When you're buying a gift for someone do you just ask them what they want and try to get that, or do you try and get them something they would like but wouldn't ask for?


I could never try the first one when buying for my mother because she always goes 'well I have everything I need', or she'll think of something practical she needs like gardening gloves, which my brother gets for her in bulk...so I take the other approach, I take what I know about her and what she likes and improvise with that.

It's like she likes the Lone Ranger show, so I got her some of the original books, she likes the old 30's serials, so I got her a pack of them, she likes The Shadow so I got her a lot of the original books by Maxwell Grant, and she likes Kolchak: the Night Stalker, so I'm getting her the original movie and the novelizations of it and the sequel The Night Strangler. And she always said she wanted to learn to play the banjo, we don't have one, so last year for her birthday my brother and I went in together and got her a banjo with picks and how-to-play books, because she always said she wanted to learn but she never would've figured we'd get her one. And I find that approach to shopping for her is a lot more effective than if I just tried for what she asked for.

I'm not one for guessing games. You gotta say what it is you want.

Impact wrote:

I'm not one for guessing games. You gotta say what it is you want.

That's the way my mother is because she tries to get stuff that she thinks I'll like, but......at my last birthday party I was less than enthusiastic about getting a pair of those pajamas with the monkey face on them...wore them ONCE when it was really cold but other than that I couldn't stand the sight of them. So at Christmas she asked for a list of things I had in mind and just got that to the best of her ability.

I like to think for myself on it, though sometimes I am at a total loss.

I really do not like the whole list of things they want, as that is a bore. I do that to a point, but in general don't enjoy it.

It's 50/50. For the most part I try to guess what I think they'd appreciate or could use. Most of the time they act like they don't know what they want when I ask.

Supernova wrote:

When you're buying a gift for someone do you just ask them what they want and try to get that, or do you try and get them something they would like but wouldn't ask for?


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I'll try to do the first one.....but I'm not pressed to find people the 'perfect girl'. If I see something that you could use and I know you'll like or something I that I think you should just have, I'll get it. I know I'm a great gifter if I put some thought into it, but I usually don't. I give money or gift cards and that's pretty much it. Buy what you want.

I'm not fond of aimlessly buying things for people, not knowing whether or not they would like it, or could use it. I'd rather they give me a list of three things to choose from.

I try to get things I think THEY will like. Not one of those people who buys things for other people according to my taste. While I appreciate the thought I know I hate when people do that. They're just wasting their money because I'm not wearing that librarian dress. So I try to buy the gift with that person in mind.

It's a mix. If I see something that I think the person will enjoy - all the better but I'm not above asking my wife what she wants. Hey, she wants a list from me too. I won't wait for the occasion to be at hand either. If I'm in a store and see something she or my daughter will like, I'll buy it and put it away for Christmas or their birthday. Of course the danger with that is forgetting I bought it.

I usually guess what my friends or relatives might like by focusing on their hobbies and favorite genres of movies, music or TV shows or things they could use around the house.