Gifts are always the best part of any festival. When you were a kid, you were always excited for your birthday because you knew you would get many gifts and even have a big party. Then came Diwali, where visiting friends and family also brought gifts (we know Aditi that it was usually crockery or the Soan papdi ka dabba) and the thrill of opening the gift wrapping to see what was inside. Weddings were a whole different scenario. So, a simple summary is that we love gifts, but usually, we do so when we are on the receiving side of things.
Now, you’d be happy to know that gifting is a global phenomenon. Anywhere you go, people will have a habit of giving and receiving gifts for several occasions. However, like everything else, this culture differs from country to country. India might be a bit lax about giving customs and traditions, but other countries like Japan and China have strict codes of conduct for it. There are also countries like America and Russia that have an in-between path here. But we would focus on only one country, America, because guess what? That is where you are going, and trust us when we say this – you need all the help you can get.
Now, coming back to why we are writing this blog, you already know that Indian and American cultures are very different. How gifts are given and received will also be different. In fact, everything about the whole process, including what gifts are given and received and what the reaction is, is entirely different in both cultures. But we are here to rescue you from this sea of madness. We bring you not just a list of the best Christmas gift theme ideas but also a gifting guide in general. Along with that, we will also tell you how to behave while exchanging gifts in the US. So, let’s get to it!
Contrary To The Popular Believe, Christmas Isn’t The Only Gift-Exchanging Occasion In The US
We all grew up watching Noddy, Ritchie Rich, and Oswald. Then, when we were in our teens, we stumbled upon F.r.i.e.n.d.s., How I Met Your Mother, Modern Family, and many other shows. While these shows had many everyday situations as their plot line, they always had that one episode centered around gifts that the family members needed to find for one another for Christmas.
Now, it might seem that Christmas is the only time the US denizens exchange gifts or make efforts to give unique presents to their loved ones. But that is not true. Just like everyone else, people in the US also exchange gifts on various other occasions. These include birthdays, anniversaries, and even during housewarming parties or other social events. So, while there will be many Christmas gift theme ideas in this blog, you need to remember that Christmas isn’t the only time to bring a gift for your neighbors Jack and Jenna. They invited you to a party in their house, so you should probably show up with a gift. But what should you bring? Worry not! We are here with some suggestions and answers.
What Exactly Can You Gift (or Not Gift) To People In The US?
Now we will get to the real meat of the blog (disclaimer—bad joke coming up). Our cute vegetarians can also read this (we warned you we would be making a bad joke soon). So now that you know there will be more occasions than just Santa’s journey to the US, you need to be better prepared with a list of things you can buy to give to someone.
1. Gift Cards
Many stores and even big brands in the US have a thing called a gift card. It is basically a card you can give people so they can buy things. However, it isn’t that simple. A gift card is basically prepaid money that can be spent at a specific store or a network of stores. So when you gift this card to someone, they can just encash that money for the product they want to buy from the store the gift card is from. Long story short, if you give someone a gift card from Macy’s, they can go there and shop for products in the shop for the amount that the gift card allows them.
While this is not a concept in India, it is pretty common in the US. In fact, people there often appreciate a good gift card. So you can buy a few of these cards, and you are golden. Gift cards can cost as low as $2 or as high as you want them to be. They also allow a more personalized choice for the gift receiver as they can buy whatever they want from the store at the price the gift card mentions, and the cards can be both offline/physical plastic or online cards. The great thing about these gift cards is that they are not only limited to retail stores. Even restaurants, online entertainment, OTT services, hotels, and BNBs have gift cards. You can also use these in your Christmas gift theme ideas list and on other occasions.
Some of the most common ones are:
- Walmart Gift Card – Walmart offers budget-friendly and great-value gift cards for its products. It also offers a wide selection of gift cards for different occasions, like birthdays, weddings, and even graduations. It also has gift cards for your favourite TV shows and movies and OTT platforms like Netflix, etc. Finally, Walmart offers a Walmart specialty gift card for different restaurants, services, and more.
- Amazon Gift Card – Do we even need to say more? Like its usual product categories, Amazon has a gift card for everything! However, Amazon offers a unique way to give these cards. You can get animated e-cards or ones with your personalized photographs on them or even print your own gift cards at home! Of course, there are physical Amazon gift cards, too, but the online ones have much more variety.
