Ok I have a slight dilemma this year. My family and I decided to do Secret Santa this year, which is totally great, but I don't know if I should keep the gift gender neutral or does this even matter? My thought process on this is that I buy something the person can use, but how do I know what they want when you can't ask them? Help?! What would you do?
Of course I would keep it gender neutral. I wouldn't want to receive some women's perfume, or women's jewelry for example, if I were in a secret santa gift exchange. If you know who you're buying for, why would you want to get them something that isn't gender appropriate for them? If it's a totally silent gift exchange where you're just bringing a gift and people are drawing numbers, then you definitely want something with a broader appeal. Another good thing about the gift being gender neutral is that if the person who gets it doesn't really have a need for it, then they can at least have more options when it comes to them possibly re-gifting it. I'm personally fine if someone re-gifts something I bought them - at least it saves them some money down the road when they have to get a gift for someone else. I don't take it personally. Just a few thoughts that came to mind: something like a battery backup charger for cell phones would be useful for most people - since almost everyone has smartphones these days. Especially when you're traveling and your phone is running out of power. One year I got a small cordless hand vacuum, which really came in handy to sweep out my car. A wireless bluetooth speaker comes in handy too when you're hanging out with friends, and want to play some music. When my friends and I go camping or have a picnic at the park we like to bring one along. Or even when we're sitting out in their backyard, and want some music.
@ohiotom76 Thank you for your reply. I do know the gender of the person I got for Secret Santa, however, your suggestion of keeping gender neutral makes sense. I have no issues with someone re-gifting an item I gave them also, I do it frequently. Thank you for the great ideas.
Yes, if it is truly a secret gift exchange and you don't know who you will be getting, Gender netural is the only way to go. There are certainly gifts that would be appreciated by both sexes...like fast food gift cards for instance. These are all things that could be enjoyed by anyone so it should be one of the items to consider maybe. We did that xmas gift exchange once...I like when you can swap gifts like a white elecphant that is fun.
We had that in the office and the revelation was last Friday (quite early). The gift I was aiming to give one for male because it is easier to buy a gift for the male. However, that keeps me thinking because even if the female are outnumbered by the males in our department, it is not safe to assume. So what I did was to buy a cute t-shirt with elegant design that is unisex. And guess what who got it? A female.
I think it's better to keep it gender neutral since it's a secret santa exchange gift after all, you wouldn't want the wrong gift given to a specific gender, right?
Unless everyone is the same sex then gender neutral is the way for sure. Anything having to do with electronic accessories is nice. You can't go wrong if the color is something neutral like black,white,or gray. I'm thinking of something like headphones, Bluetooth headset, those pen things you use for touch screen phones and tablets. I hope you have fun shopping.
