How To Buy For Tricky Parents: The Gift Guide

We should know our parents better than we know any one else in the world, but when it comes to moment when we have to buy a gift for them, we can suddenly feel like we don’t know them at all. This isn’t helped when they say “I don’t want anything,” or “Don’t get me [insert the gift you had planned on getting]” – why they often do.

So what is the trick when it comes to buying for tricky parents? Here is a gift guide that should just help:

A subscription to their favourite magazine

Magazine subscriptions really are the gift that keeps on giving – right through the year in fact. Choose a magazine you know they will love – perhaps a home and garden or fashion title for you mum and then a sport or music title for your dad.

This is a gift that you can guarantee they don’t have and it will give them the opportunity to put their feet up each week or month, when it lands on the doorstep.

A personalised gift

Personalised gifts are perfect because they are both personal to the recipient and unique. How about personalised jewellery for your mum? This doesn’t have to be a necklace with ‘Mum’ on it – it could be a dainty necklace, bracelet or ring with her birthstone in. Or, for a mum that loves a glass of wine, how about a glass with either her name or one that relates to her hobbies. For dad this could be an item for his favourite sport emblazoned with his name, or a t-shirt with an appropriate slogan.

A sweet treat

Does your mum and/or dad have a sweet tooth? Then you can’t go wrong with a sweet treat. But, forget the box of chocolates and take them out for an afternoon tea. This Champagne Chocoholics Afternoon Tea at The Hilton Park Lane is ideal for those that love the sweeter things in life. Or why not make a day of it and get them an experience that includes an afternoon tea, such as a trip to Highclere Castle – the home of Downton Abbey – or a tour of the Globe Theatre?

Your time

All your parents really want is your time, so plan a fun way to spend time together. This could be a day relaxing and pampering yourself at a spa with your mum or the opportunity for you and your dad to become zookeepers for the day. The memories you make together will last well beyond the day.

An experience

Take them out of their comfort zone and enable them to do something they have never done before. This could be a hot air balloon flight, the opportunity to drive a supercar or skydiving. These aren’t cheap though so you may want to drop a few hints to make sure they would be interested in such an adventure.

A gift card

A gift card may seem like the easy way out – but if you get it for their favourite shop it will show you have put thought in it. And this way they can choose exactly what they want, and not take back the gift you spent hours trying to choose.

See, gift buying for your parents isn’t as tricky as you first thought. Panic over.

Tags: gifts, parents

Category: Deals