I've always found a safe gift is the thing the person wants but won't buy for themselves.
Like the above example of the knives; the person wants a good knife but can only justify (to themselves) buying a cheap knife. Get them a good knife and they will appreciate it.
BTW - be very careful when trying to buy someone something for their hobby. If they want it they will usually get it and the looking and researching is half the fun. Or they may not want what you end up getting them for some reason (ie. you give a music fanatic a new Nickelback CD. If you knew they were a Nickelback fan and didn't have it, good gift. If they are a Radiohead fan then probably a bad choice)
__________________
"The problem with any ideology is that it gives the answer before you look at the evidence."
—Bill Clinton
"The greatest obstacle to discovery is not ignorance--it is the illusion of knowledge."
—Daniel J. Boorstin, historian, former Librarian of Congress
"But the Senator, while insisting he was not intoxicated, could not explain his nudity"
—WKRP in Cincinatti
|