Lunar New Year, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, there are innumerable holidays that turn stores into madhouses, jam-packed with holiday shoppers. Each of these holidays, and the corresponding decorations adorning displays and shelves, seem to spark unique gift-giving inspirations. 

Everyone knows what to buy their friends and family for Valentine’s Day—just peruse a conveniently-themed catalog, and you’ll be on your way. Red envelopes on Lunar New Year are expected, considering just how simple and beloved the convention is. All you’ll find in the Father’s Day section are neckties. That’s easy enough, no thought required. But the one holiday recognized by everyone doesn’t afford shoppers the same easy luxury of traditional guidelines.

Take a second, and try to recall the last time you searched for a gift for a friend or family member’s birthday. What gift ideas sprung to mind first? Unless you were armed with a list of requests, you probably went in blind, delving into the depths of Amazon or wandering a Target store aimlessly. Everyone has a birthday. But few know how to shop for one. 

“I always struggle with buying birthday gifts for my friends,” said sophomore Stephanie Ho. “It’s really difficult to find a gift that is meaningful and thoughtful, so I usually end up searching for hours and not finding anything perfect.”

A few factors exacerbate the issue: the distinct lack of theme, for one. Excepting a smattering of children’s birthday parties and frat-house ragers, most birthday celebrations don’t follow a central theme. There isn’t any comprehensive guideline to follow for what kind of gift to get, and no expression of a certain interest to type into a search bar. The only “theme” is the increase in age, and there certainly aren’t any gifts that an entire age group would enjoy. That leads to another problem: no two people are the same, and no one is exactly the same as their former selves. That’s the only thing stopping us from buying the same gift every single year, for every single birthday. 

“I usually look for something that means a lot to the person or something that relates to an inside joke,” said sophomore Patrick Andrianopoulos. “But oftentimes it’s a struggle to find something really special.”

So how exactly are we supposed to highlight our friends or family members’ valuable qualities and interests if we lack creativity and have 20 minutes before the store closes? Here are a few tips and suggestions to celebrate your friend.

1. Have a go-to gift. Yes, yes, everyone is unique and deserving of a special gift. But that doesn’t mean you can’t always keep one idea as inspiration, especially if you have a lot of friends with similar interests. Try looking at skincare or bath products, stuffed animals, bags, posters, or jewelry.
2. Try out a gift basket: If you find yourself with a lot of smaller gift ideas that you don’t think are quite substantial enough to make a really good birthday present, combine a few of them! Find a receptacle (cotton rope baskets are cute and reusable, but any small storage container or bin will also work). Add in snacks and treats, and maybe some Easter grass, and voila! Think of it as a Christmas stocking, but for a birthday.
3. Level up the wrapping: You may have seen cloth wrapping paper around recently, but there are so many other creative ways to better present your birthday gift. Even if you don’t make it into a gift basket, a reusable storage container is useful to give someone. You can even go as far as using ceramics or pottery! Another bonus is the sustainability of this trick.
4. Food is always well received: Baked goods are a tried and true gift. Materialistic gifts aren’t always the best choice, especially if there isn’t anything the recipient especially wants or needs. Whether homemade or bought, baked goods and special foods are delicious and thoughtful. Fill a mason jar with homemade cookies and use cloth and ribbon to close it. Stop by a bakery for a special item that they can share with others. You can even bake them a birthday cake if they don’t already have one or plans to make one!
5. Gift them a memory: Making a photo album or scrapbook for someone takes a lot of effort and planning, but it can be really fun if you’re crafty. Buy an empty album or scrapbook from a craft store, some fun paper and stickers, and print out photos of you together to make a really meaningful gift that they’ll cherish. If you don’t have the time for this, another great option is buying a nice frame and having a photo printed for them.
6. Books, of any and all kinds. Books can make perfect gifts for so many different people—everyone loves to receive a book as a gift, as long as you put in the effort to find one they’ll love. From children’s picture books to information manuals, books make a greatly versatile present. 

In the search for a birthday present, we’re really searching for a way to show our friends and family that we care. It’s a small struggle lots of people face and may end up feeling like they’ve let down their loved ones. But putting care into a present doesn’t have to mean buying the most expensive item in the store or spending hours laboring over it—love is all you really need to spend. Being a thoughtful and conscientious gift-giver, while keeping an eye out for the environment and cost, is the best way to show your appreciation. So if you dread your friend’s birthdays and end every shopping trip being yelled at to hurry up, keep these ideas in mind.

Photo courtesy of UNSPLASH.COM