About Ashleigh McKenna
After first subscribing to sweetspot.ca to get to know her new city, Ashleigh McKenna now gets to help find the sweet stuff worth sharing as Editor and General Manager. Go behind the scenes from favourite manicure spots to product sneak peeks and more.
What’s the best gift you’ve ever received?
OK, trick question. I bet the answer changes all the time and has lots of different options depending on the time and context (or am I the only indecisive one in the crowd?).
I had a birthday this week and was lucky enough to receive some really thoughtful gifts, ranging from small tokens to bigger items and all stood out for being so sweet.
Clothing is a risky one if you don’t know the person well (
accessories make it a little easier by removing size in most cases, but you still need to know someone’s personal tastes). My mother sent me
cropped cobalt blue jeans because she knew I would find them fun for the summer, knew my size and knew I probably wouldn’t treat myself. All in all, a great gift (for me). (Don’t miss our
sin vs. sweet on three other pairs.)
The other trick with clothing gifts is to pay attention. If there is something you know a friend is looking at, trying to find, or debating buying for themselves, you can always swoop in and make it easy for them (I heard a great story last night at
Tips Nail Bar about a husband who knew his wife was trying to find
Joe Fresh Fuchsia lipstick and surprised her by keeping his eye out and knowing to grab it when he saw it).
Beauty products are an easy treat that most people love. Try a
pretty new polish colour (you can even attach a gift certificate for a manicure), a special palette to play with, or great bath salts (with a
custom diy candle?) if you know that’s how they like to relax.
I’ve never had a
movie gift certificate go to waste and also love giving
DVD sets of a TV series I think someone would like (and maybe some popcorn to go with). I also love notebooks,
paper products, sticky notes and other stationery stuff, and know friends who feel the same (but others who are so attached to their smartphones that a notebook might almost be foreign – so again, it’s all about audience).
Really, a little thought and you can do no wrong (just be sure to grab a gift receipt).
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