In this guide, we will be sharing some helpful tips and advice for finding the best Christmas gift for your family to warm their hearts and make them merry.
Also, we will suggest great and unique gifts to give your family and tackle commonly asked questions about Christmas gifting.
What is the essence of Christmas gift-giving?
Christians give gifts on Christmas to celebrate the joy of Jesus’ birth.
We also give gifts to connect with our family and friends and make them smile.
How do I find the best Christmas gift for my family?
Below are the ways you can find the best Christmas present for a family member:
- Think about their current situation
- Pay attention to what they’re saying
- Surf gift ideas online
- Make a plan
- Buy the gift before Christmas
- Choose a gift theme
- Choose a gift that reminds them of good memories
- Make a simple gift
- Go for a fun or amusing gift
- Don’t feel the need to buy expensive gifts
1) Think about their current situation
Don’t just give a Christmas gift randomly.
Your gift will be more thoughtful or impactful if you give something practical that they can use.
Find out what life event they are having, for example, having a new baby or moving to a new house because of their job.
Furthermore, think about their personality. Are they practical, minimalistic, or altruistic?
Knowing these kinds of things can give you clues as to what gift to give them.
In the first example, that of a pregnant relative, you could give them a baby gift basket with bibs, pairs of socks, a milk bottle, a plush animal, and the like.
If the person will move to a new house, a peace lily plant can be a good gift that’s beautiful and cleans indoor air.
2) Pay attention to what they’re saying
You don’t have to look far and wide to determine the right gift for a family member. It can be right there in front of you when you’re conversing with them.
Be attentive to what your loved one is saying. Do you hear them wishing they could easily listen to their favorite music? Bingo, a Spotify gift card could be your gift.
Hear them stressing about their endless meetings and aching back in the office? Perhaps a travel pillow might be brilliant.
But when you’re chatting with them, don’t ask them directly what they like or what their dress size is because that’s a giveaway.
You can ask other friends and family members, but be casual. Don’t make it obvious because they may spread the word.
3) Surf for gift ideas online
The advantage of living in the 21st century is that everything can be searched over the Internet, and that includes gifts for a family.
If you can’t think of anything creative to give your relative at all, head over to Google, Pinterest, and YouTube, and search for gifts.
And that’s all you have to do, there is a myriad of gifts there that your family member might like. From the most simple to the most innovative and techy, everything is there.
You can also go to Walmart or Amazon and find things that are sold for a good price.
Look at the suggestions there, view and zoom in on the pictures, and browse until you get an idea of what to give your family.
4) Make a plan
Whether you’re surprising one or many family members with holiday gifts, you have to make a plan.
Planning will allow you to set a budget, list all the people you will gift, and note fresh gift ideas lest you forget them.
By having a plan, you’ll be able to control your budget when you’re out shopping and not forget which gifts to give to certain people.
Don’t worry. Planning doesn’t have to always be in a concrete form.
While other people can find it to be a hassle, it can make things a lot easier.
Start small on a piece of paper and just keep adding to it. It’s not difficult and can actually be fun to do for most people.
5) Buy the gift before Christmas
When it comes to gifting on Christmas or just about any occasion, the more time you have for shopping, the better.
You can get the gift as early as two weeks before Christmas. It’s great since this way, the gift will be ready to open and enjoyed by your loved one on the special day.
We don’t suggest actually just buying the gift on the day because you will rush, which can result in a gift that’s below the recipient’s expectations.
Also, you should buy early, as the item in the shop can run out of stock or be higher-priced, leaving you to choose an alternative or a different gift altogether.
When you see the gift you like to give a sibling, parent, or aunt, you can buy it even before the Christmas season.
6) Choose a gift theme
To make your search for the right gift easier, you can choose a general theme for everyone in the family you plan to gift.
For the gentlemen, you might want to give them a customized sports jersey (if they love a certain sport), a cool cotton T-shirt, or a bobblehead figure of their favorite character or celebrity.
For the ladies, you can give them a self-care or spa gift basket for them to relax and feel at home. The hamper can have choco bites, hand lotion, lip balm, and a lavender-scented candle.
Also, by centering the gift around a theme, you could save time, effort, and resources in creating and wrapping the Christmas gift.
Should you decide to do this, make sure that you change the theme year after year to keep things exciting for the receivers.
7) Choose a gift that reminds them of good memories
You and your family’s experiences together stay with you. So find a gift that reminds them of the good times you’ve had for the personal touch.