- General Purpose Gift Cards – These are gift cards from specific credit and debit card companies that you can use anywhere the company’s credit/debit card is used. They are not store-specific, which makes them more customizable and easier to use. A few examples of these are Visa Gift cards, American Express Gift cards, and more.
- Store-Specific Gift Cards – If you know what store or online site the person you are giving the gift to loves to shop from, you can also get gift cards from those stores and give them to them. You can just go to the store where you want a gift card and buy the cards there.
2. Cash
Who doesn’t love money?! Remember when relatives used to visit us during our childhood? When they were leaving, they gave us money, and our mothers always said, “Arre iski kya zaroorat hai?” But we, being kids, always wanted to take the money to buy chocolates or toys. We might be grown-up adults now, but we understand money’s value a lot more now. So a gift in the form of an envelope with cash is also as good as anything else. However, this gift category should be reserved for close friends and relatives as it might be a bit too personal to give it to Jack, whom you just met two months ago and have to give something on his birthday.
3. Self-Care Items
Now, this is a very cool gift category! You see, even in India, we give people perfume sets or body-care hampers as gifts, which is not so different in America. However, American self-care gifting items are not just limited to perfume sets and body-care hampers. They range from perfumes, scented candles, bath and body products, mental wellbeing-related books, spa-day appointments/tickets, fitness trackers, indoor plants, and more.
Self-care in America is more of a holistic concept. So, this category will include things that will help to beautify oneself and create a calm mood and a positive vibe in the house. This means that products like essential oil diffusers, eye masks, noise-canceling headphones, or even more, which we don’t usually give as gifts in India (unless you are Maya Sarabhai or someone else from high society). So add them to your christmas gift theme ideas list and your ‘party-gift ideas list’. You can find many such products online on Amazon, Walmart, etc. Many big and small businesses also make some self-care products, like bath and body-care hampers, which you can buy online or offline.
Since self-care is a bit different for guys and gals, we figured that the gifting options would also be a bit different for both. So here are some ideas about what we can gift to our fellow guys and gals –
(a) Gifts for all the ‘hims’ – Here are some gift suggestions to give you guy friends, partners, or even significant others.
- Gadgets or anything technology-related – Let’s face it, men love technology. So, any gift that uses a Wi-Fi password and/or can be attached to a laptop is appreciated. This category can include smartwatches, headphones, game consoles, or even automated home appliances like coffee makers.
- Skincare – Skincare is a bit different for guys than it is for girls. So, the first and most basic product you can gift here is an electric razor. However, it is a bit personal, so maybe reserve this only for good friends. Then there are fragrances and colognes which will always be appreciated. Another item that you can gift your good friend is a beard-care kit.
- Membership cards or tickets to events – Now, this is one category that you can get creative in. You can gift your ‘men-pals’ gym memberships, spa cards, tickets to events like concerts, or if they are tickets to their favorite sports events, then it is even better!
(b) Gifts for ‘hers’ – Girls are a bit easier to buy for. They like sugar and spice and everything nice. So here is a list of gifts for all your gal pals –
- Skin-care – The first category would be self-care goodies and products. However, with girls, this can include a wide range of products, from perfumes and fragrances to hair-care kits and skin-care kits, nail-care kits, and so much more. A few items that can be given to close friends and relatives are bath bombs, shower gels, essential oils, or even sleep masks.
- Technology-related gifts and gadgets – This category is a bit different for men than it is for women. You can gift headphones and smart watches to women, too. But other things that differ are massagers, electric candlelighters, and more.
- Makeup and makeup-related items – This category is expansive. You can gift anything related to the latest and your receiver’s favorite beauty brands. You could even gift them with coupons or gift cards to buy things of their own choice. Then, there are makeup-related items like makeup brush sets, hair straighteners, hair curling wands, etc.
- Tickets for events and/or experiences – This category can be anything from free massage and spa coupons to concert and movie tickets. You can also give your gal-pals audiobook subscriptions, or subscriptions to online dance or music classes, and so much more!
