At this time last year, I was rocking a 7 year old free-with-contract cell phone. It kept on ticking, despite the fact that I'd dropped it countless times. I'm all for using things until they absolutely die, but I was talking to long-distance loved ones more than my plan allowed, the camera was wonky, and it sure would have been nice to have something a little more up to date. The overly-generous gift of an iPhone, coming at just the right time, was so much more than just nice…
It was actually a gift certificate for an iPhone, so I could go pick one out myself. Now, the thing you need to know is that I take every $5 purchase very seriously, I like to research and mull over anything I'm considering buying, and sometimes a wee bit of indecision/overwhelmed panic can set it. So besides getting the phone itself, it was immensely luxurious to waltz into the cell provider store and say, "One iPhone, please — black!", answer a couple of questions, and waltz out. No research, no hemming, and absolutely no hawing.
I would never, ever have bought myself something so fancy (bargain basement free-with-contact is definitely my style), and certainly not without counting all my pennies. The gift certificate truly went above and beyond, in that it covered the phone and all the little extras that sneak in when you sign up — taxes, fees, who knows what. All I know is, it certainly adds up, so it was such a luxury to not have to pay anything out-of-pocket at the time.
And as for the phone? I never knew I could love a piece of technology! I was very touched by and grateful for the gift of a new and needed phone, but I wasn't expecting it to be so fun, helpful, and pretty — and I think of the giver every time I use it. This is not an iPhone commercial, I swear — it just happens to be my favorite practical gift, though I have been given some excellent socks over the years (that is not sarcasm). Have you been given something you needed rather than just wanted? Did it turn out to be something you loved? How have people reacted when you've given them something practical — excited, grateful, or just matter-of-fact?
(Image: Shutterstock)
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Hmmm. A truly practical gift would have been for you to be given a new basic phone. The upgrade to the most expensive smart phone that you would not have gotten for yourself is the 'gift' part.
And more in keeping with the sock photo used: getting someone a 12-pack of tube socks would be a practical gift -- while giving a pair of cashmere socks would be the luxurious upgrade (something the recipient might appreciate but wouldn't treat themselves to). And it's a great way to gift but I'm not sure I would call it practical. Most of us who buy "practical" gifts do it because we are all low on funds and need to restock our basic stuff.
My husband's side of the family is a big fan of wish lists for gift-giving occasions. Members are allowed to ask for whatever they want - frivolous or practical - and I like gifting from both ends of the spectrum. Is it sometime boring to give a needed gift - can of balls, racket grip and voucher for racket re-stringing for my tennis playing MIL, perhaps - yes. Is it satisfying knowing that gift will be used and not languish in a drawer somewhere. ABSOLUTELY!
As far as receiving practical gifts, I'm still a fan. Last year my in-laws (at the suggestion of my hubby) gave me a Mint automatic dust mop. Then to top it off, I spent some more of my Christmas money and bought a stick vac to go with it. We use them all the time so the gifts were more than worth it!
I loathe practical gifts. If it is something I need, Im going to go out an buy it myself. But my mother loves giving them, so every year I have to save up something that I would buy for myself for her to give me. Im sure shes happy getting me a new matress pad and pajama pants this year, but it does take alot of the fun and suprise out of the holidays.
I came home for Christmas a few years ago...my sister gave me 2 gifts, one rather extravagant, the other basic/practical and something I had coveted that mother had owned...she gave me an engraved Tiffany's braclet in the little blue box and my very own kwik kut food chopper ($5 food chopper). I loved both, but I cried over getting the kwik kut. I wear the bracelet everyday but that little chopper makes me misty eye every time I use it...and I use it a lot. I LOVE THAT KWIK KUT!
My stepsister has watched her life fall apart and spiral out of control over the last couple years due to some medical problems. Since she's not able to work and treat herself to "nicer" things, I get her a gift card to a "nicer" cosmetic store like sephora or ulta so she HAS to get something expensive that she normally wouldn't.
I asked for a dust buster cordless vacuum years ago. It's by far the most used and best 'practical' Christmas gift we've ever gotten.
I tried to make it clear that I absolutely consider a smart phone to be a luxury! A regular low-end phone would have been the purely practical option, of course, but I felt we'd have so much less to talk about if I limited this conversation to practical-but-luxurious gifts rather than just practical gifts. Please share your favorites, whether purely practical or nicer than you could have dreamed. Maybe a little old thrift store mixer for an aspiring baker, or a major KitchenAid mixer for a serious baker whose thrift store mixer finally bit the dust? Rain boots for someone who just moved to a rainy city and is job-hunting with wet feet? A dollar store stopwatch for someone training for their first marathon, or maybe a gift certificate for good running shoes? Tell all.
