The Millennial Gift Guide
TYBEE BEACHCOMBER | DEC 2018 31
Hi Tybee! It’s your ‘resident’ millennial here to share some holiday shopping
advice for your favorite millennial. Not sure what to get your niece, nephew,
grandchild, or even millennial aged employee? Millennials can be hard to
shop for and you like to hit your gifts out of the park. You may be feeling
left behind in the digital age and feeling self-conscious about your gifting
skills. Don’t fret! You can literally complete all your holiday shopping this
weekend and have a stress free December not worrying about what to get
them! For the record, this millennial has worked retail and fashion her whole
professional career and is not fond of Christmas gift giving but that’s a whole
other article. P.S- If you don’t want to read this article and want the cliff
notes, get them an Amazon gift card.
RULE #1: Absolutely NO CLOTHING, HANDBAGS, OR SHOES!! We can
barely make that decision every day and we know ourselves pretty well.
Unless we have dropped a MAJOR hint, like sending you a link or image of
the exact item, stay far away from this category. And may I politely remind
you that socks do not count as gifts. Last year, my boss gave me socks with
veggies on them, after making literally over a million dollars for her business,
and I gave them to my dog to destroy. If your favorite millennial is a clothing,
handbag, shoes kinda rock star, then a gift card to THEIR favorite store is
fine. There are also subscription based clothing companies that will send
you a new outfit every month, check one of those out for your ever evolving
fashion millennial.
RULE #2: Lay off the “gag” gifts. Gag gifts = you have no idea who I am. If
you are a chronic gag gift giver, your millennial friend is not looking forward
to exchanging gifts with you. I know you’ve seen me with a few red solo cups
in my day, but that does not mean I want to open my cupboard and see a
reusable 32oz red solo cup from you because you think it’s funny. Gag gifts
literally go in the donation pile because I already have too much shit in my
By Jenny Ellis
house and I cannot take on any more wasteful plastic items that I will never
use. If you are the class clown looking to spread some laughter, how about
some tickets to a comedy show? Or a great comedian’s autobiography? Or
movie tickets so I can choose what I want to laugh at. Think outside the box
you funny guy and stick with experiences over wasteful items that are the
foundation of American consumerism, which millennials hate.
RULE #3: Experiences!! Most people, even millennials, have 1 or 2 skills
they are really good at or enjoy experiencing. For my boyfriend, its fishing.
For me, I love to cook & learn about food. I have a friend of mine that makes
jewelry. There is always something! Think about this skill or hobby and make
it a themed gift. A quick Facebook or Instagram stock could tell you what
they love to do because they will always post it! My only advice is do not go
too specific and always supply a gift receipt. In the example of my boyfriend,
he has every piece of fishing gear in the world, so instead of pretending
that I know anything about that, I choose to give him a new experience,
like a charter with his friends. For me, a fun cooking class would be a great
gift! Follow this formula for literally anyone, especially millennials. Other
ideas are gift cards to manicure/pedicure to their favorite place, tickets to a
wine/food pairing, skydiving for your insane family members, or even a few
professional cleaning services would be exciting (if they don’t take it the
wrong way). I think you get the idea. Something that would be normally out
of their monthly budget is always a nice gift. Groupon & living local can be
great resources to purchase experiences at a discount so check those out
this weekend.
As mentioned in the above cliff notes, if all else fails, an Amazon gift card is
one of the best ways to win the hearts of your millennial loved ones. Follow
the rules and formulas above and you’ll be the most coveted gift giver in the
eyes of your favorite millennial.