“You are so hard to buy for” “what would you like?” “what do you need?” These are questions I hear a lot from my loved one’s, and I understand where they are coming from! 

It’s often hard to find the right gift for those who have everything or have an individual sense of style and uniqueness.

I respond with ‘I don't need anything’, and then will have to go away and think about what I really would like, and let my loved one’s know. I tend to be specific in order to make it easy for them.

But, not everyone wants to be told directly or directly ask the person what they want. Some people want to come up with a great gift of their own. However what can seem like a really great gift to someone may not be viewed that way by the recipient, I’m sure we all have a few unwanted gift tales to tell!

The cost of unwanted gifts is alarming, it was estimated that British consumers are expected to return £1.5 billion worth of unwanted 2024 Christmas gifts (Source Chanel.world, Article £1.5 Billion in Christmas Gifts to be Returned This Year, by Chris’s Dawson, 7th Jan 2025). 

That’s a whole waste of time and an environmental impact, with people having to take a trip or post to return unwanted gifts, not to mention the huge financial impact for stores whose Christmas sale numbers no longer ring true.

To help eradicate being the giver of an unwanted gift we have some advice to help you next time when buying a gift. Here are 5 steps that have been compiled to help you find a great gift for anyone and everyone, and avoid the costly impact of gift returns.

1. Know your budget

How much do you want to spend, an expensive gift doesn’t always make the best gift. There are many affordable things that make great gifts that your loved ones will appreciate just as much. I will say what is important is that what you are buying and gifting is of good quality.

2. Give yourself time

Never rush, make sure you give yourself plenty of time for gift buying, if you leave it till the last minute chances are you will panic and buy something without much thought, i call this the ‘it will do present’.

You need to allow for delivery times, and through busy times such as Christmas you need to give extra time to ensure the arrival is in time, especially if the item is made to order, or coming from overseas.

3. Think about the recipient.

Make a list of what you know about them.

Think about their personality, what their likes, dislikes & hobbies are. This can help you to decide if there is a specific theme, type of product or brand that would best suit the recipient.

Are they more classic or eccentric, do they like bold bright colours or is their style more subtle and muted, do they like sport, music, art etc.

4. Personalise the gift

Adding personalisation makes a gift truly unique for the recipient. A personalised gift is viewed to be more thoughtful than a regular gift. Personalisation shows that you have put time, effort and thought into the gift, and this can mean so much more to the recipient.

There is a wide variety of personalised gifts on offer these days, and you can’t go wrong with ordering a personalised card from MoonPig or Funky Pigeon.

5. Look at the reviews

It pays to be vigilant, especially if you have found the perfect gift from an unfamiliar website. I would advise to use Trustpilot to check out a website/company that you have never used before, to ensure they are 100% legitimate.

Customer and product reviews are also important and give a guide on true quality of product which can be hard to tell when buying online.

6. Bonus tip check out our website www.mywordgifts.com

We have a range of unique gifts, that are exclusively designed for our brand, you won’t find these products anywhere else. We are here to help you find the perfect gift for anyone, whether you are searching for a present for ladies, a thoughtful anniversary or wedding gift, unusual gifts for men, Christmas gift ideas for him, father birthday gifts we have a wide range of gifts for all occasions and seasons.