An unconventional gift guide
Breaking news. It’s Christmas time and everyone is freaking out.
I was blog-hopping in search of the perfect gift idea for the tech guy in your life, as one does mid-December for absolutely no reason, and came across so many bland ideas that not only sounded lame for the receiver but showed zero personality and zero intention from the giver.
I am not about it.
Nobody wants a present that says: ‘I am an etsy-gift-guide present’ or ‘I am a beauty-lover present’.
Enough of presents FOR this and that type of people.
I am all about a personal present that people will immediately recognise as: ‘Yep. That’s a Barbs present’.
I had to go to the root of the problem. I meant 'the present'. The nature of the gifter.
A little background info. It seems that all of the people in my life are spawning offspring, and I was focusing on presents for younglings (undefined age range from 0 to 10) when I came up with this handy guide that you, too, can use for your presents.
I came up immediately with two options and, upon further discussion and additions, turns out they fit inevitably into the four standard universal categories of Hogwarts houses.
Did we have any doubt?
Present FROM a Ravenclaw:
This is a no-brainer. Give the youngling in your life Harry Potter books. Better if illustrated, since the recipient might not be able to read yet, but you got creativity and will to learn to work with. You see, the overarching intention isn't only to have a full collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts books by the time the child is old enough to read them. The real reason is that you'll be the first to gift them books from the series, and all future copies will be doubles. You're the original nerd magical gift giver. Go start your own traditions and keep track of the child age not by remembering the year they were born in, but the volume you're up to. It just makes sense.
Present FROM a Slytherin:
Let's be honest, you got enough things to worry about on your own that don't include the latest poopy toy craze. But you are a resourceful and ambitious individual who would rather treat children with dignity and respect, and wait until they're older to interact with them. Create a savings account with the best return rate and put in some money each birthday for their first trip abroad when they're eighteen or twenty-one. Be the cool auntie/uncle! Plus, children don't really 'need' all those toys and they won't care about money for a while. With a deal like this, you'll be off the hook for many years and still get the benefit from your emotional detachment. Win-Win situation!
Present FROM a Gryffindor:
It's just fair if the present is something that your true friends, the parents of the recipient, of course, deserve to enjoy too. It's their brave life journey and you're simply there to offer moral support. And perhaps get a spoonful of Christmas pudding. The best present you could give the whole family without forgetting anyone is a set of letters with specific instructions: 'Open when...' you lose your first tooth, you're getting ready for your first day of school, you go to your first sleepover, you really miss someone, you have a big test coming up, and so forth. Give your friends a chance to prepare a valuable speech to deliver when needed, and make your simple but thoughtful gift something extremely worthy.
Present FROM a Hufflepuff:
If you can do something good for two people at the same time, you would do it. And what better way to do so than to choose handmade? A custom made toy may not be the ideal last-minute idea, but hard work always pays off. This way you are bringing joy to more than one family, and helping the good economy. That has to be the justest thing to do, and a perfect lesson to learn at Christmas. Plus, that's a one-of-a-kind toy that hasn't been shipped from faraway places among thousands of copies. Otherwise, create something meaningful yourself. Who better than you can come up with the perfect photo album, adventure kit, or vision board? Unique, just like the receiver.
As I said, this is a youngling gift guide and you’re more than welcome to add to it. Please, let me know your ideas and this may be the first instalment for a future ‘teenage gift guide’.
Image: via
I was blog-hopping in search of the perfect gift idea for the tech guy in your life, as one does mid-December for absolutely no reason, and came across so many bland ideas that not only sounded lame for the receiver but showed zero personality and zero intention from the giver.
I am not about it.
Nobody wants a present that says: ‘I am an etsy-gift-guide present’ or ‘I am a beauty-lover present’.
Enough of presents FOR this and that type of people.
I am all about a personal present that people will immediately recognise as: ‘Yep. That’s a Barbs present’.
I had to go to the root of the problem. I meant 'the present'. The nature of the gifter.
A little background info. It seems that all of the people in my life are spawning offspring, and I was focusing on presents for younglings (undefined age range from 0 to 10) when I came up with this handy guide that you, too, can use for your presents.
I came up immediately with two options and, upon further discussion and additions, turns out they fit inevitably into the four standard universal categories of Hogwarts houses.
Did we have any doubt?
Present FROM a Ravenclaw:
This is a no-brainer. Give the youngling in your life Harry Potter books. Better if illustrated, since the recipient might not be able to read yet, but you got creativity and will to learn to work with. You see, the overarching intention isn't only to have a full collection of Harry Potter and Fantastic Beasts books by the time the child is old enough to read them. The real reason is that you'll be the first to gift them books from the series, and all future copies will be doubles. You're the original nerd magical gift giver. Go start your own traditions and keep track of the child age not by remembering the year they were born in, but the volume you're up to. It just makes sense.
Present FROM a Slytherin:
Let's be honest, you got enough things to worry about on your own that don't include the latest poopy toy craze. But you are a resourceful and ambitious individual who would rather treat children with dignity and respect, and wait until they're older to interact with them. Create a savings account with the best return rate and put in some money each birthday for their first trip abroad when they're eighteen or twenty-one. Be the cool auntie/uncle! Plus, children don't really 'need' all those toys and they won't care about money for a while. With a deal like this, you'll be off the hook for many years and still get the benefit from your emotional detachment. Win-Win situation!
Present FROM a Gryffindor:
It's just fair if the present is something that your true friends, the parents of the recipient, of course, deserve to enjoy too. It's their brave life journey and you're simply there to offer moral support. And perhaps get a spoonful of Christmas pudding. The best present you could give the whole family without forgetting anyone is a set of letters with specific instructions: 'Open when...' you lose your first tooth, you're getting ready for your first day of school, you go to your first sleepover, you really miss someone, you have a big test coming up, and so forth. Give your friends a chance to prepare a valuable speech to deliver when needed, and make your simple but thoughtful gift something extremely worthy.
Present FROM a Hufflepuff:
If you can do something good for two people at the same time, you would do it. And what better way to do so than to choose handmade? A custom made toy may not be the ideal last-minute idea, but hard work always pays off. This way you are bringing joy to more than one family, and helping the good economy. That has to be the justest thing to do, and a perfect lesson to learn at Christmas. Plus, that's a one-of-a-kind toy that hasn't been shipped from faraway places among thousands of copies. Otherwise, create something meaningful yourself. Who better than you can come up with the perfect photo album, adventure kit, or vision board? Unique, just like the receiver.
As I said, this is a youngling gift guide and you’re more than welcome to add to it. Please, let me know your ideas and this may be the first instalment for a future ‘teenage gift guide’.
Image: via
Comments
Post a Comment