Ní haon rún é go bhfuil an Nollaig ag forbairt ina feachtas ollmhór margaíochta, neartú le gach bliain a rith. Spreagtar scaoll tomhaltóirí uilíoch trí dhíolacháin dheireadh na bliana agus ‘Black Friday’ ag bagairt mura gceannaímid anois, go gcaillfimid amach go deo. Na feachtais Nollag seo, cliché mar atá sé déanann an próiseas um thabhairt bronntanais neamhphearsanta nuair ba chóir dó sinn a shlógadh chun meas, buíochas agus grá a chur in iúl. Chun a thaispeáint do na daoine i do shaol a bhfuil fíor-chúram ort, bí cruthaitheach; riail mhaith chun a chinntiú go bhfuil indibhidiúlacht ag do bhronntanas ná nach mbeadh sé éasca an bronntanas a thabhairt arís. Bí pearsanta, smaoinigh ar cé hiad féin, cad is maith leo, cuimhní cinn atá agat le chéile, cleaseanna go roinneann sibh ná ceap go bhfuil pearsantú bronntanais teoranta do rudaí gan úsáid atá eitseáilte lena n-inisealacha, lena n-ainm nó lena gcomharthaí réalta. Chun an bronntanas foirfe a thabhairt ní mór duit a fhoghlaim conas intinn na ndaoine a léamh, go ginearálta ní thugann daoine léiriú soiléir ar cad ba mhaith leo i ndáiríre. Tá an próiseas chun intinn na ndaoine a léamh níos éasca ná mar a shílfeá. Nuair a fhoghlaimíonn tú conas freagraí doiléir a aistriú is féidir leat ansin an ghné phearsanta sin a chur i bhfeidhm ar cibé rud atá siad á lorg i ndáiríre.
1. Don duine “nach dteastaíonn faic”
Is é an rud dearfach leis an bhfreagra seo ná go bhfuil siad sásta go héasca, ach toisc nach bhfuil duine ag iarraidh rud ar bith ní chiallaíonn sé sin nach bhfuil rud éigin a theastaíonn uathu. Le déanaí an bhfuil rud éigin a leanann siad á lua? Nó b’fhéidir gur thug tú faoi deara go bhfuil rud éigin in easnamh orthu, nó rud éigin eile a theastaíonn uathu.
Roinnt smaointe:
-Éadaí
-Bróga
-Fo-éadaí
-Chumhrán
– Cluasáin / cás gutháin
– Mála droma/ sparán
– Pitseámaí
Cé nach cosúil leo seo na bronntanais is spreagúla, is rudaí iad na hearraí seo nach gceannaíonn daoine dóibh féin de ghnáth mar sin is iontas iontach é iad a fháil don Nollaig agus sábhálann sé ar an nglacadóir fanacht ar a gcuid fo-éadaí nó bróga titim as a chéile sula cúram siad a chur in ionad iad.
2. Don duine “nach bhfuil rud ar bith ag teastáil uaidh”
D’iarr tú cad ba mhaith leo, d’fhiafraigh tú an dteastaíonn aon rud uathu, ní thugann siad freagra ar bith. Anois cad a dhéanann tú? Smaoinigh an bhfuil caitheamh aimsire nó suim nua acu? B’fhéidir a gcuid caitheamh aimsire cibé acu nua nó leas leanúnach, éilíonn siad ábhair a bhíonn de dhíth orthu i gcónaí nó a bhféadfadh siad úsáid bhreise a bhaint astu.
Mar shampla:
– Feisteáin ghrúdaireachta do na ‘connoisseurs’ caife agus beoir.
– Feisteáin agus uirlisí cócaireachta nó bácála agus comhábhair. (Rud is breá liom a dhéanamh do bháicéirí ná prócaí a chruthú lán de na comhábhair thirim don oideas agus é a chur i láthair gléasta suas le bogha)
– Vinile, leabhair, nó soláthairtí ealaíne´.