An expensive gift may be desirable and classy, but a sentimental gift is something special and unique. It can be a symbol of your shared memory, trust, and affection with your family.
One example is if you’ve traveled to Hawaii together to relax and surf on its wonderful beaches, you might want to surprise your family member with Elvis Presley’s Aloha from Hawaii DVD or an orange Hawaiian shirt.
Another example is if you’ve seen a U2 concert together a few years ago, you might want to surprise your kin with a U2 shirt, memorabilia, or another ticket to their concert in a different country!
And so their fond memories with you can come flooding back, and they can appreciate the gift.
8) Make a simple gift
It’s always a great idea to give a loved one a simple Christmas gift such as an artful handmade card or homemade cookies.
Additionally, make the presentation count for that wow factor. Add decorative ribbons, use washi tapes, or draw on the packaging if you’re good at it.
The family member can appreciate the gift more knowing that you took the time and effort to make it, rather than just heading over online or to an outlet to buy the gift.
You need to put your skills to use for the special person.
If you don’t think you have any, just give the very best gift you can and show how much you love them. That should suffice as a holiday gift for your loved one.
9) Go for a fun or amusing gift
Choosing a fun or humorous gift can go a long way to cheering up a downhearted or recovering friend.
Cut the seriousness, break the ice, and make the day of your family member on Christmas.
For instance, it can be a simple card with a funny picture of them, a classic board game like Snake and Ladders, a baby Yoda pillow, Spongebob stickers, and so on.
10) Don’t feel the need to buy expensive gifts
To be frank, almost everything is expensive nowadays. To get a decent-quality Christmas gift, you may have to spend more cash than expected.
But fortunately, you can keep an eye out for good discounts or creatively make a gift that the recipient will like.
To show you what we mean, instead of buying a painting for your family, why not paint something yourself if you’re good at it? It’s going to take you some work and time, but it will be worth the effort.
If you love to cook, you can cook a special dinner for your family with dishes like honey and mustard glazed ham, sauteed green beans with pistachios, and prawn and avocado salad.
Just one trick here, you can get some of these foods delivered to you so you won’t have to prepare everything.
What are the best Christmas gifts for the family?
The following are excellent Christmas gift ideas you can buy for your family:
Gifts for the Whole Family
- Indoor s’mores maker
- A glass photo print of your family
- Amazon Fire TV Stick
- Hot air popcorn maker
- Polaroid camera
- Monopoly board game
- Bluetooth karaoke microphone
Unique Gift Sets for the Family
- Personalized family individual mugs
- Different snow globes
- Taco serving set
- Christmas sweaters of varying sizes
- Reindeer or Santa keychains for everyone
- Stylish and cozy Christmas socks
Classy gifts for the family
- Robo-vacuum
- Air fryer
- Two-way audio pet camera
- Himalayan salt lamp
- Spa gift card
- Double camping chair
What are the most common Christmas gifts?
According to Statista, the most common Christmas gifts that people bought between 2021 and 2022 were clothing, makeup, body care products, toys, and gift cards.
It makes sense because these gifts are practical, readily available, mostly decent-priced, and apply to different preferences, genders, and age groups.
Can I give an experience gift for Christmas?
You can give any gift to someone for Christmas whether it be a product or an experience.
With experience gifts, the giftee will be able to enjoy, relax, or learn new things. Examples are a pottery workshop, a trip to Alaska, free movie tickets, etc.
As such, they can hold more meaning compared to if you give them a product gift because they can partake in it, meet new friends, explore a new place or activity, and take pictures for Instagram too.
What are great intangible Christmas gifts?
- Taste different wines together
- Give them a Disney+ subscription card
- Give them tickets to an exciting concert
Some great intangible Christmas gifts you can give include spending time with your loved one through events like wine tasting.
Other nonmaterial gifts you can give are a Disney+ subscription card or tickets to an exciting concert.
Doing these things will help you spread the holiday cheer, encourage people, and brighten someone’s day.
What is the 5-gift rule for Christmas?
The five-gift rule suggests that people give their loved ones something they want, something they need, something to wear, something to read, and something special.
It’s a great rule of thumb especially if you don’t know what to give a family member.
Should Christmas gifts be a surprise?
Christmas gifts can be a surprise or not, although the former can be more fun.
A lot of people, especially young ones, love to get gifts even if they know what they’ll get. They’ll be very excited to open the present.
