Easy, Practical Gifts for Acquaintances That Leave You Less Stressed

You’re running out the door to music lessons, school holidays are around the corner, you see your neighbour out shoveling their walk, and this weekend you’ve been invited to a party that your husband’s colleague is hosting… 

Not only are you very busy, and barely remember to pull a roast out for dinner, but it’s the holidays and you have great plans to give a little something to these people, either as a sign of appreciation, show of thanks (your toddler’s preschool definitely deserves some love for their patience with your child), or because you you don’t like to show up empty-handed when invited to a Christmas party. 

You’re a thoughtful person. 

You enjoy giving gifts, perhaps it’s your love language. 

Christmas is a time for sharing, caring, and giving, right? 

But!  The fear and over-analyzing these periphery gifts can cause is a major source of stress. I know this because I often leave what was an otherwise wonderful interaction or party and rehash how the bottle of wine we brought was lame, too predictable, and maybe they don’t even drink!

I always vow to be more prepared in my Christmas gifts, especially planning ahead of time for anyone who I’d like to give to in advance. I also prefer to have a few things on hand that I can grab at short notice as I rush out the door. Too many times I’ve pulled up to grocery stores panic buying random items to bring to the school pickup. However, a fresh herb and spice basket was one gift I stumbled upon at the last minute, and so was the baguette, butter, cheese, and jams. 

Disclosure: I love finding new items or products and sharing them with you. This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I get a commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no cost to you. Thank you!

Who do you consider an acquaintance ?

Also, we talk about the spelling of acquaintance, because without Google’s suggestions I never would have been able to spell this word. 

Ac-quaint-ance (Ak-wait-ance?)

Acquaintance is defined as 

someone you know, who you’re not close to in the same way you are with friends like sharing intimate stories, spending time outside of work or home, and generally keeping up with their lives. 

The following synonyms for acquaintance might help you decide who to put in this category:

• Associate 
• Connection 
• Alley
• Colleague – Christine, Daryl, Ashleigh you know the ones
• Confrère- fancy name for a fellow member of your profession; a colleague 
• Neighbor
• Classmate
• Companion – does spouse count too after this many days into the pandemic?

A good quote that really illustrates the spectrum between friend and acquaintance

There are a lot of people who fall into this category. This makes it tricky to decide if they should be given a gift when the holidays roll around. 

According to a 2016 study only 50 percent of friendships are mutual, meaning we all think our friends like us the same way we like them (94 percent of the subjects in the study believed a friendship to be mutual, but(!) a mere 53 percent of people reciprocated this same level of friendship back. Despite the small sample size of the MIT study, other studies have shown reciprocity (the returned feeling of friendship) to be anywhere as low as 34 – 53 percent. Yikes

Now that’s a depressing fact to help you decide who should be in the acquaintance category and not the friend one. On the plus side, it’s a huge savings in the gift budget!

That being said, if gift giving is your love language and you’re naturally inclined to share the joy of the season with everyone through gifts, then don’t stop.  For the gift-givers among us, giving to neighbors and colleagues or hair stylists and postal workers may be a no-brainer because it’s your way of sharing your enthusiasm for the season and it’s an act you relish doing. This thoughtfulness is a lovely trait to have and I know from experience my day has been brightened immensely from a little token I received from someone I considered an acquaintance. 

However,  if you find yourself in the grey area of who to buy gifts for, how much to spend, what to buy and your love language is not gift giving or you feel obligated to give or reciprocate a gift from someone then what? 

What gifts do you give to an acquaintance?? 

Good gifts for acquaintances 

I should premise this section with a reminder you should never give from a place of obligation. 

If you don’t want to give, don’t. 

Only if you genuinely want to reciprocate or brighten someone’s day unexpectedly should you read on for ideas. The purpose of the holiday season is to connect with what you value, and not everyone values gifts, nor do you want to take away from areas you do value, like maybe family time, health, faith, just to spend it running around making, assembling, buying, wrapping, and delivering all these gifts to people in your periphery. 

But I suspect you’re reading here because you do want to give and you’ve already made up your mind as to who has made your nice list. 

