WEBVTT - Second Cup: Be a good gift recipient 

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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 be a good gift recipient. By

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<v Speaker 1>making yourself very easy to shop for, you can allow

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<v Speaker 1>others to have fun giving you gifts and give them

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<v Speaker 1>the gift of making this far less stressful. One of

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<v Speaker 1>the upsides of adulthood is having your own money and

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<v Speaker 1>being able to buy yourself what you want within reason.

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<v Speaker 1>Of course, that jaguar or yacht might not happen, but

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<v Speaker 1>if you want a sweater, or a juicemaker or a book,

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<v Speaker 1>you generally buy it, and this is quite efficient. But

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<v Speaker 1>when it comes to gift giving occasions, people can be stumped.

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<v Speaker 1>If you wanted a sweater, a juicemaker, or a book,

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<v Speaker 1>you would have already gotten it, so people tend to

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<v Speaker 1>throw up their hands and funnel more money to Amazon

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<v Speaker 1>in the form of gift cards, or you wind up

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<v Speaker 1>with a sweater that the person feels stressed about. Saying oh,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't need anything isn't helpful. Even if it is true,

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<v Speaker 1>the social pressure to give gifts is strong, so it's

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<v Speaker 1>actually nicest to let it be widely known that there

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<v Speaker 1>is a certain category of things you always like. This

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<v Speaker 1>makes it easy for people to know what to get

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<v Speaker 1>you if you don't have one already. Consider starting a

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<v Speaker 1>collection of something precisely for this purpose. In trusting bottle

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<v Speaker 1>openers or corkscrews, old lighters, old boy scout paraphernalia, depictions

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<v Speaker 1>of cellos, miniatures, tacky Christmas ornaments, vintage cookbooks. You want

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<v Speaker 1>something that is specific but broadly available, then people will

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<v Speaker 1>know they can always add to your collection. If you

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<v Speaker 1>are not taken with the idea of collecting things, you

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<v Speaker 1>could collect, I'm putting that in quote marks here. Things

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<v Speaker 1>that are specific and consumable. Let people know that you

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<v Speaker 1>are a connoisseur of hot sauces and you will get

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<v Speaker 1>varieties from everywhere. Or you could become known for liking

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<v Speaker 1>flavored vodkas or really smelly blue cheeses. Again, think broadly available,

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<v Speaker 1>but distinct enough that there is no doubting what fits

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<v Speaker 1>your interests. If you really don't want any stuff, then

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<v Speaker 1>let your favorite experiences be known. Have a favorite restaurant,

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<v Speaker 1>or be known for liking movies in theaters. That way

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<v Speaker 1>people can give you gift certificates. You could also let

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<v Speaker 1>people know about a cause you feel passionate about. If friends,

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<v Speaker 1>family members, and colleagues know that anything related to dog

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<v Speaker 1>rescue will warm your heart, then they can feel confident

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<v Speaker 1>choosing to donate in your honor to animal welfare charities.

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<v Speaker 1>They know that you will be happy about it. Now,

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<v Speaker 1>I know, on some level this all seems inefficient. If

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<v Speaker 1>you don't need anything and it is going to take

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<v Speaker 1>the other person time and money to get you something,

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<v Speaker 1>then why is anyone bothering? And if you can have

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<v Speaker 1>an honest conversation with people in your life about not

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<v Speaker 1>exchanging gifts, that is great. Many extended families decide to

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<v Speaker 1>only do gifts for kids, which is certainly a good option,

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<v Speaker 1>and offices might do a secret Santa type gift exchange

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<v Speaker 1>to make sure people only buy one present, or a

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<v Speaker 1>white elephant gift exchange so the gift doesn't have to

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<v Speaker 1>be thoughtful. The whole point of a white elephant gift

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<v Speaker 1>exchange is to not be thoughtful. But the more I

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<v Speaker 1>read about the human brain, the more I see how

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<v Speaker 1>deeply embedded the idea of reciprocal gift giving is. For

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<v Speaker 1>the situations are the folks who aren't going to be

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<v Speaker 1>able to help themselves. The nicest and least stress inducing

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<v Speaker 1>thing you can do is be very easy to shop for.

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<v Speaker 1>So as friends and family start asking you what you want,

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<v Speaker 1>figure out something specific but broadly available that you can

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<v Speaker 1>be known for liking. You will solve this dilemma of

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<v Speaker 1>what to get you for years to come. 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. Hey, everybody, I'd love to

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod that's b E the

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

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

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<v Speaker 1>dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all

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<v Speaker 1>the letters. Thanks so much, I look forward to staying

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<v Speaker 1>in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I Heart Radio.

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