Books, movies and music are great choices for gift giving, especially if you know someone’s tastes well. Even if you don’t know their tastes, you can still give a truly thoughtful gift from one of these areas. Here are a few tips to help you along the way. Books can be a great gift for that hard to shop for person. Fiction books may be a little harder to shop for unless you know the recipients favorite author or genre. If you do happen to know the favorite author of the intended gift recipient, but you think they may have all of that author’s books, you may want to ask a sales clerk at a bookstore or search online for similar types of books. As an alternative, non-fiction books often make a great gift. What are the likes of the person you are buying for? Do they like gardening, traveling, cooking, or politics? A recently released cookbook of their favorite kinds of food or a travel book for somewhere they want to go can make a wonderful gift. You may want to consider a coffee table book that depicts an area of interest for them. These types of books come in an extremely wide variety of topics and price points, so you can almost guarantee you’ll find a book that fits the bill both for the recipient and your wallet.
In these day of itunes and mp3 music downloads, we sometimes forget that there are plenty of people out there who still listen to CD's or even vinyl albums. In fact, vinyl is in a small renaissance, and turntables are making a comeback. You might want to consider a vintage album for your favorite record collector. There are tons of vinyl records still out there and many albums were never re-released on CD. Speaking of CD’s, while there has definitely been a drop in sales, not everyone has an mp3 player or an ipod. CD’s are still the preferred method that people purchase and listen to music. So how do you decide what music to purchase for the person you are giving a gift? Do they already own the album on vinyl, but would like to upgrade to a CD version so they don’t wear their record out? Has they’re favorite band put out a new album recently? Is there a particular era of music that they enjoy? Maybe you could buy an anthology of that type of music. There are many great collections of 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and even 90’s music available. You may want to do some research on bands with similar styles. itunes and other websites often list what other types of music the person purchasing an album also purchased. This can be a great resource if you are not familiar with a particular artist or style of music.
With many classics and pop classics being re-mastered and released on DVD, there are videos for all age groups that are sure to please. Does the person you are purchasing for have a movie on VHS that they would like to own on DVD as well? That’s a great place to start since most of the re-released movies have great new features. Many DVD’s will have a section on the making of the movie, interviews with the actors or directors, a directors commentary, or even a newer version of the movie with scenes that may have been cut from the original. Children love movies, especially DVD’s with mini movies or episodes of their favorite show. Parents also love movies since they can keep children entertained in the car or at home. If you are purchasing a movie for a child, you should obviously check with the parents to make sure it is not a video they already have and that the parents agree that the video is appropriate for the child. There are many classic shows that are now coming out on DVD. For example, the Muppet movies and tv show, Sesame Street, Fraggle Rock, The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and Gilligan’s Island are all now out as bundled sets.
No matter the taste of the person you are getting a gift for, when you are getting them music, books, or movies, you are sure to find something that will suit just about anyone.