Gifting that will be remembered and treasured.
There are many things that you can do for yourself and for others as part of enjoying life. One of those things I enjoy is giving gifts to the people I care about that leave them with a dropped jaw, a huge smile, and their minds blown — in a good way.
Here are a few of the most valuable lessons I have learned about gifting for those important, special people in your life that will leave a lasting impression. I’ll walk you through one such gift, to a “Ms. X.”
Ms. X and I were coursemates at a private university in Switzerland. I saw her training one evening in the open-air student hang-out space. It was a strange sight. And I stopped to watch. Because the last thing I expected to find was a Swedish woman practicing Pencak Silat with a Karambit. I asked her to teach me. She did.
This is the story of the farewell gift that I gave her when she graduated.
A Gift Must Be Personal
Because I knew her, I knew what to get her. Making a gift personal means you have to understand the recipient. It means selecting something that is targeted and deliberate. It does not mean expensive.
Any chump with a stack of cash can do big shiny jewelry. Anyone can give a bottle of wine to a wine lover. But giving the perfect gift to someone, anyone is much more than that.
A good, gift, chosen with though is a great thing. But gift giving that creates an amazing memory for the recipient, and leaves lasting impact? That is a precision surgical strike weapon. It’s meant to tug at the heartstrings, make them realize that YOU were thinking of THEM personally, and make them think of you positively.
Ms. X has a thing for the Karambit. It is what she was trained to use. It’s what she trained me to use. She didn’t have a collection because she saw them as tools and deadly self-defense weapons.
Having spent two years learning from her, I knew enough to see that her Karambit (that was quite a few years older) needed replacing. It took some planning, but I was finally able to get a pair of fixed bladed Karambit in her favorite shades of toxic emerald green and sapphire blue.
Wrapping, Gift Card & Packaging
Never. Underestimate their power.
The packaging is the first thing your recipient will handle. Make sure it’s done correctly, professionally. Once they have stripped away the shipping box, they should find the gift professionally wrapped with a gift card.
Always use the gift card, and forget fancy cursive fonts and flowing calligraphic scripts. Make sure it’s your own legible handwriting. This adds a level of authenticity that printed gift cards lack.
Empty space in the gift box should be filled with packing peanuts, or a custom cut insert and not homemade scrap filler.
Show thought, care and consideration in every step, and your recipient will notice the attention to these details, even if it is just subconsciously. The devil is in these details. Attend to them.
I took the time to get a proper black stripe gift box complete with a custom-cut velvet inset (from a jewelry store). The ribbon was a bloody red and striking offset to the box by design. The more the ribbon stands out, the more attention it attracts.
Mystery and Gift Card Intrigue
This one is critical to giving your gift the desired impact. Never, ever sign your full, real name. Use a nickname or a pseudonym or something. It can be as simple as using your initials.
Use the thing that will give your recipient a bit of mystery, as they try to unravel who would send them so thoughtful a gift — provided you bought the right gift.
You want them to spend a few moments, connecting the dots and then have the “aha!” moment followed by the “how sweet!” moment.
I address the card to “My Instructor,” and signed it “Your Apprentice.” She would know immediately that it was from me. Because that’s what we called each other — an inside joke- when we were actively trying to hack, slash and chop each other into tiny pieces in the gym.
Delivery — When and where and how
The Karambit was ready and it was properly packaged. The last question was how to deliver it. There are a few options here, but it breaks down into either personal delivery or arranging delivery.
If you are doing the former, then you should know the best time and place to make your delivery because you should know the nature of your gift and your recipient. You’re on your own here. Good luck.
Otherwise, ALWAYS courier. You do not need DHL or FedEx. A smaller, local service will work just as well. Courier will have an impact because they arrive with an escort — the delivery man — and have to be received and signed for.
This gets notice and attention. It builds curiosity, and anticipation, and needless to say surprise in the recipient of your gift. Exactly what you want.
Where you deliver the gift could backfire in spectacular, explosive fashion. When couriering the gift, where becomes important. If it’s something very personal, then home might be better.
If the gift can withstand a little public spectacle and drama, then the office is viable. It all depends on the gift itself.
Be honest with yourself here, and you’ll know where and when best to send the gift.
For Ms. X and I, there was no office, but rather the university. It is still a small place, with about 2000 students. I arranged for the courier to deliver during the lunch break, when I knew where she would be having lunch, making it easy for the courier to deliver it, right to her table in the cafeteria.
The maximum number of people saw it get delivered, and her friends were gathered to watch her open and unwrap it.
Perfect delivery.
A farewell gift delivered, and her gift in return
The caliber of the gift one gives to those they love, cherish and care about says as much about the giver as it does the recipient.
Anyone can buy something expensive off the shelf. But the correctly chosen, wrapped, and delivered gift will create a happy, positive memory for the recipient.
Happy memories bring about happy emotions, and whatever your intentions, being equated with good things, will make sure you are remebered fondly, at all times.
Our “instructor-apprentice” relationship ended a few days before she received my farewell gift. I mean, she was going back to Sweden, I was heading back to Malaysia. Back then, online classes were not a thing.
She received her gift on a Tuesday, three days before Friday graduation. We are still friends, and we are still in touch but through social media mostly. She tags me regularly in her posts on Facebook, and sometimes on LinkedIn, and I’ve done the same.
It’s been almost a decade, but what I have noticed appearing in her pictures, is a small detail, clipped to her belt is a leather sheath
Now that is a gift, from her to me, that no amount of money can buy.
