People vouch for giving these practical but thoughtful gifts that solve 'small daily annoyances'
These presents show "awareness, not effort or spending power"
People say these thoughtful gifts can help solve "small daily annoyances."
When brainstorming gifts for a fellow adult, you may find yourself stumped for multiple reasons. Does your friend really need that joke T-shirt you found at Goodwill? Does this $20 restaurant gift card feel too impersonal? Even though your first instinct may steer you toward the fun, the best path forward might just be the practical.
Someone online suggested looking into presents that "remove small daily annoyances." "I’m talking about small everyday upgrades," they wrote in a since-deleted comment launching a thread. "Things like replacing a worn phone charger people keep using, adding something simple to organize keys or earbuds, using a reusable tote for frequent shopping…" They added that these kinds of gestures show "awareness, not effort or spending power."
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Gifts from "someone who remembers and notices you and your habits"
It sparked an intriguing discussion about the entire nature of gift-gifting—as many people noted, a present has to be a winner if it helps you solve a problem. As one Redditor wrote, "Looking through these, it seems more like the best gifts are from someone who remembers and notices you and your habits. And having someone like that in your life in and of itself is worth more than any gift."
Here are some of the top replies:
"I just bought a jumbo 40 x 80 bath towel for my friend that is 6’7”. I think he’s gonna love it.
"I once got my mom a full set of soft-close adapters for her kitchen cabinets since she tended to let them slam as she was bustling around the kitchen. My dad said it was the best gift he ever got. :)"
"My bestie gave me a 10 pack of emergency foil blankets because I'm in the mountains so much. I laughed myself silly wondering how I would ever use all those. A year later I take wilderness first aid. I now have two foil blankets in every first aid kit I own, three in the car, and a few backups."
"Before my dad died he had a birthday and got the typical socks, ties, etc. I had noticed he was using a saucepan to heat up water for his daily tea, and the handle was breaking off. He also would constantly look for a clock but he didn't have one anywhere handy…I was broke but had $20 or so to go to Walmart and get a new kettle and a cheap basic wall clock. He was ecstatic! My siblings couldn't understand why his reaction was so big when the clothing they got cost more. One of my best memories of him."
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"I still smile at that memory years later."
"Either our first or second Christmas together, my partner gifted me a hair towel. I had very long wavy hair that I had been plopping in tshirts to dry. He found me a hair towel that wraps easily and dries so much better. I think it's the most used gift I've ever received. Finally I killed it from overuse and I asked for another one for Christmas last year. It was so sweet that he noticed the need and found a way to help even though hair care is not something that immediately occurs to him as a concept."
"Friends went out of town in November last year and had me water their plants. Allowed me to scrutinize their apartment in a nosier way and notice how old and busted their toaster oven was! Got them a new one the following month for Christmas and my friend was shocked. She kept saying it was so thoughtful and they had been meaning to get a new one, and I was like yeah girl because that thing was ancient! One of my proudest gifting moments as she opened it because I knew I nailed it."
"I've gotten into collecting nail polish and I have a box overflowing with them now. My MIL gifted me a set of display shelves for them and honestly it was both so thoughtful and so useful it might be the best gift I've gotten all year."
"My Nana was struggling to be able to see her crosswords in her final years. I decided to get her a magnifying glass, then found an even better one with a light. She was sooo happy!! Told me it was the most thoughtful gift she had ever received. I still smile at that memory years later."
The idea of practical gift-giving went viral back in 2023, after someone posted a TikTok video about this very subject. The woman offered a "reminder" that parents shouldn’t tell their teenage or adult kids what constitutes an actual gift, saying that requests like grocery/gas money are perfectly valid.
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