4. Personalized/Handmade Gifts
Giving a personal touch to anything makes it 100 times sweeter. This is the case with gifts. People love personalized gifts. And if they are hand-made, then their value increases even more so. Before you panic, Rahul, we know you are not good at arts and crafts. But that doesn’t mean you still can’t get handmade gifts online, either. A cute handmade bag or a handmade leather-bound journal would be well-received. If the occasion is a housewarming or a wedding anniversary, you could choose some great handmade ceramic crockery options from Amazon, like a pasta bowl set, party platters with dip bowls and more!
5. Gadgets
This one is a simple, self-explanatory item in the category of Christmas gift theme ideas. You could gift others gadgets you feel they would love, like headphones, portable speakers, or even smartwatches, etc.
If you want to buy more affordable gifts in this category, you can also buy gadget accessories or phone/laptop/tablet covers, etc.
6. Tickets For Events
Now, this one might be a bit more niche-specific. This is because you might have to know the person better to understand their interests and then give them tickets to events or functions related to those interests, like concert tickets, museum/gallery viewing tickets, opera tickets, etc. So keep this category reserved for family or very good friends. You can also give such gifts to people you know would love to experience that particular thing/event/experience.
7. Bottle of Wine or Champagne
Now, this is a gift that suits any American occasion, be it a birthday (not a child’s, of course), an anniversary, a Christmas party, a get-together, or whatever. You could always take a bottle of wine or champagne, whatever you prefer, and give that as a gift!
These were just some of the categories we mentioned, and these are some very basic gifts. You could always ask around for more suggestions for your Christmas gift theme ideas list, but you should be good to go, even if you want to stick to this list!
Gifting Etiquettes Are A Bit Different In India and The US
Now that we have established that gifts are different in India and the US, we should move on to more prudent topics, such as gifting etiquette. You see, gifting is also an ART, and as an integral part of any culture, it also has its unique set of rules. And since you are new in America, you don’t want to be the guy who brings the right gift, but instead of shaking the hand extended towards you, goes for a high-five (geez, wouldn’t that be awkward?). So you need to know the dos and don’ts of gifting in the US.
1. Opening the gift in front of the gift-giver
The first part is pretty simple. In America, you need to open the gift in front of the person who gave it to you. What?! Yeh kya sanskaar hain?! Well, Aditi, we know you are reliving the trauma of scoldings that you got every time you asked to open the birthday gift as soon as someone gave it to you. But now that you are in the US, you can literally live your childhood dreams.
In the US, it is customary to open a gift as soon as you receive it in front of the person who gave it to you. If you don’t, it is considered rude and even downright inconsiderate!
2. Expressing gratitude for the gift
While this is also done in India, the US takes gratitude for gifts a notch higher. They really appreciate hand-written thank you notes. When you open the gift, you really need to thank the person who gave it to you, regardless of whether or not you like the gift.
3. Regifting is a big no-no
While we Indians love to do idhar-ka-udhar karna (cue the Akshay Kumar meme), this is usually frowned upon in the US. So if you don’t like the gift, you can’t give it to the next person! That would be rude, and you would probably become the social pitaya.
4. No over-expensive gifts
While you might think that gifting someone really expensive would raise your status in the person’s eyes, in the US, it would have the opposite effect. In the US, over-expensive gifts are frowned upon as they tend to make people uncomfortable. So try to keep the gifts as affordable as possible. And if you can’t find something affordable, then maybe buy the same thing in a smaller size!
Conclusion – Bohot Saara Pyaar Needs The Backing Of An Acceptable Gift In The US
We are at the end of the blog now, so we feel that you already understand how the gifting culture in the US operates. However, if you still don’t, then maybe re-read the blog. A few things you still need to remember while you go through the gift exchange process are that gifts in America should never be over-prized. They also need to be occasion-appropriate, and you need to buy the gift according to the person you are gifting it to. But you don’t need to be worried about what to buy for the gift as we have already provided a list of suitable things/items, and these can be used in your christmas gift theme ideas list and general gift ideas list.
A few more things you need to remember are that if you ever get a gift from someone, you need to open it in front of them and show appreciation for it. And lastly, you need to put in all your willpower to tamp down your inner ‘Indian-mummy’ to stop yourself from gifting your gift to someone else because, in the US, this could be a big social faux-pas! Now you know almost everything (we are assuming you are) about gift exchange in America. So unleash your inner Santa and shop for gifts for the upcoming holidays!!!
