Choose a go-to gift

Thoughtful gifts don’t always require a lot of thought

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Today's tip is to save time and energy by having
a go to gift. In the course of normal human interactions,
we wind up giving and receiving all sorts of gifts.

(00:26):
If you know someone well, it can be fun to
shop for that person's specific tastes, but we give other
gifts to people we don't know so well. You're invited
to a colleague's child's wedding. You know your colleague, but
you don't really know the brighter groom. A new neighbor
has a housewarming party and you need to bring something.
A child's classmate that you've never met. Invites your child

(00:48):
to a birthday party. In all these cases, you can
save time and effort while fulfilling your social duties by
having a go to gift. I began doing this about
twelve years ago. When I had my first child. One
of my husband's colleagues sent us a giant cookie bouquet
from Cookies by Design. This array of sugar cookies came

(01:10):
fistooned with my son's name and birthdate. The cookies proved
quite tasty. When I was up at two am feeding
the kid, I shared some of the cookies with folks
who came to visit my newborn as well. I realized
that pretty much everyone with a new baby would enjoy
receiving a giant cookie bouquet, and even if the new
parents didn't eat cookies, they could pass them out to grandparents, friends,

(01:35):
and other well wishers with a sweet tooth. So my
husband and I began sending those cookie bouquets to the
vast majority of people who sent us birth announcements. This
go to gift is simple and straightforward. We pop in
any details about the baby from the announcement, name, birthdate,
it's a bowyer, it's a girl. Wait, if it's included

(01:58):
on the cookie bouquet webs site. We feel happy knowing
we've sent a gift that will probably be well received.
Of course, there are lots of other go to gifts
that might work in these circumstances. Maybe you always send
a certain baby blanket or a favorite set of children's
books for kid birthday parties. You could stock up after
the holidays on toys that appeal to your children's age groups.

(02:23):
If you have a seven year old For instance, you
should anticipate that you will be invited to at least
half a dozen eight year old birthday parties over the
next year. So take a few minutes to accumulate a
collection of art supplies or legos or a favorite book series.
Get a few rolls of wrapping paper, and you will
not need to race to the store or think about

(02:44):
this much. Again, to be sure, some element of personalization
is lost with a go to gift, but I think
the best go to gifts are actually personalized just around
the giver. This is still a way of honoring the
recipient because as people love gifts with stories. So rather
than bring a generic bottle of wine from the supermarket,

(03:06):
show up at a dinner party with a bottle from
the winery you visited on your honeymoon. You can tell
the host why it's special and suggest a trip to
that winery as a future vacation. Go to holiday parties
with ornaments purchased from a nonprofit that works in a
village where you spent your first year after college volunteering.

(03:27):
Include a note explaining the story. Because the gift is
special to you, the gift will be special to the recipient.
It's thoughtful without requiring a whole lot of thought, and
that is really a win win situation. What are your
go to gifts? You can let me know at Before
Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime,

(03:50):
this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making
the most of our time. M hm. Hey everybody, I'd
love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,
your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,
Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod that's b E

(04:14):
the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can
also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at
i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled
out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

(04:36):
of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,
visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
you listen to your favorite shows.