Year after year, on your friends' or family's birthdays, do you have to rack your brains to choose a good gift? Boring spa sets, phone cases and tea sets are barely to surprise anyone, and you surely don't want to give your loved ones nonsense that will be lying around in a box.
Let's think about how to make a really cool gift and what to look for when choosing.

1. Is giving something for a hobby a good idea?

Do you think gifting something for your friend's hobby is always the best choice? Well, this might be a good idea if your friend is into something like knitting or collecting penny figurines. But if your friend's hobby is more specialized, for example, he is a rock climber, a technical geek or an almost professional photographer, a gift bought without knowing the nuances and understanding what exactly he or she needs will be just another piece of garbage that will lie on the back shelf in the garage. So really think about whether you understand your friend’s hobby well enough to give something really needed.

2. Should the gift be useful?

Well, do you believe that the best gift is one that will be used regularly and remind you of what a good friend you are? Let me change your view of gifts a little. Sometimes the best gift is the one that will cause a burst of laughter the moment it is presented to the birthday person. He may not need it every day, but when you friend or partner looks at this little thing, he or she will think, “Wow, how did he even think of that?” Isn’t the main goal of a gift to surprise and be remembered forever?

Don't know what it could be? Well, let me give you one example. Have you ever thought that a portrait of your friend or partner could be a pleasant surprise? An ordinary portrait is really a bit boring. But turn your friend's photo into a portrait of Napoleon, the Greek Emperor or the Queen, and add the birthday person's favorite dog as a young prince and your gift will definitely be the best at the party.

3. Don't load yourself up too much

Do you start thinking about a gift a few months before the birthday? In any gift that at first seems cool, you begin to see flaws after a couple of hours of thinking? Just relax. A friend's or family member's birthday is all about having fun. All gifts can't be perfect, especially since birthdays happen every year. Of course, you don’t have to forget about a gift or give the first thing you come across, but if something seems suitable for the birthday person, you don’t have to think for weeks about the pros and cons of such a gift and whether it will be needed in reality. Remember, the main goal is to have fun for everybody, including you.