Gifts: What Makes Yours Tick

We are in the season of giving! Yeeaaayy. Am I the only one who is excited about the Christmas wind which is blowing? I guess not. We are all excited about it, even though we must admit, it is nothing like it was in the 80s and the 90s. Gosh, those were the good old days.

The Harmattan winds blowing through your patched nose with the sweat scent of oil paint wafting on it as people cleared their bank accounts to buy paints to give a touch of life to their houses. Those where the good days. You were sure you would a get some new clothes or a new pair of shoes or both...or...none. That was another option, you know. But it was always fun whatever it was that you got.

Things are not really fan these days. Fancy, lifeless, Category 5 boring Christmas. Even the Harmattan winds are not excited to come as people don't even look forward to them. And the Paints? Ah, we paint our houses even when a house fly flies by the wall. So really, what is new about the Christmas house painting? Some have even taken it to a whole new level; face painting. But I didn't say that. I will deny it if you ever cite me! The paints are upset. They don't give off their enthralling sweet scent again.

But... but we still love the gifts! Who doesn't honestly like gifts? Like, who would do that to the poor sweet cute little gifts? That will be horrible. Of course we love gifts! We look forward to them every year! We mount our Christmas trees and count to 26th when it finally becomes legal to unwrap the pile to see what you got! But let's face it, some of the gifts are dropped right under the tree after being unwrapped. Urrgh! Hot ees dees? Really?

So what would make your gift to your spouse, your child, parents, that friend or benefactor tick, and make them lock it in their special compartment to be used for that special occasion, or have them drop every other gift and concentrate on yours? Or what would make your gift be left exactly where they dropped it, three months after you gave it? Well, let's find out! You might not only learn a few tricks on what to look out for in getting a gift for that loved one this festive season, you may also have some ideas on what to give on New Year's day, Valentine Day, Birthday, Wedding anniversary, Dumping Anniversary, I-found-My-Earring Anniversary, Gifts Giving Day, I-cheated-On-You-But-You Didn't-Catch-Me-So-Here-Is-Your-Gift Day. I mean, there is even a gift for the day you connected with someone on social media! Yup, you didn't know? Dear me, I think you missed the memo. Take the next left, it is on a wall somewhere there!

Phew! So what will make a Gift tick?

When Your Gift Meets A Need, It Ticks! One thing I always look out for when choosing a gift for someone, is what need will that gift meet. Wow! Lovely wrist watch! He would love it! He loves watches! But the watch has been lying where you gave it since your wedding anniversary in October. Well, he has too many watches, His business is going down so he can't afford a high end phone. What he is using now has a cracked screen that freezes like the Arctic. Trust me, if you gave him an iPhone or something similar, you would have been the real MVP. What exactly is he going to use the 6th Wrist watch for when he is struggling to read his messages?

Make this festive season count; get her a treadmill. She can drop a few kilos...you know...from 16 to 10! Take him to the spa and get his glitter back on. Get her that sport gear and let her hit the road; she can be 16 with swag; the Plus Size Rocker! Get him that set of books he needs to finish the course; he doesn't need a Play Station now. Find the need, Make it tick!

Gifts That Are Essential To The Household. Ahaa! He is married so you are trying not to raise eyebrows with what you give him. She is married, so you are not sure. Well give a gift the entire family can appreciate. Bathroom mats for the washrooms, door mats, high end wall hanging, A set of quality Cooking utensils, a voucher to a family departmental store, a gift for the children. You can think about it and there is so much you can give that would be appreciated by the entire family. When you are in absolute doubt, buy bags of rice and every thing to go with it! We can always get our Jollof going from a good hamper! Always a better option to buy consumables than something that would have no use once it misses it mark.

Gifts That Show Your Personal Knowledge Of The Recipient. Recently, I got a gift from a friend. She said, "PG, this is small, but when I saw it in the shop, you were the only person I could think of." This was a set of different flavours of syrup to go with coffee; I loooooove Coffee. And there was another set of spices, oils and sauces for Gourmet Italian dishes and salads. You know...when I am not happy or bored, I lighten up by cooking! *Shrugs* I was like huh, you really know me. She smiled and said, yes.

There are some gifts, once you give them, you know the person would die for you. It is like their heartbeat! They love them. Some ladies just go absofreakinglutely gaga on their shoes! Give them Shoes and Jesus, and they will give a testimony in Church with a bang! For some it is their perfumes, and yet for others, their chocolate. How a person loves Chocolate over a phone beats my mind. But yep, they can hit you with your gift of a phone, while they allow you to ruffle their GHC1,200.00 worth of somebody's-hair-on-their-head when it is just a bar of chocolate. (Don't you want to share this with a choc addict?) What makes your gift tick? When you give a gift that tells the recipient you know them personally. Oh but make sure at the time of giving the gift, the first point is not hanging.

