The Secret to Great Gift Giving

Christmas shopping causes me an intense amount of stress. I make list after list, crossing off ideas and replacing them with new ones as they pop into my head. After, what feels like, hundreds of anxious runs to the mall I still can't seem to find that one hit of a gift.

Every year I promise myself that I will plan ahead, start shopping in September - yet every year I find myself rushing around, heart pounding, mind racing as I try to find last minute surprises for those I love.

I love Christmas. I love everything about it, including giving gifts.

Truth is, I’m not the best gift giver out there. Knowing just the right present to give is a skill and a talent.

One of the best gift givers I've ever known is my mum.

I have never been able to figure out how she does it. She has a knack for finding things that you will love. Sometimes she gives you gifts that you don’t even know you want.

There was the time she gave my husband a crepe pan. His face expressed confusion as he opened the shiny flat pan. Two days later that same face lit up as he made the first of many crepe breakfasts, enthusiastically sliding each crepe from pan to plate. His heart broke a little when a couple years later I attempted to make homemade tortillas and damaged the pan.

There was the sample pack of mascara she gifted me one year. I never would have thought to try some of those out and it introduced me to my new favourite!

She’s even found a way to make socks and underwear special, always finding the most comfortable socks your feet have ever had the pleasure of wearing!

I have spent a lot of time trying to determine what makes her such a good gifter. It’s not the amount of money she spends on the gifts, although she starts putting away the Christmas money in January.

If it’s not the money, the size or the paper it's wrapped in then what is her secret?

“I listen,” she once told me.

All year long, as possible pressie ideas are dropped in conversation, she makes mental note. Did you make mention of Harry Potter during Easter dinner? You might find a book or movie stuffed into a stocking. Did you enjoy a Frappucino while running errands with her this summer? Well look at that? A Starbucks card in your stocking! She notices that you love making crepes for Sunday breakfast and voila a crepe pan!

This doesn’t really sound like a hard thing to do does it? Yet, surprisingly it is. Most of us don’t pay that close attention to these little details.

My goal is to reach my mother’s level of gift giving. In order to reach this goal I know that I have to slow down, pay attention to the little things and listen…really listen. Because the key to great gift giving isn't about malls and money. The key to giving fantastic presents really lies in your ability to hear.