A set of lovely Michelin tires, complete with road hazard policy,was an especially nice present and one that I will warmly remember for many years.
I absolutely love a practical gift...it also allows me the opportunity to use the money that I would have needed to spend on the practical gift on a little luxury at some other point in time. I love that there are every day things in my life that remind me of those that I love and love me.
And as you pointed out, the practical gift is sometimes a step-up from what you would have purchased for yourself.
One year long ago, when flat screen monitors were brand new, my husband gave me one for Christmas. I didn't really need a new monitor and, if I had, the high price of the early flat screens would have prevented me from buying one. So it was practical, but also a lot better than I would have bought for myself.
My friends thought it was totally unromantic, but I disagree. What could be more romantic than knowing someone so well that you guess their heart's desire and give it to them?
A practical gift that I desire (but may not buy myself) is a luxury. I told my husband I wanted a specific blender when we first were married, and he thought I was insane...but he got it for me for Christmas. It was practical (yes, a blender) and a luxury (not just a blender, but a food processor, too!). I still remember that gift with fondness, and he still shakes his head over it...as he did when I traumatically dropped the processor fitting and broke it just before Thanksgiving this year.
I wonder if I'll get a new one this Christmas...
I think a practical gift is great for someone low on funds--and a lux practical gift is even more wonderful. It does feel special to give and receive (I've been on both ends of this one) something needed but out of reach or a new something that's totally worn out. What I don't like is the "grown up christmas list" (is the song playing in your head) from folks of means that include totally specific or boring and mundane gift suggestions. I don't, for instance, want to buy anyone "work out clothes." If you can afford a gym membership, you can buy your own sports bra. I like to give gifts that meet that age-old requirement of something the recipient wouldn't get themselves and if that's socks, by all means get that person some socks! What I dont like is when gift giving feels like playing gopher.
I like luxury-practical gifts, but the relatively cheap ones, like good quality candles, olive oil, hand cream etc. Just something that I would buy myself because I need it, but nicer.
I am a big fan of "luxury practical" gifts. Like ... I am hoping for a Thermopen this year. I need a kitchen thermometer but I really want the Thermopen. At nearly $100, it's not your basic thermometer. Another luxury (for me) is kitchen unitaskers - like a cherry pitter (also on my list). I won't buy one for myself because it seems silly to own something that just does ONE thing. But ... I want one so I can freeze fresh cherries for smoothies in the summer.
Now, one year I got a KitchenAid as a practical gift and it was pretty darn wonderful. It's still going strong, too. That was practical and expensive, and a big luxury compared to the hand-mixer I was using.
About 15 years ago, I was out shopping with my mom and aunt and when we walked past a bunch of power strips, I made an offhand "oh, I totally need one of those" type of comment. Several months later, my aunt gave me one for Christmas and I was *super* annoyed it wasn't a cooler gift, but damn if I don't still have and use that thing.
This year I told my dad that I want my car interior professionally cleaned, because I haven't had time to do it since my car was broken into in August. Not super exciting for the giver, but I'll be thrilled to be rid of the last of the broken glass.
I had an ex-boyfriend that always gave practical gifts which I rather buy myself.
Even though I do buy myself quality soaps and lotions, I always appreciate when someone else buys these for me because they do tend to be pricey.
I love movie tickets as gifts too so I'm not sure what category they fall into.
One birthday I did ask for a make-up mirror from my girlfriends and they bought me a really nice one so that was a treat.
I'd say if you're giving a practical gift, make it one that the recipient would normally wait to buy anyway - e.g. new dishes or bedding or some other moderately expensive purchase. Or at least get creative with the presentation if you're going for sheer practicality. A power strip is not a fun present unless it's one of those kitchy little ones shaped like a guy or part of a larger themed present.
When my family asks what I'd like for a gift, I usually say white undershirts and dress socks. Both things I have to buy myself anyway and I wear every day, so it would be nice to have someone else buy them for me. So far, I'm in my early 40's, I've never received either as a gift.
