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Top Ten Gift-Giving Etiquette – You can also read our article on “Receiving Etiquette“
Giving a gift to a gift to a person is one of the most rewarding things to do. Becuase, if it is done right, it is extremely rewarding because, for most of us, it is an awesome adventure because you get to research, plan, and articulate the gift.
Even more importantly the person receiving the well-thought-out gift is usually super happy and genuinely surprised, and we enjoy this feeling expressed!
But gifting is not all “sunshine and rainbows”. Why? Becuase you can just give anything as a gift, and you HAVE to mindful of what you gift, who you give it to, how you give a gift it, why you give the gift. You must also be mindful of when you gift it, and other countless factors!
Those are some overarching factors but let’s go in-depth into some of the aforementioned etiquettes, and some other non-aforementioned etiquettes.
Etiquette #1 – Cultural Insensitivity
Yes! This IS our first gift-giving etiquette for you! We just going to grab the bull by the horn and dive into the deep stuff!
This is because this gift-giving etiquette is super important and if there was a more basic number than “number 1”, we would put it there! You HAVE to be culturally sensitive to the gift you give…no matter who you give it to – Including but not limited to best friends!
Why? You may ask?
Countless relationships are ruined yearly because of a culturally insensitive gift! This is so because if you made this HUGE mistake, yes, you might have intended to do it, but it’s also not an unconscious mistake. It is something you deliberately (although mistakenly) thought about.
This also rings true when you give gifts to elders of different cultures. Let’s take an example you’re probably expecting. Say, Chinese. A lot of English sentence/phrases translate to ridiculous stuff in Chinese.
Look at these articles for a compilation of examples; LingQBlog | Buzzfeed Article
So, Best List Gifters, Please be careful and DON’T Be culturally insensitive!
Etiquette #2 – Don’t expect a gift
One of the most douche-bag attitudes one can have in their life is doing things and expecting something in return. Yes, you need to expect a salary from your job, but when you give someone a gift, things a different.
It is proper gift-giving etiquette to expect nothing in return when you gift. Not heeding to this advice not only make you look bad as a person, friends, or neighbor. It also undermines the value of the gift that you brought to the recipient if you ask them for something in return. Not even a “Thank You”
We ARE Best Gift Listings, hence, we won’t drive you in the wrong directions, so trust us on this tip….and the next 8 tips!
Etiquette #3 – Study the Recipient
Noooo, we don’t mean pull your FBI kit that you bought on eBay and start going ham…stalking this recipient or inserting yourself into their lives. Please don’t do this. Best Gift Listings won’t liable for any of your actions after reading articles on this website, as stated in our Terms and Conditions
We just mean, get to know your recipient a little bit and figure out what they want. This gift-giving etiquette is especially crucial when you want to give a surprise gift, hence, you don’t want the person to know or expect anything.
Do yourself a favor, learn about this person, who is your recipient. If that means asking their friends about them…or even the recipient! Find out what makes them tick and what they want. Perhaps something they’ve long bucket-listed or wishlist.
It looks more impressive than if you got any general gift (without any value to the recipient) and gave it to your recipient. If your “gifting predicament” blocks you from heeding to this gift-giving etiquette, we get but if you have to be discrete, Do it in style.
Etiquette #4 – Whose to Get the Gift
This is an overlooked one. Simply, “Don’t show off others gift to others, especially when you didn’t get others gifts”
It’s kind of an odd version of showing off. Instead, you are mistakingly (or not) flaunting “Person A”‘s gift in front of “Person B”…ESPECIALLY when you didn’t get anything/much for “Person B”
Be Sensitive about cases like that. It’s not a “gentlemen/gentlewoman” thing to do, so take caution not to do so.
Etiquette #5 – Mind your presentation
Theys ay beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Well, this is true! This whole point this entire etiquette is trying to make is that you wrap you present…AND WRAP IT WELL. Here are some techniques from Shutterfly
Most importantly, Invest in some good wrapping paper. Whether it’s from Amazon, Walmart, eBay, or your local neighborhood drug store, JUST make sure it’s matched with the right occasion AND that it has some quality to it!
Etiquette #6 – Listen to the Host Request
This is similar to the affirmation “gift-giving etiquette” of “studying” your recipient. If they ask you for nothing other than “your presence” or for some odd reason, “a deck of cards” AND nothing else…Then DO Just that!
That shows your recipient (which could be your girlfriend, by the way) that you pay attention to detail…And that you listen.
If you ask them what they want, and they actually tell you, you must keep to your conversation and honor your own hearing.
Etiquette #7 – Self-Improvement is a NO Go!
Do you really need us to reiterate? Well, no worries, we will.
Don’t buy personal improvement items such as but lot “Scales”, “How to be a better Human book, etc. Sometimes, even money might be perceived in this way, so again we must take. So follow this gift-giving etiquette and stay away from these general gifts.
Etiquette #8 – Cash or no Cash?
This is a tricky one. Perhaps more tricky than it seems. The rule of thumb here is don’t give money as a gift unless requested by the recipient, unless the recipient is a child, because you may appear to be rude, or financially intrusive.
It might be fun to give “David” your 10-year-old cousin, 50 dollars, BUT his father “Mattew” might not be as appreciative of the gift, EVEN IF it’s substantially more than David’s…Say 500 dollars instead.
People, unless explicitly asking for it, don’t usually ask for money becuase it makes them feel “small” It doesn’t matter what amount you give, although unlikely as the amount goes up, you might still get the same “I’ve been intrusively insulted” reaction!
If you’re gonna give money anyways, touch base with your host/recipient to make sure that they don’t feel bad or uncomfortable with your gift.
Etiquette #9 – Don’t get personal!
Another top listing gift-giving etiquette! Don’t give personal gifts or gifts that could be perceived as too personal. People who fall into this trap are usually, friends, people of a different gender than the recipient, past lovers, etc.
There is a clear and fine line drawn between “Gifts with Sentimental Value” and “Personal Gifts” Think about it for a sec. Isn’t there?
So we wary about giving personal gifts. You know, a guy at the high emotional ledge of divorce might not need you to give him a book on “Preventing Divorces”….nor does that cute girl you like going to appreciate you giving her say 50 packs of “Menstrual Pads”
Please! Be Careful!
Etiquette #10 – Give with Proper Occasion
There’s no need on following any of the above gift-giving etiquettes if you don’t follow what could quite be the “father of all gift-giving etiquettes” This One.
The reason why it’s not on the top is that I need to conclude the other gift-giving etiquettes. But you have to make sure you give on the right occasion!
You don’t want to be giving Christmas gifs on new years, or Easter gifts on Halloween.
We do hope you have an awesome gift-giving experience. We know you’ll do good and we hope your recipient is gratuitous.
If you enjoy the read, don’t mind sharing the post with others by clicking the image below…or really whatever way YOU personally see as fit.
Read our post on “How to give the right gift…ON the right Occasion!!“
You can also read on our post on “Gift Receiving Etiquette“
Or read: “Top Ten Gift for Photographers“
