What is a universally appreciated gift for a women

amother

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 10:59 am

I am looking to buy a small gift for sukkos for one of my children's morah and for a neighbor who helped me a lot with carpooling.
looking to spend around $20-40 (max 50 if something amazing) for each

I don't know either of them very well so I have no idea what they would appreciate.

chocolate-maybe they're on a diet
amazon gift card-maybe they dont have internet
flowrs-maybe theyre allergic or dont appreciate them
a book/cookbook-maybe they dont read or like cooking
household item-maybe its just clutter for them

Help!

amother

Sienna

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:05 am

amother Peony wrote:

A brand name body lotion.

Definitely not a universally appreciate gift. I would have no need for that and dump it.

amother

Watermelon

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:05 am

See, that's why I don't bother with gifts. It's too hard and too much of a hassle. I'm a firm believer that gift cards were created just for me Smile

.

Maybe thee carpool helping neighbor would appreciate a simple Danish and iced coffee?

singleagain ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:05 am

There is no such thing as a universal gift. A gift by its very nature is tailored to the person who is receiving it. As you said. No point in giving chocolate to someone who won't eat it or won't enjoy it. No plain in getting flowers to someone who might be allergic.

Since you said this is a thank you for carpooling what about looking into car accessories? You know they have some really cute things like trash cans or over the seat back organizers like with pockets for games and things for kids. Maybe some sort of you know fancy snow protector or sun protector for the summer. Or maybe even just a gift certificate to a car wash. I know I like to get my car washed but I think it's kind of a very frivolous thing to spend money on. So that would be a really nice gift if someone ever wanted to give me a gift.

amother

Moccasin

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:10 am

amother Peony wrote:

A brand name body lotion.

Please NO
For me-I would post a smile on my face and give it to my cleaning lady (who would probably not want it either -and if she works it to my house I would be upset about the smell 🤣)

amother

Anemone ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:13 am

There is no such thing as a universally appreciated gift. This is why when it's someone close to you, you put in the effort to know what they like and don't like, and when it's someone you don't know well, you go with something that a lot of people tend to like. It's still not a guarantee for a specific person, but at least your odds are good, and if this specific person doesn't like what you got them, it's relatively easy to pass along, so at least you helped them avoid the hassle of getting a gift for someone THEY were looking to gift 😀

amother

Steel

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:15 am

amother Moccasin wrote:

Please NO
For me-I would post a smile on my face and give it to my cleaning lady (who would probably not want it either -and if she works it to my house I would be upset about the smell 🤣)

not all body lotions have a scent.

Ruchel

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:17 am

amother Watermelon wrote:

See, that's why I don't bother with gifts. It's too hard and too much of a hassle. I'm a firm believer that gift cards were created just for me Smile

.

Maybe thee carpool helping neighbor would appreciate a simple Danish and iced coffee?

not coffee

up high ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:18 am

What I did:
I texted the teachers and said that I have several gift ideas but want to give them something they would appreciate most.

For yom tov I gave the following options, and this is what they responded:
I mentioned: napkin rings, napkin holder, set plastic paper-goods (fancy set plates), and more. I also sent Amazon photos of those options.
One chose the paper goods, another one napkin rings.
It costed between $20-40, and they were excited for it.
I think it's a great idea.

↑ up high

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:22 am

amother White wrote:

And I hate gift cards never get around to using them Hiding

I had bad experiences with gift cards. Got lost or expired, had to add money to purchase something decent...
I don't like to give cash, as they forget whom it's from and use it for random stuff, not a gift from you...

amother

Steelblue

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:22 am

There's no gift universally appreciated. I don't like flowers, lotion, household decor... Some don't like chocolate. The only exception would be money but don't know if that's appropriate especially $40 or less. Or like someone else mentioned visa gift card. You might have to accept a chance of her not appreciating it and just choose something that most people would appreciate like chocolate. She can give it to her family if she doesn't want it.

amother

↑ Anemone

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:22 am

Ruchel wrote:

not coffee

I hate coffee. Obviously I don't say that when someone who doesn't know me well enough to know that gets me a coffee. I just say thank you and give it to a coworker or dh. But again, if you're looking for universal, coffee doesn't fit the bill either! People like me aren't THAT unusual lol. It's a risk. Hopefully whatever you get, the recipient is tactful enough to say thanks for thinking of me. This is exactly the situation where "it's the thought that counts" means exactly that (in situations where you SHOULD know better, "it's the thought that counts" means something different).

amother

Caramel ↓

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:25 am

Not gift cards for manicures! I have a bunch of those laying around and it's been years since I've gotten my nails done. Sometimes I have time to take my preteen who enjoys such things before Yom Tov but usually I'm too busy making Yom Tov to do so and she's not allowed to wear nail polish to school so it doesn't make sense to take her any other days.

amother

cornflower

Tue, Oct 08 2024, 11:27 am

If flowers and chocolate don't qualify nothing will

ETA why the hugs?? Please respond I genuinely don't understand what this is about