Gifts That Save The Recipient Money. Yea, sometimes a brother is broke. Sometimes... a sister wants something far and above her pay grade. Pay for the rent. You know...Your husband would give a sigh of relief knowing his permutations and combinations are over. You have been visiting them, and the seats generally don't look and smell good; better days have been seen, I tell you. Instead of an expensive gift or treat, why not a set of furniture from one of these local guys? It's not like what is there is from Orca or something. They will set up an altar and worship you!

Why not pay for the school fee for the two children instead of the flat screen? I mean, what they have is TV Enough...Yeah, it is TV alright; the colours are eehhnn... but they still see what is on the screen, right? What they are struggling with is how to pay the fees. It has come up in a conversation once or twice. Why spend GHc2,500 for a TV, for a good deed done you, when you know they are struggling to pay for the fees? What gift can you gift this Christmas that saves a loved one money? It will surely tick.

Gifts Of Love. Have you seen a woman whose husband has bought her the latest high end SUV, but can sit inside the car at her office parking lot and crying her eyes out because of her husband's abuse or infidelity? Yup, I have seen a few. Nasty, nasty, nasty spectacle. She wants love, respect and dignity, not all these luxury and a monster! Clearly if that arrangement was ok, she wouldn't be parked there for hours crying and telling everyone she wants the traffic to go down. She is hurting, and scared to go home. Give her a home where love is, and she would gladly drive her corolla with bliss. What gift of love can you give? Fidelity, time, genuine love, respect among others. These are not gifts you give one off; they are gifts you give everyday and many people love them better. That is why sometimes, the happiest people are not those who are receiving big gifts, but those who are happy to be with the people they have in their lives.

Gifts That Meet A Lifestyle Demand. This dress is drop dead gorgeous! Oh My Gosh!!! She receives it, and she is looking at it like Meh! Where exactly am I wearing this to? I don't row in circles where these dresses are worn, and it is not my choice of fashion. I love to go ratatatatata when I stop out in my off the books combo! Imma need you to play around that hood, or keep your gift! She tells you with her looks.

Your wife is into catering, and most often confined to the factory. Instead of buying her one more time for the nth time, many of these fancy dresses she doesn't honestly need, why not get her a lot more of rugged protective gear for her work? The last dress you bought her has been worn just once. There are a lot of things she need in her line of work.

She works in a bank, buy her suits, he is a pastor, by all means, more of the fancy jackets...smh, pastors, what would I do with them! she loves exotic cuisines, clearly Ghanaian chop bars and standard hotels are an epic fail! My Friend is building a Christmas tree from her collection of books; for such a Bibliophile, reading is a lifestyle, and more books turn the wheels of that lifestyle. Know what your loved one's lifestyle entails and look for a gift that makes them tick.

Gifts That Reflect The Recipient's Class. Do not cast your pearls to swines, the Bible says. Yep. Do not buy a TAG Heuer watch for someone who wears a Guncci Watch. They will treat it like they treat the Guncci watch. What is even Guncci? Dear me. Why spend 2k to buy a wall hanging for someone whose house is full of wayside wall hangings? They will mess the Pyrex bowls up, and use the silver spoons like an everyday stuff; like there is no value to them. Or, probably, tuck them away hoping that one day they will have a visitor worthy enough to use them to serve...visitor who will definitely come right after the Aliens come. Give them what they understand, what is common yet respected in their world.

The reverse is also true. Buy him cuff-links that cost you your bank account instead of a low grade made-in-China suit, when he is in a class of his own. Take her out on a date that pillages your life savings, than spend that money on a gift which is either too cheap in quality but big on price, or a gift she has absolutely no need for. When it comes to class, quality over rides quantity. But in this same class, identity matters, sometimes, even better than the price tag. A cheap original Louboutin is always better than an everly expensive...what did you say the brand was again? See, we can't even find it on Google.

Gifts Of Reminiscence. We all know that moment when money grew on trees. Life happened, The Acquays fell on hard times, and now they have been reduced to the patched places of the Earth. Sometimes, a gift that would be appreciated is a gift that reminds them of the good times. They would surely appreciate it. It is like a break from the struggle that they are now used to. It is like a pause to wipe the sweat from their faces, and get that glorious chance to sip once more the lemonade of yore.

Order Pizza for the entire family, burger, Chinese, stuff they can now afford once in a blue moon....things they used to have back in the day, everyday. Give him a collection of some old classics, Give her a bottle of perfume, Take him or her to a movie, buy a ticket for them to go see that concert. decide that for the next one year, you will be giving him or her a ride to work even though that means you have to make a detour to your place of work. This will be like the good old days when everything was ok for them. If you want your gift to tick, make it something that has a semblance of the life they used to lead; the good old life.

Phew!!!

The list is endless, but the idea is not to mention all. You have an idea or two of what makes a gift tick? Let's hear it.

Ultimately, a gift is not about you and what you want to give. Then why is it special? A gift is special when it is about the recipient; custom selected and delivered with their very essence written all over it. If you are thinking, 'this is what I have; take it or leave it,' then, hehehe, I love this part, KEEP IT! I mean what is the point in the effort if your gift will be received with one hand and dumped in the trash can with the other hand? But if you are going to make your gift make a statement, then make it about the recipient.

Make it tick