Covetworthy

Her iPhone? Orphaned on the Starbucks counter in a sea of discarded Splendas.  Directions to the restaurant where you’re having your much-ballyhooed girls’ night? Still sitting in her printer. Remembering that girls’ night is tonight?  Only after your two emails and urgent voicemail.

You’re the Friend of a Forgetter. You’re always there to remind, remember and even rescue, depending on the circumstances. Krazy Glue couldn’t make vital information stick to her. This is a tried and true friend, who absolutely would be there for you in your time of need if she could only recall what you needed. Plus she’s sweet as pie, which makes your secret desire to kill her all the more tragic.

So the next time you have to buy her something, forgo the journals and the Franklin Coveys and the electronic organizers – all blatant hints to curb her scattiness – and give her something she’ll want to remember like the Forget Me Knot ring by Kiel Mead.  It’s a simple and subtle gesture that lets her know you know her well and love her anyway.

Sentimentality + practicality = perfection at gift time. I can’t promise that she’ll never forget your birthday again, but at least she’ll remember why she owes you big time.

In honor of Cyber Monday, a few tips on giving gifts…

Sometimes you hit the ball out of the park and give a gift that truly wows. But most times, your little something is really just a little something. That’s okay. There are ways to up the excitement no matter what you’re bestowing.

Tip #1: If it’s the thought that counts, don’t gift something that has no thought behind it. We’ve all received this type of gift. You open the nondescript box/floral tapestry gift bag/rumpled plastic bag and go “WTF?!?” while your face is trying to convey “OMG!” Don’t make your friends work this hard. It’s really mean.

Tip #2:  Pay attention to outward appearances. The wrapping can be just as tantalizing as the gift. (Hellooooo, white satin bow around robin’s egg blue box.) Add the unexpected to your present. Punch a small hole at the top of a fun, funny or meaningful picture and scrawl your message on the back. Slip a ribbon through it and voila, the most interesting gift tag in the bunch. Or turn a so-so wrapping paper inside out exposing the white underside. Adorn, adorn, adorn –  a handwritten message, your kids’ handprints, favorite quotes, lyrics to the Jeffersons theme song, whatever floats your boat. Correction: whatever floats your RECEIVER’S boat. This is about them.

Tip #2.5: If you must give a gift bag, have a signature flourish. You gotta make some sort of impression beyond “While I was picking up deodorant at Target, I remembered that I have to put your gift in something.” Add wit and whimsy with a liberal dose of old school candies for your sweetie, or for the ones who kiss and tell, a little black book and feather pen dangling precariously from the handles.

Tip #3: Layer, layer, layer. Say you’re getting a gift card for a new homeowner. Useful. She will looooooooove it, and will promptly place it in a drawer in said home and remember it in 18 months, exactly six months past the day it has expired. Keep your gift top of mind by combining it with a coffee table book on hip homes in her style. Use twine to tie your gift card to the latest issue of a home magazine, and use cool tabs to highlight some items you know she likes. Wouldn’t hurt to throw in $20 for a subscription to that magazine as well. (With only four magazines still in print, this should not be hard.)

Tip #4: Go in halfsies. Gifting someone you know well but not well enough to foot the entire bill? No problem.  Grab a pal and spring for something really nice. What wine novice wouldn’t love a jump start on his collection? Split a 3-month wine club membership with two other friends for $45 each.

Happy gifting!

Sxxoo