My Hack to Gift Giving Perfection: Personalize a Song

While many people continue to buy gift cards for their loved one for a special occasion, I would argue that it's very much of an impersonal gift.

With a gift card, which is one of the most popular gifts people still give each other, is really just a person choosing their own gift.

Where's the fun in that?

I decided to take on a project, identifying what types of gifts make people happy.

Gosh, did I fall into a rabbit hole of information. There have actually been dozens of psychological studies over the last 60 years.

But to me, I just wanted to find out about what people enjoy. Because, I think it's safe to say that with the likes of Amazon, Wayfair, and other e-commerce sites, anybody has access to anything they want online - including gifts.

I decided to conduct my own poll on Reddit, asking people, what is your favorite type of gift?

Check out the results:

As you can see, the majority of people that voted agreed that an experience is their preferred gift type.

The sample pool was a pretty good size with 293 votes, but I decided to dive deeper into the research.

One fantastic poll conducted by the NY Post of 2,000 Americans, recipients described the “perfect gift” as meaningful (60%), useful (44%) and unique (34%). Just 8% of respondents described the perfect gift as expensive or funny.

The full results from repsondents are:

WHAT ARE THE TOP 10 THINGS THAT MAKE GIFTS PERFECT:

• Meaningful - 60%
• Useful - 44%
• Unique - 34%
• Surprising - 27%
• Entertaining - 15%
• Nostalgic - 13%
• Exclusive/Rare - 10%
• Collectible - 9%
• Funny - 8%
• Expensive - 8%

Take a look at this list and try to think of a few ideas that would fit into the top few categories for perfect gift!

Spoiler Alert: We've identified 3 gifts below that check nearly all these boxes.

People really do appreciate gifts that are thought out, unique and personal, and surprising.

It's time to change things up. It's time to start caring about what you gift to somebody.

The research continues below...

In 2021, Consumer Reports wrote a great piece on why experiences make the best holiday gifts. And their conclusion was that experiential type gifts (think daytrip, not daypack) have 3 distinct reasons why they are preferred by gift recipients:

• #1: Experiences Are More Meaningful!)
  

  Listen to science instead of me or your loved ones pleading with you not to give them anything. According to a 2016 study in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, purchases of experience goods foster interpersonal relationships, improve a person's sense of self, and are frequently valued for their own sake. According to a more recent 2020 study that was published in the International Journal of Research in Marketing, children and teenagers ages 12 and older also choose experiences to material possessions as a source of happiness.

• #2: Experiential Gifts Are Less Wasteful
  

  During the holiday season, Americans dispose of 25 percent more garbage. Food waste, decorations, and disposable tableware make up some of it, but packaging, cardboard shipment boxes, wrapping paper, and actual gifts account for a significant portion of it. According to Walters, "people give and receive gifts, and often those gifts are things that are replacing other things or things that they don't want, so across the country we see a lot of people getting rid of goods in volume."

• #3: Stuff can be stressful
  

  Being surrounded by clutter can be emotionally upsetting. According to Joseph Ferrari, Ph.D., a psychology professor at DePaul University in Chicago and expert on the effects of clutter on emotional health, people may feel less satisfied with their lives as a result of their homes being cluttered.

• #4: Gifting Experiences Is More Convenient
  

  Experiential gifts have no difficulties associated with shopping, lineups, shipping, or wrapping with.

Going back to my original point, I've always been under the impression that millennials were more inclined than other age groups to prefer experiences over anything else gifted to them. Well, this inclination was correct.

According to Consumer Reports and their retail sales poll, 50% of respondents think experiential gifts are better than tangible goods.

For people between aged 25 to 34, 67% prefer an experience!

So, the younger you are, the more likely you are to prefer an experience type gift. Put another way, the trend for experiential gifts is clearly rising.

In addition to the 27% of respondents above who said they think the perfect gift should be a surprise. Let's go back to the larger poll of the 2,000 people.

This is seriously interesting - 79% said giving gifts is more fun when the recipient isn’t expecting it.

Nearly half (49%) believe gifts are especially more fun when it’s a surprise both to the giver and the recipient.

Lots to absorb, but it's crystal clear that people undoubtedly love a good surprise.

Taking it a step further, women love surprised gifts even more so than men.

We now know what most people perceive to be the perfect gift.

We know that people, especially women, enjoy surprises.

We also know that unique gifts are especially appreciated.

And lastly, we know that meaningful gifts are the most thoughtful.

Are you are looking for the perfect gift?

Perhaps you're looking for a gift for somebody who has everything. Or, maybe you are really trying to step up your game this year for a certain somebody, and get them something different.

Well, look no further and try out some of these highly rated gifts that

Meaningful Unique Surprising Entertaining

EDITORS PICK

You read it here first! Personalizing a song for someone is a relatively new service, and we are thrilled with the responses we've received so far.

Here at Songs With You, we create songs, write lyrics that are meaningful (especially as gifts), to help you surprise somebody in your life.

Songs are not pre-recorded, they are created unique to each person and occasion.

If you are looking for an amazing gift for someone, give it a try (songs take 4-7 days for from start to finish).

Useful Entertaining

Part of the Perfect Gift list above can be scratched off with a Masterclass. This is fun for both of you, and you can obviously learn some skills together.

The subscription isn't cheap, but it's rewarding (especially if you use it often). It's a 1-year subscription, and your significant other may really appreciate the thoughtfulness behind a subscription like this.

Meaningful Surprising Expensive

My wife and I went on a hot air ballooning trip in San Diego, CA and we thoroughly enjoyed it.

The cost can vary because of where you live, but overall this experience-related gift is something that's unforgettable and quite unique. Let's just hope he/she isn't afraid of heights:)

Multiple polls and studies show that experiences make the best gifts for a variety of reasons. Most people perceive the ideal (perfect) gift to be one that is meaningful, unique, and surprising.

When combined, this is the sweet spot for gift giving. Since anyone can simply buy goods online, it's taking the extra step of making something personal that shows you care.

Finding a gift like that will show them you truly care.

If you want to try our hidden gem of gifting a personalized song, you won't be disappointed. Our artists are ready to make music that will bring a smile or tears to their faces. People love their songs, and we know you will too.

Here's even a promo code for $25 off your first purchase!

PROMO: BESTGIFT25