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There are some presents that you can choose knowing that they
will almost certainly be appreciated. They will not be wildly
imaginative or creative but, if the person likes them, that's
what counts.
You need to think about what kind of person the recipient is. Is
it someone who sometimes likes unusual things and will treasure
them for that even if it's not something that was on top of
their wish list? Maybe they hadn't thought about it all but
appreciate it for the thought that you have put in and the
originality. If so, the safe option might not be the best bet
and you may need to put a bit more thought into it.
However, if the person is someone who is fairly staid and
traditional, then a safe option is a good bet. You still need to
bear in mind their hobbies, likes and so on but there is plenty
to choose from.
- Books. Books are probably
the safest bet of all - providing the recipient likes
reading, of course! If you don't know already, find out what
sort of books they like and then go to
Amazon where you can
type in that category and see a whole range that you can
choose from. You can also get really good deals on quality
books from Post Script.
If you want to look at a book shop with an over-50s slant,
go to the
laterlife book store. Alternatively, go to a bookshop such as Waterstones or W H Smith and physically see the book - some
make nicer presents than others just because of their look
and feel.
You can always buy your choice from laterlife or Amazon afterwards, if
you wish.
- Other Reading. A magazine
subscription is always popular, providing the person is
interested in the subject, of course. So, if they're into
genealogy, for example, you could pay for a
subscription to
http://www.laterlife.com/retirement-c5/retirement-choosing-presents-safe-options.htm, which will provide a wealth of help
and information. You could even pay for a year's
subscription to one of the daily newspapers that runs
subscription
schemes -
The
Daily Telegraph, for example. To subscribe to the Telegraph, ring 0800 827 827.
- Tickets. You can buy the
person a ticket for a show, a sporting event or some other event that
you are sure that they'll like. You can buy tickets for a wide
range of shows, sports, attractions and so on at
Ticketmaster.
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- But what about something a little bit out of the ordinary
but still a safe bet like an agricultural or flower show? Go
to the
Enjoy England website, where you will also find lots of
ideas for events and attractions to which you can buy
tickets. Perhaps you could book a free ticket to a BBC show
that you know the person enjoys, or you could take them on a
tour of the studios. Go to the
BBC website.
Of course, if it's free you'll have to take them for a meal,
too!
- Food and Drink. At
Christmas, we might naturally buy someone a hamper but we
rarely think of buying food as a present at other times of
the year. Do think of it, if you know that the person likes
a particular type of food. Similarly, some form of drink
always makes a good, popular, safe present. There are any
number of companies that do hampers, that include both food
and drink, personalised bottles of champagne and all sorts
of other lovely gifts consisting of either food or drink -
or both. Try
Bradfords, for hampers and other novelty gifts that
incorporate food and drink,
Avery's, a family firm of wine merchants, who offer a
personal service and
Scottish
Gourmet Food, who provide hampers of Scottish and
international food. Also have a look at laterlife's gift
pages, under the
Celebrating in Later Life section. In particular, look
at the
personalised champagne and wines and the
French
wine pages, which are offered in conjunction with
allpresent.com, who
provide a wide variety of food and wine gifts.
- Vouchers. If you're unsure
about exactly what the recipient of your gift would like but
you know that they like something in general, like books for example, you can always play really safe and buy them
vouchers so that they can go and buy their own present. This
has got the disadvantage of allowing the person to know
exactly how much you have spent on them but, on the other
hand, it should ensure that they get something they really
want. For book vouchers, you can go to
National Book Tokens and either buy them online or at
one of their outlets. If the person is keen on gardening,
you can buy vouchers to be used at garden centres. You can
but national garden gift vouchers at
Grovelands.com. For food and wine vouchers, try
Hampers food and wine vouchers. Finally, to see a whole
range of gift vouchers all in one place, have a look at
High Street Vouchers.
- Framed Photograph. Most
people like photographs of relations, favourite places or of
themselves. So pick a favourite from your existing
collection or get a new one taken and then put it in a
special frame. For the over 50s, photographs of
grandchildren are especially popular. Go to laterlife's
Photo Frames section to see a selection of attractive
and unusual frames.
- Indoor Plants. Indoor plants
in an attractive container are very popular with many
people. You need to be quite careful to choose one that will
suit the person's home in terms of size and colour but they
do make very good presents. Go to
Excite to see a range of places to buy house plants and
then choose a holder from your local garden centre.
Of course, if you know that the person likes something, whatever
it is, then it's a safe bet to buy them something related to
that. However, as we all know, buying presents isn't always
easy, so to be sure of pleasing someone, one of the safe options
on this page should do the trick.
Try not to buy the same person a safe option every time you buy
them a present. Eventually, they might think that you are
lacking in either thought or imagination - or both. However,
safe options never do any harm every now and again.
If you would like to help make this Guide even
better, either fill in the
feedback form or visit the
Forum
and tell us any ideas you have. In particular, tell us about the
best present you have ever given or the best one you have ever
received. We'll then add your ideas to the Guide.
Now read the rest of the Guide by clicking on
the links in the box. It will ease the dilemma of trying to
choose the perfect present.
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