The Best Gifts I’ve Ever Received

By Erin Deborah Waks

As we fast approach the festive season, gift buying and present giving becomes a bigger part of my consciousness. Being Jewish, I don’t plan on buying Christmas gifts for anyone in my life, but it’s become a significant part of the conversations I’m having at the moment. ‘What should I get my mum for Christmas?’ ‘My boyfriend is SO hard to buy for!’ and ‘How can I do gifts on a budget?’ have become sentences I’m accustomed to hearing.

It got me thinking, what are the best presents I’ve ever received? I, like many of my friends, are tired of getting the same Body Shop gift sets or ugly jewellery we’d never wear. So what to buy, then?

The answer, for me at least, is a simple mantra: something they actually want, something they really need, something thoughtful and personal, or an experience.

I’ve spent the morning pondering the best gifts I’ve ever been given, and into which category they fall. It’s proved pretty easy. 

‘Something I want’ is relatively simple for me. When considering what to buy for my birthday, I’m sure many of my pals have considered my hobbies to brainstorm - books, music, coffee, fashion. Top of the list would be a pair of beautiful leather knee-high brown boots, a Sekonda two-tone watch and a record player from my parents, tortoiseshell Le specs sunglasses from my best friend and, from a plethora of people in my life, books. Especially ones specific to the reader’s tastes, likes and interests. (Side note - never worry about buying something the receiver has already read. Waterstones will do exchanges!)

‘Something I need’ is also, as a young professional, quite easy. A kindle. A polaroid camera. A coffee table book (mine was Dior - thanks to the friend who really knew my taste!). Things for my new apartment.

‘Something thoughtful’ is harder to define, but can often be the most magical. One year, my family bought me a picnic basket, complete with a matching set of cutlery, crockery and a picnic blanket. To this day, it’s one of the most ingenious, original, ‘me’, special presents I’ve ever been given. I don’t use it often, but when I do, I see the beauty that can be found in a moment as simple as a picnic.

I also always think flowers, for those who like them, can be a really lovely present. Something no one actually needs, but that can brighten up a room. I think back to another of my favourite gifts ever; an frame embroidered with my favourite flowers (which are, by the way, white orchids) given to me by an ex boyfriend. To be loved is to be known.

And, finally, experiences. This year I was taken to see Mean Girls, last year to Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. I’ve lost count of the number of perfect, iconic brunches my best friend and I have treated each other with over the years. Afternoon tea. Sushi dinners. Cocktail-making classes and hidden bars. 

I didn’t want to write a shopping list to tell you what to buy your loved ones. I wanted to reflect on the way I’ve been loved through the art of gift giving. Because presents are not about monetary value, or getting it right. They are about showing you know someone. Showing you listened. Showing you thought.