Terracotta Soul Blog

I usually pride myself in being an exceptional gift giver. I listen to what people want, and combine interests. I have had many people in my life tell me that I am the best at giving gifts. But recently, I don’t know why, I have found myself really struggling. I feel like I’m losing that and it’s something I would really like to keep.

When I was younger, my step mom would do puzzles and when I was over at their house, I would help her finish them. She is also in love with photos. So, for mothers day one year, I had a puzzle special made with a bunch of family photos. She LOVED it! It combined two things she loves.

Another year, my mom asked that we not spend money on her for her birthday. I was learning guitar at the time, so I wrote her a song and sang it to her. She recorded it and still plays it on her birthday every year. She calls me right after, in tears.

Most of my gifts lean towards sentimental, because I feel like those gifts are the ones that you never grow out of. But this year I am absolutely struggling. With the holidays fast approaching, I worry I won’t figure something out fast enough. I am a crocheter and so some people will be receiving handmade items, but my boyfriend doesn’t seem like he likes sentimental as much as just making memories or tangible items. His birthday was earlier this week and he’d been asking for a Stanley for months, now. So I got him one, and that seems to be what he loved most.

He and I had had a conversation a few weeks ago about our favorite childhood items. He had a pretty rough life so I usually go into these conversations as gracefully as I can. He shared with me that he had the penguin pillow pet growing up and it was a comfort item for him. So I got him one for his birthday. I thought it would be sweet, but he seemed to think it was silly. I also got him one of those fill-out-yourself books on Amazon, for 100 Things I Love About You, and I filled it out before gifting it to him. I also think he thought that was silly. The last thing I got him, was something I kind of made?

I don’t know how familiar any of you are with some of the Tik Tok trends. There’s a trend where you take a hoodie and paint your lips with acrylic paint and kiss the inside of the hood (some do a design on the back, I chose not to do that). I did that for him. He seems to have liked it, but we will see if he actually wears it or not. But that’s where I just don’t think my gifts landed how I intended them to and I don’t know if I’m falling out of touch with how to gift people, or if this is one of those times where I’m still learning what he wants to be gifted.

Do I try again at Christmas with one or two sentimental things or do I just do physical things he is wanting? I do plan on for sure making him a blanket. I made him one prior, and it took 120 hours, but it was too short. So, he has asked me to make him a new one and I will for Christmas, but should that be the only sentimental thing I do make him?