Christmas has been the same for me pretty much every year of my life. My mum asks me what game or console is coming out, and then Santa gets it for me. Easy. Done. Sorted. The Christmases I’ve been in relationships have followed a similar pattern. Sure, there’s the odd little present on top – some aftershave, a wallet, the lovely pink shirt I’m wearing right now as I type this – but generally, I’m an easy buy.
I know this takes a lot of the mystery and excitement out of giving and receiving gifts, but we’ve all heard the stories of someone getting an Xbox game for their PlayStation or vice versa. I was always asked what I wanted and what system it came on, so I ended up learning how to give gifts the same way I received them. But, that’s not very considerate or romantic so I’m trying my best to learn and grow and be better at this gift-giving malarky. So, dear reader, I ask you: how the fuck do I figure out what to buy people?
There are too many things out there. There are countless unique gifts to look through and then each of them has different variations and retailers, too. When buying someone a game, all you need to know is what platform they play on and what they already have – after that you’re in the clear. How do you even begin to narrow down every other thing on the planet to decide what to get your loved ones?
There’s stuff out there I don’t even know exists. My mum got me a chili growing kit. I love it, but I’ve never expressed interest in growing chilies in my life – how on Earth did she think of it or find it? Games are marketed specifically to be holiday gifts. They do all of the work for you. The best thing is, no gamer is going to be annoyed they got the same triple-A title all their friends got. ‘You got FIFA as well, yeah? Go on then let’s have a match – but no picking PSG.’ The only upset here is that they’ll definitely use PSG anyway.
As you can probably tell, I am absolutely terrible at buying gifts. Unless someone tells me, in no uncertain terms, “I like and want that thing over there,” I will resort to last-minute Googling and asking their friends if they’ve mentioned anything specific. I don’t know how the rest of you seem to keep track of people’s interests and hobbies to buy presents they love all year round. What am I supposed to do? Jot down what people talk about in a notebook so I can refer back to it later? Sounds a bit creepy if you ask me. That’s why I’m asking you.
Buying gifts for gamers is easy – just buy us games. Duh. The rest of you? Much more tricky. Maybe I should ask for a guide on how to get better gifts. Better yet, someone at TheGamer could write that guide and make it freely available to all gamers who, like me, have no idea what to buy for anyone else.
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