(ThySistas.com) Buying a really nice gift is one of the nicest things that you can do for someone else, someone that you love, respect or love and respect!
Sometimes, though, buying gifts can be a real pain in the backside. The stress of the last minute purchases, the feeling of inadequacy when you start thinking that you might just have brought the wrong gift.
But it doesn’t have to be like that! You can get rid of all those horrible feelings by following a few steps. No matter if you’re buying gifts for men, gifts for kids or gifts for ladies – you can master it each and every single time.
Firstly, buy a calendar. A real one that you can touch, see and smell. Then get a big, black, permanent marker. Write down every single 
birthday that you know of and then keep a mind to write down every event and invitation that follows this. Sometimes birthdays and events do jump up at the last minute out of nowhere, but that’s because you didn’t plan. Do you know what a plan does for you? It gives you time and won’t have you running to the gas station to pick up flowers. If you have every single birthday and event staring you in the face from your kitchen wall, you’ll be less likely to be caught out.
Then you need to come up with ideas. This is the harder part. People struggle to come up with gift ideas because they are always chasing the ‘perfect gift’ instead of picking up the genuinely perfect gift that is right before their eyes. We try too hard, we think too hard, we panic, and we get lost. That’s why we need to make it a lot more simple. Gift-giving is an art, and art works when it is simple things that represent big ideas. Represent your big feelings, with simple gifts.
But where to start? Well, you need to know your recipient. Gifts are there to be appreciated, not there to be returned. Buy something that means something – and finding something that means something does mean knowing what exactly the recipient likes. This helps you buy simple, as you’ll know who the person is. Gimmicks surrounding memories and nicknames are intimate and personal, but you can expand on that. Does the lucky person enjoy cooking
Why not help them explore that with a cookbook? Are they a traveler? Why not get them an atlas? Love music? Get them a vinyl record of their favorite artist and if they already have it, get it framed so they can hang it on their wall. It all comes down to basic research, so take a step back and learn about your recipient.
Gift-giving is a simple act made crazy. Plan in advance, do your research and make your move. Keep things simple and don’t go wild – stick to what you know and your areas of expertise so that you can be the person who gives the best gift at every single occasion.
Staff Writer; Lisa Baker