– Scannán le haghaidh a ceamara
-Fearas cúram craicinn nó smidiú
– Éadaí spóirt
Éilíonn gach Caitheamh aimsire fearas éigin, Is minic nach mbíonn aon bhac orainn muid féin a athstocáil i rith na bliana. Ina theannta sin, is roghanna sábháilte iad na bronntanais seo fiú mura gcuireann sé mórán sceitimíní ar an nglacadóir (ach táim cinnte go ndéanfaidh sé) is féidir leat a bheith muiníneach go n-úsáidfear an bronntanas beag beann ar.
3. Don duine “Níl a fhios aige”
Is dócha nach bhfuil aon fhreagra a úsáidtear agus a bhfuiltear ag súil leis níos minice ná an freagra “níl a fhios agam”. Féidearthacht amháin é go bfhuil a fhios ag an duine seo go díreach cad atá uathu agus tá an iomarca eagla air ceist a chur ort, is é an rogha eile cé go bfhuil cúpla smaoineamh ar intinn aige ach ní féidir socrú ar cheann amháin. Tá sé in am na gunnaí móra a tharraingt amach mar is dócha nach furasta an duine seo a shásamh. Fiafraigh díot féin an bhfuil rud éigin ann a mbaineann tú taitneamh as agus a cheapann tú go mbainfeadh siad leas as?
Is iad na cinn a d’éirigh liom san am a chuaigh thart:
– Ballraíocht Spotify
– Síntiús Netflix
– Ballraíocht giomnáisiam
– Lampa salainn nó soilse stiúir
– Seinnteoir ceirníní nó ceamara polaroid
– Caifitéire agus muga taistil
Is iad na bronntanais seo na bronntanais a leanann ag tabhairt, faoin am seo an bhliain seo chugainn beidh a fhios acu go beacht cad atá uathu cibé an ballraíocht athnuaite, cadhnraí, dríodar caife nó scannán ceamara.
4. Don duine a bhfuil gach rud aige:
Sa chás seo seoltar bronntanais DIY ar neamh, bíonn sé de nós ag cairde agus tuismitheoirí go háirithe láthair bog speisialta a bheith acu dóibh.
– Déan cárta dóibh nó mura bhfuil tú ró-ealaíonta smaoinigh faoi litir a scríobh chucu.
– Bácáil, déan an ceann is fearr leo agus pacáiste go deas iad. Mura dtaitníonn rudaí milse leo, d’fhéadfá dinnéar a chócaráil ina n-ionad nó is smaoineamh maith é do thuismitheoirí nó do leannán bricfeasta a thabhairt leo sa leaba.
-Is suíomh Gréasáin iontach é Free-prints chun grianghraif a phriontáil, leabhar gearrthóg nó albam grianghraf a dhéanamh. Tá roghanna ar an suíomh Gréasáin freisin chun grianghraif a phriontáil ar rudaí cosúil le mugaí agus cúisíní.
– Tá na céadta ealaíontóirí neamhspleácha ag Etsy a dhéanann gach rud ó shaothar ealaíne go héadaí go seodra pearsantaithe.
– Más é an cineál ealaíne tú, bain úsáid as chun do bhuntáiste, cniotáil scairf, cróise teidí, nó cruthaigh saothar ealaíne.
– Ceann de na smaointe is fearr liom maidir le bronntanais a thabhairt ná bac nó stocáil a chruthú. Beidh an méid a chuimseoidh tú ag brath ar an duine ach is cuid de na rudaí is fearr liom a chur san áireamh, muga atá lán de mheascán seacláide te nó pónairí caife, stocaí cluthar, coinnle nó túis, seodra, stáiseanóireacht, sneaiceanna, go háirithe earraí bácáilte baile, agus fearas féin-cúraim. Beidh an glacadóir thar an ghealach agus a fhios aige gur roghnaíodh gach mír ar leith de láimh agus iad san áireamh.
