WEBVTT - Choose a go-to gift

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is to save time and energy by having

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<v Speaker 1>a go to gift. In the course of normal human interactions,

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<v Speaker 1>we wind up giving and receiving all sorts of gifts.

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<v Speaker 1>If you know someone well, it can be fun to

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<v Speaker 1>shop for that person's specific tastes, but we give other

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<v Speaker 1>gifts to people we don't know so well. You're invited

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<v Speaker 1>to a colleague's child's wedding. You know your colleague, but

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<v Speaker 1>you don't really know the brighter groom. A new neighbor

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<v Speaker 1>has a housewarming party and you need to bring something.

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<v Speaker 1>A child's classmate that you've never met. Invites your child

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<v Speaker 1>to a birthday party. In all these cases, you can

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<v Speaker 1>save time and effort while fulfilling your social duties by

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<v Speaker 1>having a go to gift. I began doing this about

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<v Speaker 1>twelve years ago. When I had my first child. One

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<v Speaker 1>of my husband's colleagues sent us a giant cookie bouquet

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<v Speaker 1>from Cookies by Design. This array of sugar cookies came

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<v Speaker 1>fistooned with my son's name and birthdate. The cookies proved

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<v Speaker 1>quite tasty. When I was up at two am feeding

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<v Speaker 1>the kid, I shared some of the cookies with folks

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<v Speaker 1>who came to visit my newborn as well. I realized

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<v Speaker 1>that pretty much everyone with a new baby would enjoy

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<v Speaker 1>receiving a giant cookie bouquet, and even if the new

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<v Speaker 1>parents didn't eat cookies, they could pass them out to grandparents, friends,

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<v Speaker 1>and other well wishers with a sweet tooth. So my

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<v Speaker 1>husband and I began sending those cookie bouquets to the

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<v Speaker 1>vast majority of people who sent us birth announcements. This

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<v Speaker 1>go to gift is simple and straightforward. We pop in

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<v Speaker 1>any details about the baby from the announcement, name, birthdate,

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<v Speaker 1>it's a bowyer, it's a girl. Wait, if it's included

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<v Speaker 1>on the cookie bouquet webs site. We feel happy knowing

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<v Speaker 1>we've sent a gift that will probably be well received.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, there are lots of other go to gifts

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<v Speaker 1>that might work in these circumstances. Maybe you always send

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<v Speaker 1>a certain baby blanket or a favorite set of children's

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<v Speaker 1>books for kid birthday parties. You could stock up after

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<v Speaker 1>the holidays on toys that appeal to your children's age groups.

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<v Speaker 1>If you have a seven year old For instance, you

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<v Speaker 1>should anticipate that you will be invited to at least

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<v Speaker 1>half a dozen eight year old birthday parties over the

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<v Speaker 1>next year. So take a few minutes to accumulate a

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<v Speaker 1>collection of art supplies or legos or a favorite book series.

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<v Speaker 1>Get a few rolls of wrapping paper, and you will

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<v Speaker 1>not need to race to the store or think about

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<v Speaker 1>this much. Again, to be sure, some element of personalization

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<v Speaker 1>is lost with a go to gift, but I think

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<v Speaker 1>the best go to gifts are actually personalized just around

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<v Speaker 1>the giver. This is still a way of honoring the

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<v Speaker 1>recipient because as people love gifts with stories. So rather

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<v Speaker 1>than bring a generic bottle of wine from the supermarket,

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<v Speaker 1>show up at a dinner party with a bottle from

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<v Speaker 1>the winery you visited on your honeymoon. You can tell

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<v Speaker 1>the host why it's special and suggest a trip to

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<v Speaker 1>that winery as a future vacation. Go to holiday parties

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<v Speaker 1>with ornaments purchased from a nonprofit that works in a

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<v Speaker 1>village where you spent your first year after college volunteering.

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<v Speaker 1>Include a note explaining the story. Because the gift is

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<v Speaker 1>special to you, the gift will be special to the recipient.

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<v Speaker 1>It's thoughtful without requiring a whole lot of thought, and

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<v Speaker 1>that is really a win win situation. What are your

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<v Speaker 1>go to gifts? You can let me know at Before

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<v Speaker 1>Breakfast podcast at iHeart media dot com. In the meantime,

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<v Speaker 1>this is Laura. Thanks for listening and here's to making

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<v Speaker 1>the most of our time. M hm. Hey everybody, I'd

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<v Speaker 1>love to hear from you. You can send me your tips,

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<v Speaker 1>your questions, or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter,

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<v Speaker 1>the number four, then Breakfast p o D. You can

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<v Speaker 1>also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at

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<v Speaker 1>i heeart media dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

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<v Speaker 1>out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look

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<v Speaker 1>forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production

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<v Speaker 1>of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from my heart Radio,

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