The Platonic Ideal of a Gift

[forsythferret]

In the aftermath of much frenzied shopping nationwide and the subsequent giving (and inevitable returning) of many of these gifts, I figured I'd try and narrow down what makes a good gift. I have a theory

Comments

[the_s_guy]

In the 'need, want, but wouldn't buy for themselves' category, both my brother and I had book-based wishlists which included items we thought relatively unobtainable. His were rare and pre-ISBN, mine were unlikely to be found in the country or shippable in less than six weeks.

I found my brother the last unsold copy in the country of the item he wanted, and added a couple of first editions by the same author as a bonus. My Dad located a handful of the books I wanted in the country next door, with same-week shipping.

Both were a pleasant surprise, moreso because we'd mentally written them off as likely gifts, despite them being on our wishlists. So, apart from having actually heard of them, they were pretty close to our Platonic ideals.

[h371x]

Of worth to think about in your theory of the platonic gift, one must also keep in mind whom one is gifting for. I have found that over the years of living in increasingly frightening levels of poverty that now that I don't have the ability to buy anything for myself, I would much rather that people just buy me the things that I ask for (as they are usually things that I really wish I had) rather than get creative and look for that thing that will make me go "wow!".

- h3l!X