Ní fhaigheann sé níos pearsanta ná bronntanas ‘DIY’ agus is féidir leat a bheith cinnte nach bhfaighidh aon duine eile an bronntanas céanna dóibh, is é an t-aon impleacht ná go gcaithfidh aithne mhaith a bheith agat ar an duine.
5. Don duine is cosúil go bhfaigheann tú an rud céanna gach bliain:
An bhfuil an cumhrán céanna faighte agat do do mham deich mbliana as a chéile anois? B’fhéidir go bhfaighidh tú ‘selection box’ i gcónaí agus go gcuirfeá ort do chuid fo-éadaí maithe do do leannán agus go measann tú gur shórtáil an Nollaig é. Seans go n-oibreoidh siad seo duitse, b’fhéidir gur traidisiún é anois a choinníonn an dá pháirtí sásta. Áfach, má bhraitheann tú go bhfuil an malartú ag éirí beagán sean, is dócha go bhfuil sé in am é a chroitheadh.
Smaoinigh ar eispéiris éagsúla:
– Cuir saoire in áirithe, smaoinigh ar áit éigin ar theastaigh uathu dul i gcónaí ach nach raibh deis acu riamh.
– Tóg chuig bialann, an phictiúrlann, an zú nó aonach spraoi iad, aon áit a bhfuil suim acu ann.
– Fanacht in óstán a shocrú, b’fhéidir suathaireacht a chur in áirithe dóibh.
-Ceannaigh ticéid ceolchoirme nó tabhair chuig seó iad.
– Cuir iontas orthu le ceachtanna tiomána, cócaireachta nó teanga
Tá an bronntanas fisiciúil neamhábhartha don chuid is mó, is é an rud atá fíorthábhachtach ná an rud a léiríonn an mhír. Tá sé coiriúil bronntanas a cheannach ar mhaithe le ceann a thabhairt. Is í draíocht an bhronntanais ná an spreagadh neamhlabhartha maidir le cén fáth ar thugamar an bronntanas roghnaithe don duine speisialta sin inár saol agus cad a léiríonn sé laistigh dár gcaidreamh. Tá praghas, méid agus cainníocht neamhshuntasach ar deireadh, ná bíodh straitéis mhargaíochta saoire na Nollag ag cur isteach ort. Déan machnamh ar cén fáth a bhfuil grá agat don duine sin agus cad is féidir leat a thabhairt dóibh chun an grá sin a chur in iúl.
Nollaig Shona duit!
As Bearla/ In English
Present inspiration for Christmas 2022
It is no secret that Christmas is developing into a massive marketing campaign, intensifying with each passing year. Universal consumer panic is fuelled by end of year sales and Black Friday threatening that if we don’t buy now, we will miss out forever. These Christmas campaigns, cliché as it is, makes the gift giving process impersonal when it should mobilise us to express appreciation, gratitude, and love. To show the people in your life you genuinely care, get creative, a good rule of thumb for ensuring that your gift has individuality is that it wouldn’t be easy to re-gift. Add that personal touch, think about who they are, what they like, memories you have together, inside jokes you share; don’t believe that personalizing a gift is limited to a useless trinket with their initials, name or star-sign etched onto it. To give the perfect gift you need to learn to mindread, generally people don’t give a clear indication of what they would truly like. The process of mindreading is easier than you may anticipate. When you learn to translate vague responses, you can then apply that personal touch to whatever it is they are truly looking for.
1. For the person who “Doesn’t want anything”
The positive with this response is that they are easily pleased, however just because someone doesn’t want anything doesn’t mean that there isn’t something they need. Recently has there been something they keep mentioning? Or maybe you’ve noticed that something that they could do with, something they are running low on or something they need replaced.
Ideas:
-Clothes
-Shoes
-Underwear
-Perfume/aftershave
-Earphones/headphones/phone case
-Backpack/wallet
-Pyjamas
While these don’t sound like the most exciting presents, these items are things that people generally don’t buy for themselves so receiving them for Christmas is a lovely surprise and prevents your loved ones from waiting for their underwear to start fraying or the soles of their shoes to start hanging off before they bother to replace them.
