Everyone looks forward to presents on Christmas. It’s one of the best traditions of the season. But what makes a gift truly special? Something that is personal, or something that only you and that individual would understand, like an inside joke, makes a gift more special or unique.

“I think the most out of pocket gift I ever got was when my sister gave me an onion for Christmas because of an inside joke we had about onions at the time. In others eyes it may seem weird, but to us it was so funny,” said junior Biruktyet Dereje. 

Special or unique gifts are a fun way to tell someone that you appreciate them. It’s something from the heart that the other person can appreciate. While everyone appreciates a unique gift, there are also simple options. 

“Fragrances are such a simple gift, and are bought a lot for others, but it can mean so much when it’s a scent that the person would love,” said Dereje.

While gifts are not part of everyone’s traditional Christmas festivities, it is still something to look forward to in American culture. People start shopping for Christmas as early as late October, taking advantage of pre-Black Friday sales that run throughout the month of November, Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales after Thanksgiving, and early Christmas sales in December.

No one is ever too old for stuffed animals or kid themed gifts, like Disney characters or giraffe slippers. You could easily find animal themed gifts for someone who loves dogs or cats, or any animal. But if you are looking for a more useful gift, a box of family recipes is a very heartfelt gift. You could also get someone’s favorite foods in bulk for them. 

Recent popularity of the TikTok “Burr Baskets”, which are winter themed or Christmas themed gift baskets, are a great way to give someone a bunch of their favorite things for Christmas in an aesthetically pleasing and cute way. You could put hot chocolate mix, sugar cookies, winter themed mugs, skincare, makeup, and many other winter themed products in the baskets. You could also go the homemade route, making homemade cookies, or candles, or crochet stuffed animals. These are all amazing Christmas gifts for someone. 

“If you really care and want to make someone feel special, you should want to put in the effort to make them feel different in a good way. Unique gifts make you feel more special in a way,” said senior Alyssa Martinez.