I got a new set of tires one year and it's easily been my most-used practical gift. I was perfectly happy to get new tires. I needed them but would have never gotten around to getting them myself. This year, I asked my mom for a vacuum cleaner for Christmas. I'm even thinking about asking her if I can go ahead and open it up so I can be using it now. I haven't been able to vacuum my floors for two months, ever since I first moved here and she loaned me hers. I also look forward to getting some new socks, underwear, and pajamas... In fact, every single thing I asked for is painfully practical.
I'm all for the practical up-graded: the oh so expensive hair brush my mother gave me last year- mason pearson, prices are mad but it's so good! The key-ring with a ligth from my daughter ( she's13 years old) an above every thing: the angle desk my father sent me - we dont live in the same country, so he asked my husband to mesure my home office and hunted it on line: thoughful, pratical and strongly linked to our shared love for beautiful fourniture - he passed it on me.
Practical tends to get used much more than "romantic" or "splurge" gifts. I made my hubs take back the diamond earrings he bought me for our 10th anniversary. Never would have worn them!
HOWEVER, I got a compound miter saw last year for my birthday and it's AWESOME and used almost daily in my business. I have received various other power tools (and a Dyson Vac) for Christmas and birthdays over the years and have loved every one.
I got a brand new Kitchenaid Food Processor yesterday as an early Christmas present to us, from us, because today we're making chili for 150 coworkers and there was no way I was chopping 10 pounds each of celery, onions and green pepper by hand!
I'm all for practical!
If it's going to be "practical" I usually get something that is a bit extraordinary...like a gold-handled hairbrush instead of the "run of the mill" norm!
I Like practical but also stylish and not so expensive, something like a wallet is practical for me.
http://somostienda.com/products/bags/canvas-wallet-2
Luxury-practical is wonderful, merely practical may not be. (I would be sad to get tube sox, but nice cashmere or even fancy knee sox, that would be kind of fun...)
My guy is techie all the way -- he gets me all my new computers, provided my iPhone and the service, once secretly installed a better sound system in my new car -- in the parking lot at work! (Creeped me out when my car started up and SPOKE to me!! ;^) ) These are the kinds of things he knows about and knows I trust his judgement on. I'm always more surprised and startled when he gets something frivolous like the pair of earrings he felt like buying "just because he knew I'd like them".
I'm all for luxury practical, both for my nearest and dearest and those I don't know as well. In my case, it's not a matter of being short on funds, it's about wanting to give people something I know they'll use instead of something that might sit in a closet for years. It's easy to guess wrong on people's taste when it comes to jewelry or art, but cozy, well-made socks never go unused.
This year, people on my gift list are receiving fancy hand-harvested salt, SmartWool socks, and, for the outdoor enthusiasts, a super cool biomass-powered stove that can charge your cell phone while it's heating up your water.
For my 21st birthday, my dad gave me a gift card to a fancy department store. I used it to buy a Le Creuset blue-enamelled skillet (adding a little of my own money). At the time I would never have had the funds to buy something like that and New Zealand doesn't have any cheaper Lodge etc cast iron. I still use that pan every day and it'll be around for the rest of my life.
I put packing cubes and running socks on my gift list. I don't know if anyone will get them for me, but I hope so! I kind of prefer buying my own luxury items...
I always ask for practical gifts. We are not people of means so to get a nice vacuum or a new set of shirts is a true blessing. It shows that my family pays attention to what I need and not what they think I need. I get migraines from most lotions and whatnot so I tell them chocolate or socks are always good stocking stuffers. It works out really well for everyone because they're know chocolate and socks don't sit unused waiting to be regifted to someone who I know will use and enjoy them.
I always ask for practical gifts, but sometimes there's overlap. I need new pots and pans and have heartburn paying for very expensive cookware even though I know I'll use it and it will last longer than the cheap set I bought years ago, but I suspect that it's something I am getting for the holidays.
My attitude is that if you're a good gift giver, the gift is always practical. And by that I mean that it's a gift that will be used and enjoyed, not one that gets shoved in a closet, returned, or donated.
Cashmere socks were practical for my aunt with severe neuropathy in her feet (pins and needles) due to cancer treatment. A thermopen is practical for my mom who is known for burning her hands while cooking. The necklace I got my cousin turned out to be infinitely practical since her Facebook photos show me that she wears it every single day. I also got her an awesome travel mug to take to class, but don't think she uses it -- who would have thought that a necklace would be more practical than a leak-proof mug?
@trissi & @LaureltQ- so sweet and touching!!