2. For the person who “Doesn’t need anything”
You’ve considered their wants, and they go on to claim that there is nothing they need, now what? Ponder if they have a new hobby or interest. Maybe their recreations whether newfound or long-lived, require materials that they are constantly in need of or could use extra.
For example:
-Brewing kits for the coffee and beer connoisseurs.
-Cooking or baking kits and utensils and ingredients. (Something I love to do for bakers is create jars filled with the dry ingredients for a recipe and present it dressed up with a bow)
– Vinyl’s, books, and art supplies
-Film for their camera
-Makeup or skincare products
-Gym gear for the gym bunny
Hobbies are materially demanding, often times we aren’t bothered to re-stock ourselves during the year. Furthermore, these presents are all safe choices as even if it doesn’t bring the receiver much excitement (which I’m sure it will) you can have confidence that the present will be used regardless.
3. For the person who “Doesn’t know”.
There is probably no response more frequently used and anticipated than that of “I don’t know”. This person either knows exactly what they want and is too afraid to ask, or has a few ideas in mind but can’t settle on one. It’s time to pull out the big guns as this individual is most likely not easy to please. Ask yourself is there something that you yourself enjoy that you think they’d benefit from?
Ones that have been successful for me in the past are:
-Spotify membership
-Netflix subscription
-Gym membership
-Salt lamp or LED lights
– Vinyl player or polaroid camera
-Cafetiere & travel mug
These gifts are the gifts that keep giving, by this time next year they’ll know exactly what they want whether that’s a renewed membership, batteries, coffee grounds or camera film.
4. For the person who has everything:
In this case DIY gifts are heaven-sent, what’s more friends and parents in particular tend to have a special soft spot for them.
– Make them a card or if you aren’t too artsy consider writing them a letter
-Bake, make their favourite treats and parcel them up nicely. If your loved ones don’t have a sweet tooth, you could always cook them dinner instead or a good idea for your parents or partner is to bring them breakfast in bed.
– Free-prints is a brilliant website for printing photos, make a scrapbook or a photo album. The website also has options to print photos onto objects like mugs and cushions.
-Etsy has hundreds of independent artists that make everything from artwork to clothes to personalised jewellery.
-If you are the artistic type, use it to your advantage, knit a scarf, crochet a teddy, or create an artwork.
– One of my personal favourite gift-giving ideas is creating a hamper or stocking. The contents will vary depending on the person but some of my favourite things to include are, a mug filled with hot chocolate mix or coffee beans, cosy socks, candles or incense, jewellery, stationary, snacks, especially homemade baked goods, and self -care items. Any small trinkets will send your loved one over the moon knowing that each individual item was handpicked with them in mind.
It doesn’t get more personal than a DIY gift and you can be sure that no one else will end up getting them the same present, the only implication is that you have to really know the receiver well.
5. For the person who you seem to get the same thing for every year:
Have you gotten your mom the same perfume ten years in a row now? Maybe you always get a selection box and put on your good underwear for your partner and consider that Christmas sorted. These might just work for you, perhaps it’s even become a tradition which keeps both parties pleased. However, if you do feel that the exchange is becoming a bit stale it’s probably time to shake it up.
Consider various experiences,
-Book a holiday, think of somewhere they’ve always wanted to go but have never had the chance.
– Bring them to a restaurant, the cinema, the zoo, or a funfair, whatever interests them the most.
-organise a hotel stay, maybe book them a massage.
-purchase concert tickets or bring them to a show.
-Surprise them with driving, cooking or language lessons.
The physical gift is for the most part irrelevant, what truly matters is what the item represents. Getting a gift for the sake of having one to give is criminal, the magic of gift giving is the unspoken motivation as to why we gave our chosen gift to that special person in our lives and what it represents within our relationship. Price, size, and quantity are ultimately insignificant, don’t fall for the holiday marketing strategies. Reflect on why you love that person and what you can give them to express that love.
Happy Christmas!
