Perfect present

If your house has just burned down, cash is what you need – desperately. Not some designer wear to parade in as you drag the burned beams away from your charred living room. Sure, you may attract attention, but do you really care at that critical moment? With cash, you can look for shelter and arm yourself with the necessary provisions.

When you lose your car, another car or a bike is what you need while awaiting investigation and compensation. When you have bald spots, do you bother with hair-grooming products that promise to make your hair stand upright?

When health is deteriorating, prayers from friends mean more than a paid Christmas holiday or a voucher for 16-inch sports rims.

When you are eight years old, you want a bicycle. When you turn 14, you wish the world for the acne on your face to disappear. When you turn 18, you don’t care if you have a bicycle or not, you want to experience first love. At 40, you aim to conquer the corporate world. You probably wouldn’t care about acne or bicycles any more. At 60, you want to travel to as many countries as possible. You care no more about the corporate world. At 80, you strive to remain the man of the family.

Different phase in life, different wish list.

I prefer to hand out gift vouchers. It provides friends and family with the liberty of choosing their own gifts. For the rich ones, how- ever, a day of undivided attention may mean more to them than a crossed cheque with seven-digit value.

The next time when deciding on a gift, try using the “how, why, which, what, when” formula. Think from the receiver’s perspective and you’ll get the answer for the perfect gift. Because a doll is nothing but a piece of plastic to the girl who loves cars. The value of the gift is worth only as much as the receiver’s needs.

Think of the near future as well. Will this gift be in use, like eight months from now?

Why buy the handphone when you know a new model will be launched next weekend?

So, think carefully the next time you choose a gift for someone as “distant” as your neighbour.

What is awesome for you may not be so for others.