7 Gift Ideas for the Holiday Season

Now that the winter holiday season is approaching, you must be thinking about all the gifts you need to buy for your kids, significant others, friends, relatives and associates.

Choosing the right gift for a particular person can be a herculean task. What if they don’t like the gift?

What if the gift turns out to be completely useless and just sits at the corner of a wardrobe.

In order to give a gift that the recipient would love, you need to pick out the gift based on their personality.

At the same time, you need to keep it within your budget so that you have enough funds to purchase gifts for everyone on your list.

Depending on how much you can spend and the person’s likes & dislikes, you can choose anything from useful electronic items to nice experiences.

Given below are seven gift ideas for the holiday season—

1. Custom Ornament.

Ornaments are an important part of celebrating Christmas.

No Christmas is complete unless a Christmas tree is adorned with pretty and meaningful ornaments.

So, gifting a custom ornament to a person you care about is a great choice.

You can customise the ornament with a print of their own photograph or a photo of a (movie, cartoon, book) character they love.

Ornaments are somewhat fragile. So, be careful while wrapping them up with a gift packing paper.

2. Personalised Mug.

One of the best Christmas gift ideas is also one of the most simple ones. You can gift your near and dear ones with a personalised coffee mug.  

Put a print of their own photo on the mug, or put a photo of their family. If you are gifting it to a friend, you can personalise the mug with a photo of you two.

You can also customise the coffee mug with their favourite quote or poem; or you can print a greeting (New Year/Christmas) on the coffee mug with the year mentioned.      

3. Experiences.

If you are looking for unique Christmas gifts for adults, then you can consider choosing an experience as a gift for them.

Find out what their hobbies are. Find out if there is something they always wanted to do but have not been able to do it due to lack of time or funds.

Then, make the arrangements for them to indulge in that activity.

Make sure to keep an open invitation so that they are not bound by time constraints as most people are busy during the holiday season.

These experiences can include anything from bungee jumping and sky diving to French cooking classes and glass blowing.

4. Personalised Photo Frame.

A personalised photo frame is a great Christmas gift idea for friends and family. It is a sweet way for you and your loved one to display the essence of your relationship.

The recipient of this gift would always smile looking at the cherished memories portrayed within a personalised photo frame.        

5. Subscription Pack.

This kind of gift may not be that common but it is a good one. You can offer a subscription pack as a gift for someone close to you.

It can be a part of a New Year or Christmas Gift Box, or you can give it as an individual gift.

The subscription pack can be for absolutely anything— coffee, magazines, beauty products or snacks.  

6. Gadgets.

Gadgets are something that everyone needs. But sometimes, certain gadgets can be unaffordable for some people.

Or, they may delay buying a particular gadget because they are waiting for a specific model/version to get launched.

In any case, if you know that a near and dear one is waiting to buy a particular gadget, then you can buy it for them.

Wireless Earbuds, Smart Phones, Smart Home Assistant, Portable Power Bank, Speakers— these are all great Christmas gifts.  

7. A Gift Card.

To some people, a gift card may seem impersonal and cold. However, in some situations, a gift card is the most thoughtful gift you can give.

By using a gift card, a person can buy anything that they may want, depending on the type of gift card chosen by you.

The recipient of the gift card gets a chance to buy a scarf, books, jewellery, grooming/beauty products, a holiday, a spa day or pretty much anything according to their preferences rather than yours.

This is much better than the recipient of the gift being stuck with something that they won’t be able to return or exchange.        

Holiday Gift Ideas FAQs

What is the most common holiday gift?

In the USA, the most common gift given to people in the holiday season is a gift card.

As many as 48% of people who are looking for Christmas gifts or New Year gifts for their near and dear ones plan to buy gift cards for them.

Especially in the holiday season, there’s a staggering 80% increase in the purchase of eGift cards.

That is a LOT of gift cards being gifted to loved ones and associates.

What to get someone who loves holidays?

Finding the perfect gift for someone who truly loves the holiday season can be hard. So, how do you not disappoint them while giving them their gift?

While going through gift ideas for the holiday season, adults might sometimes forget the most important aspect— the type of holiday that the gift is being given on.

So, if you are trying to choose the perfect New Year gift or the perfect Christmas gift, you can make it so that that particular holiday remains memorable for the person who receives that gift.

You can give them a personalised coffee mug or decoration item (bauble, figurine, photo frame etc.) mentioning the type of holiday it is for, and also the year (2025, etc.) on which it is being gifted.    

What is the five gift rule?

The five gift rule is a type of guideline to help you decide what kind of gift you can give to a person.

According to the rules of gifting, the first four gifts need to be something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.

The fifth gift rule calls for a good surprise. This is when you need to give the person something that even they didn’t know they wanted.      

What is a gift-giving holiday?

Christmas is a gift-giving holiday, so is New Year's Day.

In general, giving gifts is something that has been followed as a part of tradition for various occasions and celebrations throughout history.

Eventually, it got incorporated into the Christian festival of Christmas.  

It has been speculated that in ancient times, the people of Rome gave gifts to their loved ones and associates during the winter solstice; while celebrating festivals like Saturnalia and the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti (Birthday of the Invincible Sun).

How do I choose a good gift?

Choosing a good gift can be quite tough. What if they don’t like the gift? What if they think it is too cheap. What if they like the gift item but not its colour?

These are questions that arise in the mind of people who go to buy gifts for their near and dear ones.

Well, before buying a gift for someone, you can simply ask yourself, how well do you know that person? Do you know what their hobbies are?

Do you know what her favourite colour is or what kind of clothes/gadgets/decoration items she likes?

If you are not sure about these things, you can simply ask that person. If that is not feasible, you can ask someone close to them for input.

Most people like personalised gifts. So, you can keep that as an option while choosing a gift.

Personalised gifts include coffee mugs or water bottles with a photograph or a nice message printed on it; a t-shirt, cushion or bedsheets modified the same way.    

What is a thoughtful gift?

A thoughtful gift can be anything that a person puts a lot of thought into before purchasing it or making it for the person that they want to gift it to.

While deciding what kind of gift to give to a person on an occasion, the gifter thinks about that person’s needs, interests, likes and dislikes.

When a person gets a gift that they like, it shows that the one who gives the gift truly knows and understands that person.

And hence, it strengthens the bond they share.

It is not about the monetary value of the gift but the time and thought taken to come up with that particular gift.  

What are some free gift ideas?

Giving someone a gift they would really love is not about the price of the gift. It is about the type of gift you give.    

Your gift needs to convey the idea that you know that person, understand that person and truly care about him or her.      

So, here are a few free gift ideas- handwritten letter, a home-cooked meal, helpful acts of service (running errands, babysitting etc.), a picnic, and movie night etc.