Don't Underestimate A Gift Recipient's Ego

Warning! It’s going to take a little while to get to the point but the journey might be worth the destination so hang on tight while I tell you about how I arrived at the conclusion that all of us have big egos that need to be satisfied!

It’s time to find that special holiday gift for that special friend and you are fresh out of holiday gift giving ideas! Well, why not make the old new again with a personalized gift? A personalized gift continues to be one of the most appreciated gifts anyone can receive! The selection can be amazing and the shopping can be almost – and I stress almost – fun! Of course, that is if you lead a quite boring life of desperation…. but that is another story!

Once, while shopping for Christmas gift ideas at the holidays (much like the frustration of shopping for birthday gift ideas only with cheery holiday music), I wandered innocently by one of those mall kiosks where personalized items were the order of the day. Mind you: I tend to avoid these kiosks… I am not sure why, I just feel like I am grazing and feel like I should yell out MOOO! Besides, the constant circling around and around tends to make be dizzy. But I stopped out of sheer panic at the lack of gift ideas I had that year.

At this mini-store/shop on wheels, customers usually browse a case of silver and gold items, silver-plated treasures, a few cufflinks (do people really use those after they are married?) and more. Once you have filled your eyes with these items, it is time to empty your pocketbooks! Pick the item from an array of about two hundred items and hand tailor the item to the recipient with anything from a catchy phrase to a name or anniversary date. The afternoon looked promising. I resolved to finish my gift-giving in one short visit! I eyed the cufflinks longingly… if only someone I knew wore something other than a tee-shirt…

The truth of the matter is, though, the cases were filled with all sorts of treasures! I picked out a beer koozy (my kind of friends!), a few key chains (most own cars – most whose licenses have not been suspended anyway), a silver pen, a black pen (my friends usually write in crayon so this might add that sorely needed touch of class), a set of chopsticks (for my Chinese take-out friend) and a few hinged jewelry boxes and desktop valets (for people who I don’t know but will be intimate with by the holiday gift giving season).

I waited patiently as the twenty five or so customers ahead of me eagerly waited in line tapping their feet to the sounds of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Once reaching the head of the line, the clerk immediately asked me where my pick-up ticket was. I was puzzled... it was time to take by order bucco, not pick it up... perhaps he felt a little dizzy too. After all, it was an entire week before Christmas… plenty of time to make my personalized purchases. With the air of superiority that only one with power can execute effectively (and I use execute for a reason), the clerk then explained to me that the line was for pick-ups and any orders would not be in until January 15th at the earliest! My holiday spirits sagged despite the music and the Peppermint Starbucks I stopped to sip on. The clerk looked over the counter with a small smirk and said “We are swamped! Never underestimate the egos of people who want their names on things. Come back next year.” I suddenly felt how the Holy Family must have felt when told there was no room at the inn… but at least they had a plan B… a warm cozy stable complete with gifts from three wise men who shopped early. And the little drummer boy supplied that upbeat music...

Rejected, I headed to Wal-Mart to lick my wounds. I couldn’t help but laugh at what the clerk said… never underestimate our egos… our need to be identified and our desire to have our name on things that we probably would not keep if it wasn’t tagged with our precious identity. My mind wandered to the years I spent with a book bag I had long outgrown but kept because it had my name on it. I remember the hunt through the barrettes only to realize I could never find my name and came to the conclusion that all expectant mothers should be forced to name their kids after names on barrettes only. I also remembered the time Mom was running late and gave me a grocery store angel food cake with no name on it… there was hell to pay that year! There was the time at my high school graduation that I received three personalized Cross pens and, although I seldom write with any of them, continue to treasure them to this day… in other words… Never under estimate a gift recipient’s ego! Its all in a name... name the price... its a personal thing... write on... okay, I am getting a little dizzy again!

And now, while I often wait too long, I head to my computer (my own little kiosk) and order personalized gifts for friends I know up close and personal. I order mugs, pens, valets, trinket boxes, portfolios and more… if it can be etched, engraved, foil stamped or debossed, I am all over it like a cheap suit (with a personalized monogrammed dress shirt of course!). And, while waiting too long at the holidays for ordering personalized items is a disaster, personalized gift giving has never gone out of style. Why? I guess our fragile egos just need the stroking a $10.00 pen with a $15.00 engraved name gives us! But of course, I exaggerate! Get up close and personalized! Your recipient is sure to be excited… besides… no re-gifting is possible and that satisfies my ego!

Merry Christmas Gift Giving!