An exciting, flexible & thoughtful gift adventure

Author

Patrick Kucharson
October 10, 2023 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes

 

Your 1-minute-a-week shortcut to
always having awesome gift ideas well in advance.

In addition to the newsletter,
check out the gift-giving playbooks 🎁📕

 

My attempt to make you smile
before getting to today’s gift ideas

 

Hi gift-givers! This newsletter allows you to confidently say “challenge accepted” to someone on your gift list who tells you that they “have everything” or that they “can get themselves anything they want”.

 

One-ish more thing(s)
before today’s gift ideas

 

A competition no one actually wants to win…

Reply to this email with the story of the worst gift you’ve ever received or witnessed. Don’t worry, the source of the stories will remain anonymous!

I’d like to make a BGC holiday tradition of having a competition for identifying which subscriber has the worst gift story. Head to under the P.S. section to read the “winner” of last year’s BGC worst gift competition.

 

Estimated read time: 2 minutes & 25 seconds

 

Gift idea time! Here’s a story of a
great gift to spark your creativity

 

The “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure" Gift:

As an anniversary gift to my wife, I asked her to set aside a Saturday for us to spend the day together. On the day of, I surprised her with a choose-your-own-adventure day. I identified 3-4 options that I was pretty sure she would enjoy for each part of the day – lunch, an afternoon activity, and dinner. For some of the options, I made cancellable reservations. At the end of each event, I presented her with the options for the next part of the day. She loved the excitement & flexibility of the day and very much appreciated the effort & thought that went into planning it.

One of my own stories

 

Why this gift is great

 

  • Bonding experience

  • Personalized, thoughtful, exciting

  • A great gift for those who “have everything” or “can buy it for themselves”

  • Studies note that gift-recipients, in general, are happier receiving experiential gifts than material ones (Goodman & Lim, 2014)

 

Brainstorming your version of this gift

 

Not just a gift for significant others! Consider this gift for:

  • Parents

  • Friends

  • Siblings

  • Children

Don’t keep them entirely in the dark! Work with your recipient to set aside a date and provide some expectations for timeframe, attire, etc.

Set yourself up for future gifts – during the adventure, look for keepsake opportunities to give as future gifts. See 🎁How to milk a dinner date and 🎁Your ticket to a thoughtful and budget-friendly gift

Give as an IOU gift – this gift doesn’t need to happen on the actual day of the gifting event (see 🎁The “something to look forward to IOU" Gift). Hello awesome last-minute gift!

 

Making this gift happen 

 

  • Who in your life would appreciate if you planned an adventure for them?___

    How many “chapters” would your choose-your-own-adventure outing have?___

For making this and other gifts happen, consider BGC’s playbook for confident gift-giving that saves you time & stress: 4-Step Playbook for Giving Better Gifts in a Busy World. Interested, but not sure? Here’s a free preview of the playbook.

 

Spread some love! Share this gift idea

 

Forward this email to:

  • The planners in your life

  • Someone in a new relationship

  • The person who never knows what to get their spouse

PLUS win a reward for introducing new subscribers to your favorite 1-minute-a-week shortcut to always having awesome gift ideas well in advance.

Inspire others!
Share the stories of your best gifts

 

Please reply to this email ~ or ~ click the button below if you have stories of awesome gifts that you can share with the community that fall under the below topics:

  • The worst gift you’ve ever received/witnessed

  • Any memorable gift you’ve received or given

 

Your input helps others brainstorm

 

No poll today! Please reply with your worst gift stories.

 

My attempt to send
you off with a smile

 

 

Cheers to gift-giving confidence,
Patrick Kucharson
Better Gift Coach

P.S. Who has a best friend’s birthday approaching? Reply to this email and I’d be happy to supply some gift brainstorming assistance.

 

“Winner” of BGC’s 2022
Worst Subscriber Gift Story

 

The worst gift I ever received was definitely that time I opened up naughty lingerie from…my mother in law. I was mortified. And to top it off we all take turns opening gifts so everyone can look to see what we got. My kids were eager with anticipation to see what was in my box. Obviously my response to them was just go ask your Nana and let her tell you. My husband was mortified as well, and obviously confused given the random choice of gift for me. I’m typically an easy person to get a gift for and she had never given me anything remotely like that. It will always be the worst gift I’ve ever been given.

Anonymous subscriber

 

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