Being Busy Is No Excuse for Bad Gift Giving

Are you a man struggling to find the perfect gift for the lady in your life? If so, you’re not alone.

Demanding work schedules, limited free time, and overwhelming store displays make gift giving feel like a full-time job — and one you didn’t sign up for.

Gentleman Jeweler wants to help. Here are our 7 tips to giving her the perfect gift:

1. DON’T PROCRASTINATE

The number one reason men give lame gifts is because they waited until the last minute. But you’re not going to do this anymore (right?). Set a calendar reminder, or better yet, sign up for Gentleman Jeweler’s automated reminder (give us one or more dates and we’ll send you an email when the time is right).

But isn’t this article about being busy and how Gentleman Jeweler is going to help me? Yes, and we want to help you, but when you’re stressed out, under the gun and scrambling, you can’t take the time to do the important things, like thinking about what makes her special and unique which is ultimately why last minute gifts tend to stink.

Giving a great gift does and always will involve some amount of time and effort on your part. It’s just that if you focus on the stuff that really matters, then you can use your time efficiently. Don’t waste your time getting stuck in traffic driving to the store. Don’t waste your time diving down a rabbit hole of 1,000 different jewelry pieces to never find the right one. Do use your time wisely and spend 5 minutes looking at the clothes in her closet and the pieces in her jewelry box. Do use your time wisely and use our Style Guide to match our collections to her aesthetic. We know you’re busy, but by planning ahead you can carve out a little time to get it right rather than waiting until the last minute and possibly spending even more time getting it wrong.

2. BE THOUGHTFUL

It sounds obvious, but think about her. Think about how she spends her time. Think about her favorite color (if you don’t know, ask her which is actually #3 on this list). Think about her style. Maybe the first time you open our style guide, even though it’s only six questions, you feel stumped. That’s ok. Don’t force it. Close the laptop or put down the phone. Above all else, the style guide is meant to inspire thoughtfulness. It’s to start getting you asking the right questions.

3. ASK HER

Subtly of course. But let’s be honest, she’s a woman and will see you coming from a mile away. That’s ok – studies show that surprises are actually overrated. If you can pull off a surprise, consider that a bonus, but you’re better off just getting it right than being too cute. Which again, is why procrastination is such a killer. If you’re driving home from work and remembering you never got her a birthday gift, clearly it is too late to ask her what her favorite color is.

The Art of Manliness article we linked has some really good questions to ask. Here’s our turn not to be too subtle – quite a few questions were around jewelry. This is no coincidence, jewelry is always a good idea for a gift. Just take it one step further and learn something about her likes so that you can customize the piece for her. Don’t ask her “do you want a necklace from me?”. Instead ask her whether she thinks yellow gold, white gold, or rose gold goes best with her birthstone. Then go to gentlemanjeweler.com and customize the perfect piece for her.

4. GIVE HER YOUR TIME

Again, there are good ways and bad ways to do this. A hand-written “coupon” that says “good for one honey-do project” is a great idea, but if this is the only thing you got her it will look like a cheap thoughtless last minute scramble gift. Which is everything we are trying to avoid. Now take the hand-written coupon and hide it inside of a jewelry box with a beautiful necklace that you customized with the right color gold and her birthstone. ‘Nuff said.

Especially for those of us who are busy with work and kids and a zillion other things giving her your time can seem daunting. This is your opportunity to practice logistical judo and turn weakness (busy) into strength. Let’s say your anniversary falls on a Wednesday. Give her the gift on Wednesday and along with it, a printed copy of your Open Table reservation for Saturday. Not only are you giving her your time for a date night, but you’re giving her something to look forward to. And she can plan out exactly what outfit to wear with that beautiful piece of jewelry you just bought her.

Gift Giving Made Easy

We’ve got your back. We want to help you find the perfect gift without wasting your time..

Simplify the gift giving process by taking a few minutes to complete our style guide to match our collections to her style.

Browse our products and feel free to contact us with any customized jewelry questions.