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Think of your favorite people. The ones around your ideal holiday table. Or, for children of the MySpace era, those who would make the cut for a 2023 version of a Top 8.) You love these people. You know close to everything about them. So why can’t you figure out what to get them for their birthday?
First, know this: You’re not alone. Especially if you’re trying to figure out the perfect gift while also factoring in your budget and concern with climate change and waste.
I’ve found that the most simple and joyful way to solve for this is research: Reading or watching reviews, asking for recommendations, and (tactfully) asking what the prospective recipient is interested in right now. For the record, this sometimes means not spending any money at all; I’ve never seen my dad so excited as the time he unwrapped a self-framed photo of my siblings and me.
In this guide, we take you through the ins and outs of shopping of gift giving, no matter the recipient or the occasion.
Image by Iryna Veklich / Getty Images
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Sam Escobar
Sam Escobar is Allure’s Site Director. Their writing has appeared in Esquire, MEL Magazine, The Observer, Business Insider, and Cosmopolitan, and they were named one of Brooklyn Magazine's "30 under 30." In the 10 years they’ve spent in the media world, they’ve held editorial roles at Good Housekeeping, Bustle, and The Gloss. In 2016, they co-edited Kill Your Darlings, Tweet Yr Drafts, a chapbook of casual love poetry. In their spare time, Sam can be found practicing calligraphy, petting cats, and staring into a telescope. You can follow them on Twitter, which they refuse to call “X,” as well as Instagram.
Image by Christine Hahn