The Gift Exchange

Question:
Peter Matcheck Says
July 20th, 2008 at 7:02 am
What’s a good gift to give my girlfriend if we’ve been dating less than three months?

Brandy - Customer Service Representative
Answer:
Girls like to be thought of. We like to know that you cared enough to send something to us out of the blue. I think flowers are great. If you send a pretty bouquet to her work she will be over the moon excited. It’s fun to get flowers at work so you can show off how much your boyfriend loves you. If flowers aren’t her thing, maybe send a little snack basket or a basket of chocolates. Anything that lets her know that you thought of her is going to make her a happy girl.

Question:
Elizabeth M. Says:
July 21st, 2008 at 2:02 am
I have mixed feelings about enclosing a gift receipt with gifts. I feel like it’s an invitation to the recipient to return the item and the thought of them doing that sort of hurts my feelings when I specifically shopped off of their list. Do you have any advice about this?

Sandy - Customer Service Representative
Answer:
This is a tough one. My suggestion is to always include the gift receipt whenever giving a gift for a wedding. I have experienced getting multiples of one gift because something wasn’t taken of the registry properly.

Netta - Business Development Assistant
Answer:
I think that giving a gift to someone is about making that other person feel appreciated. If the person you are giving the gift to doesn’t get enjoyment from gift you’ve given them, then the point of giving the gift would be lost. So if a person needs to take a gift back, whether it was on their list or not, to get something that they really want I would try not to be hurt but to be happy that you help them get something that they did want.

Question:
Carol Drury Says:
July 20th, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Do you have to buy a gift off the gift registry, or can you get something unique and special, and one of a kind.

Sandy - Customer Service Representative
Answer:
Though I loved all of my gifts, I would have to say that my favorite ones are actually ones that reminded people of my husband and me. Couples will have a lifetime of buying practical things throughout their lives (which is usually what is registered for) so switch it up, and give them something truly memorable!

Question:
Beth Shepherd Says:
July 17th, 2008 at 6:15 am
Is it appropriate to give a gift for the birthday child and their siblings so they don’t get left out?

Sandy - Customer Service Representative
Answer:
This is always appropriate to do for a sibling (especially a younger sibling). Though, you’ll want to make sure that the gift for the Birthday boy of girl is more flashy and exciting in some way. One suggestion to achieve this would be to add a balloon to the present of the birthday child.

Netta - Business Development Assistant
Answer:
My mom always did this for my sister and I when we had birthdays. The Birthday girl would always have more gifts of course, but she would always make sure we got a little something. Some might say it’s a little excessive, and not necessary, but I have some great memories of birthdays, mine or not!

Question:
Jennifer Says:
July 16th, 2008 at 3:26 pm
How do you address the gift card when you’re sending a gift to someone who has had a baby and you don’t know how to spell the baby’s name?

Brandy - Customer Service Representative
Answer:
People want their baby to have a unique name, and a lot of times it is a unique spelling for a traditional name. It can be embarrassing if you misspell a name so what I suggest addressing the gift to the whole family. For Example, address it “To John and Sue Smith and Family”. When you get to the card message, I don’t think it’s absolutely necessary to say the baby’s name. Maybe just put “To John and Sue, Congratulations on your new baby girl! I can’t wait to meet her! Love, Bob”. But don’t be too upset if you find out you did spell it incorrectly. I’ve seen my name spelled a hundred different ways and it doesn’t bother me when someone spells my name incorrectly.

Katherine - Gift Services
Answer:
“Congratulations on your new addition to the family.”

Question:
Carrie Says:
July 16th, 2008 at 3:22 pm

What would be an appropriate gift for a co-worker who’s had a death in their family and you think they will be overwhelmed with fruit and flowers?

Shawna - Director of Customer Service
Answer:
When I send bereavement gifts I try to send items that are shelf stable or non-perishable. That way I am still giving them good stuff to eat without much preparation. Also engraved items are very thoughtful for these types of situations. I know a lot of people order the Amazing Grace Engravable Wind Chimes and have the deceased name etched into the chimes with their birth date or years. I think during situation as delicate as these even a card is always appreciated by the recipient.

Katherine - Gift Services
Answer:
Seeds of Life Oak Tree Kit

Question:
Vicky Boackle Says:
July 17th, 2008 at 5:09 am

Is it ever too late to send a thank you card?

Shawna - Director of Customer Service
Answer:
Absolutely not. A late thank you is better than no thank you at all. This goes for any occasion. Normally thank you notes should be sent within 3 months of the event or gift receipt. If you go beyond this still send the note, but don’t get into specifics about why or how they ended up late. Simply apologize for your tardiness and go on with the art of thanking.

Brandy - Customer Service Representative
Answer:
If you miss someone’s wedding just put on the card, “Happy 1 Month Wedding Anniversary”. Or if you miss someone’s birthday, put on the card “Happy 32nd and 2 week Birthday”. That way they know you acknowledged the day and it will be a gift that they weren’t expecting. With weddings, especially, they will receive gifts for long after their actual day. So don’t worry about how late you are. I really don’t think people put much too much thought into it.

And the winners are…Beth Shepard, Sharon Jones, Vicki Wurgler, Marie Noguerole, and Janet F. Congratulations to our winners and a big thank you to everyone who participated! We really enjoy reading your questions and we will be answering them in the Ask an Expert blog catorgory in the days and weeks to come, so keep an eye out.

GiftTree customers often look to our customer service representatives for gifting advice and card message suggestions. Our customers rely on our expertise and we take that trust seriously. We’d like to hear your questions so we can answer them here at The Gift Exchange in our Ask an Expert category and allow others to benefit as well. Do you want to know what price range is appropriate for a “thank you for the referral” gift? Do you wonder if a gift for your boss should be gender specific or more generic? Do you want to know what the best break up gift is? Trust me, we can answer all of these questions and more.

Submit a comment to this blog post with a gifting question and you’ll be entered to win. We’ll choose five random entries to win GiftTree t-shirts. Deadline is Midnight (PST), Tuesday, July 22nd, 2008.

For another chance to win, put a link to this contest or the GiftTree website (www.gifttree.com) on your blog, chat board, discussion group, forum, or appropriate website and you’ll receive another entry. Simply submit a comment to this blog post with the link information. You can submit additional entries for each website that you post a link on. Please be certain that posting this link to a public forum or other site does not violate any rules of the site.

The winners will be emailed and congratulated in a blog post on The Gift Exchange. Thanks for playing!

The Gift Exchange’s “Name That Gift” contest has finished and our winner has been randomly chosen. Congratulations to Tamara Litke. She has won the New Yorker gift basket.

Thank you to everyone who played and a special thanks to everyone that left nice comments about our gift baskets. We think we have beautiful gifts and it is great to see that you agree!