We all approach giving gifts for birthdays, anniversaries and other occasions in different ways. Some of us are very organized, some of us let it creep up on us and some of us remember the day of the party. Outlined below are some character-types when it comes to gift giving. Which one are you?
The Stockpiler has been know to hoard gifts for several years. In fact, don't be surprised if any gift from them smells somewhat must and has an FW Woolworth price tag. They can be seen scouring sales racks after significant holidays; or buying in bulk in a discount store just before Christmas. They are actually quite generous in that they give a large number of gifts, but tend to care more about how they appear to others rather than about the recipients of those gifts. They could probably use a greeting card organizer (if they don't already have one); and they more than likely have a gift closet of even a gift room!
The Organizer tends to know by heart the birthdays, anniversaries and other significant dates of their relatives and friends. This doesn't stop them from entering the information into a database on their PC - particularly as it makes printing out the addresses easier. A greeting card organizer is a thing from the past here - they have the latest greeting card computer program plus a wide range of paper types. They generally have decided on a gift well before the event and quite probably have it wrapped with paper from their gift closet. Their greatest achievement was to convince their co-workers to put everyone's birthday in a file on the company LAN.
The Overthinker agonizes over every gift they give. They are quite often last-minute shoppers simply because they can't make their mind up. They can be seen rushing from store to store looking for that hard to get item they finally decided on. They remember who gave what to whom years back and tend to over-complicate their life in general.
The Last-minuter is different from the Overthinker in that they deliberately leave it until the day before (or even on the way!) and refuse to think about the gift until then. They can be seen at the mall or large stores on Christmas Eve with numerous bags of stuff. They certainly don't buy online - well, except for flowers of course, now that you can order same day!
The Forgetful One knows when everyone's birthday is within a season or two. If they do actually get a gift well in advance they will probably forget to bring it on the day. They NEED a greeting card organizer....but they'd probably lose it. They are gleefully welcomed by the proprietors of mini-marts and gas stations, being their main revenue source for greetings cards, gift cards from obscure stores, boxes of chocolates and those DVDs with a particularly thick covering of dust. Every week they thank their God for the invention of gift cards.
The Crafter doesn't believe that it's a true gift unless at least part of it has had work put into it. They don't need greeting card organizers being able to make a card out of some old newspaper, ribbon and dog hair. They are famous for their Christmas sweaters and spare bathroom tissue holders. The pure Crafters also make their own wrapping paper.
The Delegator knows when birthdays etc. are but has no interest in what they actually give. They pass on the choice of gift to their significant other, siblings, secretary etc. If they do have to get a gift it's almost always a pre-paid credit card, and a greeting card from that invaluable mini-mart or gas station.
