gift shop
at your convenience.
Keep
assorted items on hand for last-minute hostess, birthday, and thank-you
gifts.
Prewrap
the gifts in your gift closet. Use coded tags to identify the contents
of the wrapped packages. This is especially helpful when your children
need a birthday present for a party they failed to mention until the
last minute. Furthermore, wrapping children's presents ahead of time
keeps your own children from seeing—and wanting to play with—the
items intended for giving.
A
variety of items from elegant to whimsical, in a range of prices, might
be included in the gift closet:
-
Cedar
blocks for drawers and closets, napkin rings, bookends, or small
appliances for hostess gifts
-
Silver
serving pieces, candlesticks, tableware, or luxurious bed, bath, and
table linens for weddings
-
Waist
packs, telescopes, video games, funky calculators, an assortment of
flashlights, hair accessories, small musical instruments, or
percussion instruments for children's birthdays
-
Layette
or nursery items for baby presents
-
Compact
discs, music videos, key chains, locking diaries, canvas tote bags,
or beach towels for teens
-
Umbrellas,
bookends, photo frames, albums, board games, puzzles
(three-dimensional ones are becoming very popular), ice cream
makers, popcorn poppers, desk accessories, automobile accessories,
candy dishes, cookie jars, mugs, mini book lights, or
department-store gift certificates for general giving.
Want
to see where you can find
additional
gift ideas?
Have
any gift
ideas you'd like to share?
|