Caroline’s Column
gifts for varying personalities
As the Christmas season approaches, many people struggle to think of the perfect gift for all of their friends and loved ones. Rather than Googling “gifts for boys” or “gifts for girlfriend I have only been dating for a week,” look no further than right here. Use these gift ideas and chart above to figure out the perfect gift for everyone on your holiday gift list. The suggestions below go in order of “slightly more expensive than dirt” to “I should have a job” as to allow proper budgeting to take place.
Outdoorsy: Nalgene ($10.99), a cozy pair of Smartwool socks, pocket knife, Chacos ($80-$110)
Art Lover: (not good at art but really loves it)- poetry anthology ($3-$30), a metalworking kit, tickets to the Louvre in Paris ($20 and airfare)
Artsy: a notebook for profound thoughts on life ($5-$50), an attractive sweater, a mandolin or banjo ($60-$1,500)
Real Hipster: (does not say they are a hipster)- a flannel shirt you found in the dumpster behind Café Eclectic in midtown (free and priceless), a mildly unattractive sweater, chip in with all of their friends to buy a really nice, fancy camera (name your own price)
Poser Hipster: (always says they are a hipster)- Vans ($45-$160) a super unattractive sweater, a polaroid camera, a turntable ($70-$2200)
Preppy: patterned scarves (range of prices), pastel items, anything from Vineyard Vines (range of prices)
Fraternity Brother: a razor *this person may not like this gift* (range of prices), a Frisbee, Chubbies/pastel shorts that are a little bit too short and a little bit too tight ($50)
Standard Girl: Starbucks gift card (name your price), Taylor Swift album, anything pumpkin-spice flavored, monograms, Spirit Jersey (varying price)
Dorky: non-matching socks (as cheap as you can find), straight cash for TREAT-YO-SELF-day, Star Wars merchandise (price depends on items purchased)
Whimsical: coloring book ($.99-$15), crayons, fuzzy blanket/socks (price differs store to store)
If you have a friend who embodies more than one of these personality types, they would be happy to receive any combination of the above gifts as they also deserve more than just one present.