Gift givers want gift ideas

How do you think your family and friends feel when you share gift ideas for your kids with them?

Here is the answer: they feel good. And that’s not me saying it… it’s them! You save them time, allow them to stick to their budgets and they feel good about giving something wanted.

I have been asked that question by mums time and time again.  Many wondered if anyone would get offended somehow by them sharing gift ideas for their kids. I used to answer that question with another question: “Would you be offended if someone shared gift ideas with you?”.  100% of the answers have been ‘No’. “Then why would they?”, I would say.

We have done surveys in the past to validate this theory many times. But to add some ‘statistical credibility’ as my husband likes to say, we decided to do a comprehensive survey among gift givers.

It turned out that over 90% of the 308 survey respondents said they would like to receive gift ideas for children. In addition, 70% of all respondents said they would prefer to chip in for one of the gift ideas than going out and taking the risk of buying something unwanted.

See, even the 20% who would still prefer to buy a gift themselves, have said that they would not mind receiving gift ideas. You know why?  Because that gives them a back up plan. In case they can not find the gift they have in mind or if it turns out the present is out of their budget, they can simply chip in for the gift options. That reduces their shopping stress.

And what about the other sub 10% of respondents who would not want to be given gift choices? Their reason is simple. They don’t want to be told what to do. Fair point. And that comes down to how the parents communicate it with friends and family.

Here are 2 examples to illustrate the point above:

INVITE A: “…. it’s Xmas time and we want you to chip in for the gifts we chose for Danny….”

INVITE B: “Dear friends, some of you have asked what to give Danny for Xmas. There is not need to buy him anything, but if you really want to, we won’t stop you :). In case you are unsure what to get, here are some gifts ideas that you can chip in for, if you want. Either way, Danny will be thrilled!……..

Can you tell the difference? On invite A, you are telling people what to do. On invite B, you are giving them options in case they can not find whatever they want to find.

It’s all about how you communicate that. Remember, it’s not only about helping your kids get better gifts. It’s about helping your friends too so they don’t waste their hard earned money on gifts that are not needed.

That’s why we have now added 10 event templates, especially crafted for parents to invite friends in a way that is friendly, helpful and welcoming. We removed the need for you to try to figure out what to write on your invitation. All you have to do is add a few emojis and that’s it!

One crucial takeaway from our survey is that gift givers want to give something the child will enjoy, play with and benefit from. And the majority of those well intended friends simply do not know what that gift is, have limited time or not enough money to pay for it..

Time to do your kids, family and friends a favour and make sure that gifting for your children is rewarding for everyone involved.

Time to Purposit!