Gifting Guru

Regular contributor Gareth Kelly put together this year’s Gift Guide, so we asked him about his own holiday buying habits.

What’s your shopping routine like? Do you plan ahead? Scramble at the last minute? Have favorite stores or look around?  My holiday shopping routine is very last-minute, but I usually have an idea of what I need to get and from where. As I’m from the U.K. and most of my family lives over there, we have to mail our gifts weeks in advance. My father-in-law loves a basket of food items, my mother-in-law loves anything cute and cuddly, and my wife loves all things green and plant-like. Of course, we mustn’t forget ourselves, so I usually take myself to Costco or Best Buy to look at the biggest TV I shouldn’t buy!

What’s a particularly memorable gift you’ve received in recent years?  Last year, my mum sent me a soccer program from the 1950s featuring my grandfather, who was a professional soccer player. It meant the world to me.