When I was in grade school, my then-single mom bought me something I wanted desperately: a set of The Beatles bobbleheads. Decades later, she shared that she had spent her last dollar on them, making it to her next paycheck by walking to work and returning pop bottles for grocery money. If my place ever catches fire, you can bet John, Paul, George and Ringo are coming out first. They are my best gift ever.
So what’s the secret to giving great gifts? We asked people about their best gifts and uncovered four: four ways to guarantee the gift you give will be memorable, meaningful and appreciated.
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The four secrets to giving the most meaningful gifts lie in stories behind each one. We’ve found that a gift becomes great when it does one of these:
Some of the best gifts we receive are the ones that relate to something that really matters to us.
Making someone feel like a winner
“Many years ago, I trained to run in the Chicago marathon and was
heartbroken not to get to finish—they shut it down mid-race because of
the heat. I’d trained so hard for it so to not finish was crushing. On
my first day back to work, my co-workers had made a ‘finish line’ for me
to cross at my office and written notes of encouragement to me.”—Sarah
T.
Putting someone else first
“My wife and I usually agree on a general gift budget for each other
each Christmas, and we usually stick to it. I had been bugging her for
way too long about wanting to buy a stand mixer, and she had resisted
because we didn’t have much counter space. When I unwrapped an
unexpected and rule-breaking gift, a beautiful stainless steel
KitchenAid stand mixer was staring me straight in the face. The fact
that she surprised me with something she knew I wanted—something she
knew I’d never buy for myself because of her hesitations about it—made
it such a meaningful gift to me.”—Andrew B.
Knowing what someone really loves
“When my son Aaron was around 10, I got home from work to find him
waiting for me at the door. It wasn’t quite my birthday, but he asked if
he could give me my gift early. I said sure, and he said it was in the
garage. On the way, my wife whispered to me that he was really excited
and couldn’t wait. We walked around to the back of our van, Carolyn
opened the hatch, and there was a bass guitar like the one Paul
McCartney played. Aaron had heard me make an offhand comment several
months earlier about what a cool bass it was. It was more bass than I
ever would have bought for myself, and clearly his mom had paid for most
of it. Still, I loved the bass, but even more I loved the fact that he
remembered I had mentioned it.”—Bill G.
How to find a gift that shows you get them
- Think about recent conversations or scroll through saved texts for ideas.
- Scan their social media accounts to see what is getting their attention.
- Ask mutual friends whether they’ve heard talk of any new hobbies or interests.
The best gifts don’t have to be unique—but they can be uniquely you. Many such gifts are handmade, whether an artistic creation or a home-cooked treat from a family recipe.
Giving someone extra love
“I once made a Mother’s Day gift for my mom after her mom had passed
away. I found an old letter my grandmother had written to me, and I had
the word ‘love’ in her handwriting made into a necklace so that my mom
would always have her mom’s ‘love’ by her heart.”—Emily O.
Meeting someone’s needs
“When I was in college my new boyfriend found out I didn’t have a
computer, so he cobbled together a ‘Frankenstein’
computer/monitor/printer system so I could write essays without heading
back to campus late at night. It was so thoughtful, really useful and
very appreciated. It wasn’t even a holiday; he saw a need and filled it.
Of course, he was a keeper and I ended up marrying him.”—Diana St. J.
Baking up someone’s favourites
“My favourite memory is of my grandmother. She loved to bake, and
Christmas cookies were her specialty. I remember waiting in the bay
window on Christmas morning for the blue Toyota to pull into the
driveway. Me and my sisters would run out to great her, carrying the
Christmas decorated boxes filled with cookies. To this day, every time I
bake the same kinds of cookies, I can’t help but smile big and remember
her.”—Shelly W.
How to find a gift that shares your connection
- Search your own memories of favourite times you’ve shared together.
- Put your talent to work in a way you know someone’s always appreciated.
- Think of an item that always reminds you of a person, then share that item with a note about the reasons you tie them together.
Many great gifts capture treasured memories. These might be keepsakes from school days or favourite vacations or even ways to display them and share their stories.
Putting someone’s memories in writing
“Fifteen years ago, I started memory boxes for the kids. Each
Christmas, I will write down 12 or so memories, moments of achievement,
even humorous things relating to them throughout the year. They get to
read their new lists at Christmas, and then those lists go into a
decorated box for each of them. It’s a very cool tradition for me to do
for them, and for them to read.”—Leslea R.
Refilling someone’s toy-box
“My husband has given me a few things from my childhood that I
really loved. He found a Weebles Blimp just like the one I’d gotten as a
gift during the one time I was in the hospital as a child. It showed
that he really listens and cares.”—Catherine H.
Passing down someone’s legacy
“One of the most meaningful gifts I’ve received was a homemade
recipe book filled with all the recipe cards, magazine cutouts,
scribbles and so on that my grandmother had used. She had a big box of
note-cards that was filled with recipes written on whatever. My dad and
his family spent several months scanning all the items and creating
custom books for each of the grandchildren. I love looking through it
and seeing grandma’s handwriting.”—Abigail B.
How to find a gift that captures a moment
- Turn a favourite digital photo on a phone or social-media feed into framed art—then add your memories of the moment in writing. Or…
- Fill a Hallmark Mixbook with photos of the two of you together for them to flip through whenever they need a smile.
- Shop online auctions or antique stores to replace favourite lost items from the past or give Keepsake Ornaments that commemorate favourite toys or characters.
- Turn signatures or handwriting into unique gifts, like jewellery, prints or pillows.
Memories of many great gifts become something beyond themselves. They are not simply presented—they are revealed in creative ways.
Burying someone’s treasure
“When I was 4 or 5, my college-age sister came home for Christmas
and wouldn’t allow me into our basement. On Christmas morning, she gave
me a treasure hunt that ended in the basement, which she had transformed
into a whole maze with multiple sitting areas by using hundreds (okay,
maybe a dozen or two) boxes. It was fantastic.”—Helen S-B.
Choosing a theme for someone’s gifts
“I love giving bundled gifts that offer something they want with
something they need. For a housewarming, I might give tea towels
decorated to represent the state someone is leaving and the state to
which they’re moving, along with a bottle of good olive oil or booze,
something yummy to munch on (perhaps native to the city they’ve moved
to), and a nice piece of servingware or a picture frame.”—Lauren G.
Filling more than someone’s stocking
“When I was 5, Santa brought me an old-fashioned wooden school desk.
I was so thrilled that it didn’t even occur to me for several minutes
to lift up the desk lid. When I did, I found it loaded with glue sticks,
pencils, crayons, stickers and construction paper. I still love those
surprise-within-a-surprise gifts. Whenever I’ve given my daughters a
purse or other container as a gift, I’ve always filled it with little
extras.”—Keely C.
How to give a gift that creates a memory
- Make giving the gift into an experience. (Check out these tips for creating a scavenger hunt.)
- Tell a story with the gifts you give. (Like these package ideas for birthdays or Christmas.)
- Give your gift at an unexpected time, an unusual location or delivered in a unique way.
Kevin Dilmore is a Hallmark senior writer who has written novels, comic books, essays and journalism on pop-culture topics. His life and conversations are like one big issue of "PopMinded."
