At Home with Tech

When I was a child, I learned conflicting gifting skills from my parents. Here’s how I’ve tried to modify their methods to become more effective in how I shop today.

While I was growing up, I watched my mother shop for presents with an intensity that demonstrated long hours and an incredible commitment to find the perfect gift at the best price. Her process inevitably generated great results, but it must have been exhausting for her.

My father’s shopping style couldn’t have been more opposite. He picked up his gifts with a seemingly effortless flair. He’d walk into a store and pick up an item in what seemed like seconds. It was glorious to watch him in action. And they often seemed to be nifty presents… but not always.

As a kid who occasionally accompanied my parents while they shopped, I preferred my father’s methodology. But I saw my dad’s shopping success through the eyes of a child. You can’t just magically wait till the last minute, and waltz into a store to get exactly what you want. Or can you?

My mom never had the opportunity to apply her analog hunting and gathering strategies to online shopping. I think she would have enjoyed the opportunity to endlessly compare prices and sales. But as we all know, all that data can create a crippling shopping cycle where you never get to the finish line.

I am a product of both these shopping styles, and I carry the inherent burdens of both.

Fact Vs. Fiction
As you might expect, shopping during holiday seasons has been complex for me across the decades. I’ve instinctively applied certain shopping ideals that are usually impossible to follow.

• Decide on the perfect gift
• Perform exhaustive online research
• But do it quickly
• Find it on sale at the best price
• Expect it to show up the next day at no extra cost if ordered online

Here’s a more realistic version.

• It’s hard to find the perfect gift, unless you’re shopping for a requested item
• Spotting the best price is also challenging, because discounts occur all year long
• Taking tons of time to browse for gifts doesn’t always result in finding the right present
• However, minimal effort is also a mediocre strategy
• Shipping delays happen

Less is More
We all know that holiday shopping is an artificial construct designed by the marketing machine to keep the economy humming. It’s stressful, because you’re always feeling pressure to quickly make purchasing decisions with a deadline looming.

Giving and receiving is supposed to be fun. How can we reduce all the related frenzy and find more of the joy this season is constructed to be?

Well, spending less time shopping is probably a good start. Browsing for random deals is a huge time suck. You’ve really got to know what you’re looking for.

At Home with Existing Tech?
And if that special person asks you what you might want for a gift, and you’re not craving anything, that’s okay. (That doesn’t mean you’re ‘ungiftable.’)

For me, I think it’s been something of a slow year when it comes to wanting the latest and greatest tech. Still, I must admit, there are a few items out there
I wouldn’t mind receiving. For example…

• A Self-Directed Drone for Swooping Cinematic Shots
  The DJI Neo is a tiny, automated drone that that you don’t have to fly yourself. It doesn’t need a controller and will simply circle its human subject using pre-programmed flight plans to record awesome 4K cinematic shots. The Neo takes off from your hand and then does the rest on its own. It’s like hiring your own drone crew to capture the ending of your personal movie… all for only $199. That’s a great price point. ($289 will get you 3 batteries and a charging hub.)

But I digress…

Less Browsing, More Planning
Like it or not, we’re all probably doing some holiday shopping. Just don’t overdo the browsing part. Focus more on the planning and deciding parts.

If you have a plan that takes some effort, it’s okay to go for it.

I’ll never forget the great gift I received when I was seven years old. My mother bought me my first audio cassette recorder that she couldn’t afford using promotional stamps.

She saw my interest and found a way to fuel it. Her gifting me that communications tool was a seminal moment in my timeline. Without it, my later life in professional video production may not have evolved. (Yes, if you wanted to time travel to change my life, I think that’s a clear juncture point.)

The Perfect Gift
This little tape recorder was the best present my mom ever gave me. And she spent months working on it. But doesn’t her process seemingly break the rules of moderation I’m now trying to follow as an adult?

Let’s review her strategy:

• My mom had a plan
• She spent a lot of time on it, but she didn’t waste any time shopping
• And she effectively received a 100% discount on the purchase

It was, in fact, the perfect shopping execution for the best gift I ever received.

There’s Always a Sale
Again, the lesson here is to have a strong intention before you begin any shopping. (I’m trying really hard these days to follow this wisdom.)

Don’t be distracted by the hundreds of items on sale. It’s not about the sale. That can lead you down the wrong path and hours of wasted time.

First commit the time to consider what the person might like. Once you’ve completed that step, the rest will follow.

Then, go find your sale. It’ll be there waiting for you.

Because that’s how the system works.