The Perfect Gift Giver

The Perfect Gift Giver

I’m very organized. Before the holidays even rolled in, I have already drafted a gift budget with a list of suggested gifts for friends and family. Neatly wrapped and handsomely ribboned boxes were already laid perfectly underneath the tree well before Christmas day. Whenever I am invited over for an occasion, I see to it that I get the host a gift – a bottle of wine, a box of cookies, a jar of gourmet preserves. Otherwise, I send a digital gift.

My brother is a terrible gift giver. He sometimes ends up paying more for last minute gifts (more on that later) or not giving anything at all. No, he’s not stingy, he’s the most generous person I know, he just sucks at gift ideas. His gift inspirations are anything but inspired. He got my mom a nebulizer for Christmas. Practical right? Also, why though? We all thought it was funny.

I’m not sure what thought process goes into your gift-giving habits. Maybe you’re a researcher who puts too much thought into what to get for your friend who is celebrating a birthday. Maybe you’re a last-minute purchaser who swings by the store to buy wine for your aunt’s housewarming party. Maybe you’re a wishlister who saves items online and buys them in time for special gift giving occasions. However which way you want to do it, here are some digital gift ideas to make your gift giving easier.

Subscriptions
Dropbox – While already awesome, Dropbox basic just gives you enough data storage for @GB of space. However, if you take a lot of work home or work from home an upgrade to 1TB of storage is a really big convenience. This is a great gift for college students or for people who are mobile, telecommute, or work with huge files daily. It’s great and it gets them optimized for working and accessing working documents and other files on the go.
CrashPlan – This is a great gift to give small business owners or your loved ones who work from home. CrashPlan makes sure that their data is safe and always backed up. It’s like giving the gift of peace of mind. How amazing is that?
Spotify – I love the idea of creating your own playlist. I have one for every activity; exercise, work, sleep, even for waiting at the dentist’s office. A Spotify Premium subscription is one of my go-to gifts. They recently ran a promo where you can get the 1st three months on a huge discount and then it reverts to the usual price after the 3-month period. I got that for my family and friends. It’s cool because with a premium subscription, you can use the app uninterrupted with ads. You can even listen to audiobooks and standup comedy playlist (what I listen to during a long commute or while stuck in a waiting room somewhere).

Gift Cards
Gift Cards have always been the go-to or emergency gifts we always have at the ready. They’re convenient, fun, and readily available at retail stores. There is a multitude of gift cards to choose from. You can give your friends store cards to their favorite retail shops like Target or Starbucks, online gift cards to online shopping sites like Amazon or Sephora. You can also give them subscription cards like Netflix or Hulu Gift Cards. You can give them gift cards to buy apps like iTunes or Google Play gift cards.

eBooks
You can send your friends and family eBooks for their tablet and mobile devices. Most eBooks have an option to be given as gifts when you purchase them online.

Games and Apps
Or you can gift them an app or a game directly via the App Store

How about you, what is your last minute or go-to gift idea? Share them with us in the comments! Stay humble and hustle hard.

 

Written by Jaie O. The Help