Gift Cards 

Purchase $100 worth of gift cards in various denominations for places like Amazon, Starbucks, McDonalds, Skip the Dishes, gas stations and grocery stores (generic places for things people need are the best choices). These can be slipped in a card or tied to a bottle of wine or tucked into a platter of cookies. Although a gift card can seem impersonal and formal, by writing a thoughtful card that includes a reason you hope they’d like the gift and why you thought of them, makes a big difference in how the person sees themselves reflected in your eyes. For example, I gave my hairstylist a delivery gift card to SkipTheDishes because I know her magic is best shown in her beautiful styling and she doesn’t have time for cooking.

Here is a list of fun 11 holiday flowers and plants to gift an acquaintance

Christmas Rose

 Not your traditional looking rose, it was long believed that the Christmas rose near the entrance of a home could ward off evil spirits and bad energy.

Amaryllis

Even after the flowers disappear if you store the bulb and pot in a cool, dark place it will bloom again. A gift that keeps on giving.

Christmas Cactus

Succulents are so on point right now.

Rosemary or Thyme

Fresh herbs for Christmas stuffing is the best

Cyclamen

A sweet smelling flower with small upturned petals that come in shades or pink, purple, red, and white. It regrows each fall and is easy to find in grocery stores or gardening centers.

Poinsettia

The ol’ standby

Phalaenopsis Orchid

Blooms in the winter and is a beautiful pop of color during dreary months.

Paperwhites

Fragrant blossoms that are relatives of daffodils and easy to grow indoors

Wreath

Blooms in the winter and is a beautiful pop of color during dreary months.

Norfolk Island Pine

A small little tree that has wonderful decor and one you can even decorate with small ornaments or mini lights for a really special acquaintance. Also as long as it’s cared for it lasts for years.

Lemon Cypress Tree or popularly known as “Grinch Tree”

This super cute, super Christmassy tree is a fun bit of nostalgia to gift

Mug 

I know mugs are kinda lame, but they are safe; like who doesn’t drink liquids?

To make a mug a cool gift you try one of these ideas or for the coolest Viking mug ever you could give them this handcrafted ox-horn drinking vessel:

Fill it with fun candies or Hershey’s Hugs Milk Chocolate and White Creme candy. 

Put bags of fresh, raw, assorted tea inside. Include some sugar packets and some mints or maybe some chocolate and it’s an utterly perfect gift for tea time.

Planter – seeds, dirt, mini garden. Voila!

Pet Mug – If you know they have a pet fill a mug with treats and toys for their furball. Everyone is happy!

A bouquet of cupcakes. Using wooden skewers and some green foam used for flower arranging, place the cupcakes on the skewers and arrange the sticks in different heights inside the mug, stuff with tissue paper or tinsel and it’s a sweet surprise.

Bottle of tylenol, earplugs, and electrolytes – classic hangover cure. Include a nip (See above) to really make it the hair of the dog. 

Add a candle inside and a bag of tea, pair it with a book or gift card to the bookstore (pass along a favourite of yours that you’d like to share) and it’s the perfect Sunday evening in a mug.

Hot chocolate and baileys (or other mini bottle of alcohol, otherwise known as a nip). These little 50ml 1.7 oz (1.5 oz shot) sized bottles are great additions to coffee, hot chocolate, or tea. Gift the ingredients for a full cocktail if you think they’ll enjoy it.

Fancy Baking

Because periphery gifts are often the hardest, most time consuming, and can add up quickly, bake extra treats during your holiday prep and package them nicely so you have something to grab when needed. 

Mmmm baking…

I was tired of aimlessly wandering through stores looking for little trinkets (basically junk) I could give to people like my neighbors, teachers, colleagues, daycare educators, unexpected visitors, etc. and decided to bake them something instead. I’m already baking for the holidays anyway.

For a list of regular holiday desserts you can make fancy through clever names, packaging or ingredients check out this post. 

Acquaintance Gifts Are Easy to Find

In many ways finding a gift for an acquaintance can be easier  because you don’t know them well enough to know what they do have.

Buying them something you’d like to receive is another approach you can take.

Ultimately playing it safe by choosing generic, simple gifts that they can consume or use for practical things will always be well liked. It’s the thoughtfulness that’s the true gift. 

Merry Happy Holidays!