It’s that time of year again: hot chocolate, sitting by the fireplace, gingerbread houses, eggnog, and most importantly, gift giving. One of the best ways to make sure all your friends receive a gift this holiday season is with Secret Santa. Typically, Secret Santa is a gift exchange where a person randomly draws a name from a pool of people and is made responsible for buying a gift for the name selected.. With each individual assigned to a single giftee, “Secret Santas” have to make their purchase under a set budget, optimizing economic efficiency. Getting the perfect gift can most certainly be a struggle. Here is The Classic’s guide to some of the best and worst gifts to buy this holiday season.
Best Gifts this Holiday Season (in no particular order):
- Thermos
For many teenagers, especially Harrisites, it is rare to get a sufficient amount of sleep. From homework, studying, to finding time to hang out with friends, there are too many things to complete and little time to do them. A small, transportable, and high quality thermos might be just what a friend needs. Keeping coffee at the drinker’s wanted temperature, thermos is a perfect gift to provide that extra caffeine boost needed to get through the day.
- Portable Charger
Those who carry devices may find a portable charger can make a huge difference. Most are relatively affordable and can charge a phone several times,allowing your giftee to stay connected all day.
- Disposable Camera
Disposable cameras have garnered immense mainstream popularity in recent years. The quality of the photo, developing film, and the wait for the results are experiences everyone should have at least once. When you take pictures on the disposable there is no way to know the results until you get them developed. The wait for your pictures is one that is most certainly worth your time. Capture moments and create memories through purchasing a disposable camera for your friends.
- Blue Light Glasses
During this day and age, students seem to be constantly surrounded by screens. Blue light glasses are designed to filter out harmful blue light and are a simple yet effective way to improve comfort and reduce eye strain. Glasses are also part of the new wave in style.
- Mini Projector
Going to the movies is definitely an experience, but it’s hard to beat the convenience and comfort of just staying at home. This season, get your movie-loving friend a mini projector so that they can create their own personal theatre experience in their bedroom or just about anywhere. Although a mini projector is a bit more of an investment, it would be the perfect gift because in the end, it saves your friend loads of money and perhaps they’ll even host a movie night… saving you some money too.
Gifts To Avoid:
Typically, gift givers should try to stay away from gifts that are too generic; instead, search for more personal items that truly match the giftee’s interests. If the gift is something common, they won’t value it as much compared to something special and unique. Sometimes giving the perfect gift means taking the risk that they won’t like it, but here are five gifts to definitely avoid.
- Gift Cards
Gift cards are useful, but they don’t show thoughtfulness and aren’t particularly exciting for most people to receive. When you get a gift card you are essentially letting the giftee choose their own gift, and often they might end up getting something they would have gotten for themselves without the gift card. One of the main purposes of festive gift-giving is to be creative and purchase something the recipient will both enjoy and would not have thought about getting for themselves
- Clothing
Sometimes it could be difficult to determine what type of clothes o brand someone actually wants to wear, let alone finding out sizing. Gifting clothing is an unnecessary hassle and no one wants to deal with having to go back to the store to return or exchange things.
- Household Supplies
Yes, everybody could use some extra toilet paper, cleaning supplies, or trash bags, but the giftee would have gotten these things for themselves anyways. And it might backfire by giving the impression that you think the giftee’s house needs cleaning.
Art by Zerlina Yau
