The End of the Gift Giving Season?!?!

Aren’t we supposed to be done with the gift giving season?  My BF’s birthday is fast approaching and I am completely unprepared.  Then it is St. Valentine’s day and I still haven’t gotten all of the Christmas decorations put away!  Ugh.

2011 seemed to be a time of running around willy-nilly trying to get everything done and never seeming to get to it until the last minute.  And now I’m already behind again this year!  I say NO!  Not this year.  I’m determined to be better organized starting today!

I started by creating an event list and putting dates and reminders on my Google calendar.  All events, small and large, will be documented and flagged as recurring annually!  With advance reminders scheduled!  On each reminder, I have also jotted a note about possible activities or gifts that may fit the person and the occasion.

This great for my brother’s birthday in May, but my BF’s B-Day is almost here and I’m in a dilemma.  We’ve all faced it.  What to get him?  I read recently in The New Yorker magazine that most of us are not that great at gift giving.  Not really a surprise.  Sometimes we know exactly what our loved one would get a kick out of getting.  Other times, not so much, right?

Gift giving entails a lot of emotion on both sides.  The giver wants to show that they care about the other person by giving them a gift that the recipient will value.  The receiver, of course, prefers to receive something they would like to have.  Sometimes, the disconnect is incredibly funny – think the movie “A Christmas Story” and the pink bunny suit Aunt Clara gave to Ralphie!  Sometimes less so.  Anyone been caught in regift-ing faux pas with family?

Case in point for a bad gift giving relationship:  I love my Dad dearly.  But, every single year for Christmas he gives me socks.  Usually white cotton, mid calf athletic socks.   For as long as I can remember.   Sometimes, Mom switches it up to include a pair of nylons (control top, really?) in my Christmas stocking. (She still sends me stocking stuffers for Christmas, it is really kinda sweet. )  In return each year, until recently, I tended to buy either books or hunting related paraphernalia for my Dad.  Each of those gifts were inevitably returned by him and exchanged for something more his liking.  I know he likes to hunt and read even some things that he might like to have in relation to those interests, but I just could not get it right.  Our tastes were too different.  So, now he gets a coffee mug (he is begging for that to stop, by the way, but they’ll keep coming as long as the socks do!) and in the coffee mug, a gift certificate or card to a store that caters to his interest.  Hunting supply stores, outdoor stores, book stores, steak houses, etc.  Sometimes, the best gift is an acknowledgement that you know what they like to do, but have no idea what particular item they would like best!

So, Dad’s birthday is calendared, the gift certificate I’ll get him this year is noted, the reminder 2 weeks BEFORE the big day is set so I won’t be late.  (Don’t worry, I’m pretty sure my Dad doesn’t read my blog.)  My brother is scheduled for the silk socks he has mentioned.  My BF, well he does read my blog occasionally, so I’ll keep that to myself.  And my friend who likes to make darling hand stitched greeting cards and memory pages for herself and her family is getting a gift certificate to DiscountCardstock.com.

So, this is my long way of saying, if you know someone who loves to paper craft – be it scrap booking, making personalized note cards or other fun, paper related products, be a considerate gift giver and let the recipient choose what they’d really like and give them a gift card to DiscountCardstock.com.  It is a lot more fun for them to get a gift certificate to a store with products they love than another pair of athletic socks.  : )

Truly, our fabulous paper crafting fan base get a LOT of personal satisfaction from making cards and notes and scrapbook pages for themselves and their family, so you can rest assured that the size is right and the fit is perfect.  : )

Gift-givingly yours,

Desiree

DiscountCardstock.com

**Special Offer -3 days only! Thinking of all the gifts I still have to give has inspired me to create this page and a special offer for the remainder of January, 2012 only!  So act now or miss your golden opportunity for a bonus gift certificate!

Here’s the deal: for each $75.00 DCS gift certificate purchased in what remains of January 2012, DCS will reward you with an additional $10.00 bonus certificate! **  Buy a $75.00 certificate now for yourself or a friend or family member to get the $10.00 bonus gift certificate and don’t forget to enter the required comment of DCSGiftC2012 at check out.

**Details about the January 2012 gift certificate offer. For each $75 DiscountCardstock.com gift certificate purchased this January, DCS will reward you with an additional $10.00 bonus gift certificate for you or the recipient.  In order to get the additional certificate, you must use enter the code DCSGiftC2012 in the COMMENTS box on the 2nd page of the cart during check out.  You must also indicate in the comment section who you want the bonus certificate to go to (you or the recipient) as well as any additional information such as the recipient’s email address.

This election is final and may not be changed. If no election is made, it will be sent to the recipient.  If you elect to have the bonus certificate sent to you, the delivery will be by email.  If you elect to have the bonus certificate sent to the recipient, then the bonus certificate will be delivered in the same manner as the purchased gift certificate (i.e., physically mailed or by email).  Do not put the code in the ‘coupon’ code section of the cart or you will get an error.

The bonus certificate will be good for one full year. Physical gift certificate shipping is limited to the USA only.**

Review the article mentioned in this post:

http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2006/12/25/061225ta_talk_surowiecki#ixzz1kmEt6qfe