An Open Letter To The Friend Receiving A Gift From Me

Hello old friend, close acquaintance, secret Santa, etc.,

So there is a gift giving occasion on a horizon and I have to undertake the task of picking out a gift for you. I just wanted to say: I’m sorry if the gift I got for you does not meet expectations.

I’m not horrible at getting gifts, it’s just that I’m not the best at picking out meaningful ones. To my best friend, yes, I know your favorite color, I know you hate the smell of oranges, and I know how obsessed you are with that one superhero. I could write a double spaced, 12 point, Times New Roman font, two page paper about you, your hobbies, and so much more because I know you that much. It’s just that I can never find the perfect gift that expresses how much I appreciate you and is something that you’ll actually use.

There’s always a sizable amount of stress that comes with picking out the perfect gift for someone. Are they going to like it? Are they going to actually use it somewhat frequently? Does it express a level of thoughtfulness? All these questions can lead to a bit of overthinking and second guessing yourself. There is also added stress if that person is also getting you a gift in return, because you want your gift to match the level of thoughtfulness they put in it.

The reason why I have so much anxiety over gift giving is because I’ve received some amazing gifts that I have no idea how to top. I love coffee and Dave Franco, so my friend got me a mug with Dave Franco’s face and an inside joke mentioned on it. Do you know how thoughtful that is? She incorporated something that I use everyday with something I like and an inside joke that will make me think of her everyday. She literally won the best gift award for life right there. When I tried to compensate by giving her my ticket to an Ed Sheeran concert for her birthday, she went and got us both tickets to go see Justin Timberlake for Christmas. Honestly, I can’t top this woman.

When picking out gifts, I tend to lean towards practicality, so I usually pick out something they would most likely use. Of course, there’s always the doubt that my gift is too boring, just like how you did need that sweater, but you wanted the Xbox more when you open your gift from grandma. There’s also the fear that they actually won’t use it at all and it’ll just end up at the back of their closet or in the attic. Usually when I take this route, they do end up using it in some way that I see it, and that sight of knowing that you picked out a good gift gives you a very special feeling.

Sometimes when I’ve looked at Pinterest for too long, I like to go the hand-made route, which is NEVER a good idea. This has lead to some not so great gifts of hand crocheted hats that were not that well made because it was my first time making them. Also, I didn’t take into consideration that my friends aren’t really hat-wearing people, but being the good sports they are, they wore them once and then never talked about them again, which is when you really know you made good friends.

No matter what gift I give, knowing that I have friends who are good enough people to accept whatever gift with a smile makes me appreciate them even more.