Funny

You might think you know what they want and be totally wrong.

Asking never hurts. They can give you a list of options or say "whatever", but you don't have to be a baby about it.

If they say whatever, it just means they're letting you know you don't have to stress about it, but you should still make a genuine effort to get something they might want.

They know I like games. They even know what games I tend to like. They don't know every game I own.

They get me a game. I already own it.

Would have been better to just tell them what I'd like. 🤷‍♂️

Personally, the more interested in something I am, the harder it will be to get me a related gift I'll be happy about. I've probably already got the more obvious stuff, and decent versions of them that I put a lot of thought into selecting.

That's why I personally try to avoid interests and give gifts that are generally useful but less obvious. Things that people might have on a mental "that would be nice to have but I can't be bothered right now" list.

Begin Rant:

I have found that any 'weird feeling' I have that effectively causes more useless and unnecessary things to be purchased is almost certainly been ingrained in our culture by some ancient and effective advertisement campaign. Giving cash is tacky, giving gift cards shows you care more; They should be able to guess what I want for a gift; Wedding Registers; Anniversary Gift Tiers (year of Paper?); Etc.

I don't even bother checking anymore when I encounter something like that - I just try to recognize it when some POS has mind fucked me by having previously brainwashed one of my ancestors and try to restore sane thought.

Any unease and obligation can be replaced with the certainty that Cash is always welcome and useful, at least for now. That said, if you have some true knowledge, or genuine interesting and an attainable plan then by all means act decisively.

:End Rant

I have people in my life I care about deeply, yet I never know what gifts to get anyone. Not everyone thinks the same way as everyone else.

I forget who it was, but a public figure once said that birthdays are horrible because it allows people you thought you were close to to demonstrate how little they really know you

Part of it for me is, for the amount of money I'd feel is appropriate for a gift, I can and usually just buy those things for myself. If not, it's probably not something I'm really that interested in.

My SO gets people gifts he would want, things he's interested in at the time. I stopped looking forward to gifting a long time ago, I put a lot of thought into his, but now it's like, how about we each buy a pair of shoes we like for our birthdays.

If you don't tell me exactly what you want, then you're most likely getting either nothing from me or just a gift card. This goes for both friends and family and not just birthdays. Every year when it gets to Christmastime, my mom says she doesn't want anything. So I just get her the same gift card I always get her for her favorite restaurant.

Ya I hate it when people tell me what they want for their birthday or whatever.

Because if I had already been planning on getting it I'm like "GOD DAMNIT now they'll think I only got it because they told me to and not because I know exactly what they wanted and was listening to them in the conversation we had about it 3 months ago!"

I also hate gift cards, because you might as well just give cash which can at least be used to pay the bills if need be instead of forcing them to buy something they don't really need.

Dunno, I would rather a wooden spoon.

Was about to say. Looks like a silicon ladle with plastic handle. Just like my favourite ladle. Excellent for getting every last drop out of the pan, handles heat up to 250°C and is dishwasher safe!

These types are less than €10

I spent way too long wondering why your sentence looked wrong. I re-read it several times but it all seemed fine, I mean, that's obviously how you spell ladel. But then I realised it's actually ladle, and English is stupid.

A while back, I got one of those ladles that separates out the theoretically undesirable fat/oil from soup. We don't consume a lot of soup, but have occasionally had the opportunity to appreciate the ladle. I'd recommend one, but probably wouldn't give it as a gift.

edit: At least not a special occasion gift.

But would you answer "Whatever lol" to someone trying to be nice to you ?
Hopefully not.

I would just laugh. At least they’re thinking of me.

Classic money washing. I bet someone is paying exorbitant rent in cash and then happens to also own a company that is a vendor doing work at the strip mall, contracted to work on the same shop doing nothing.

Many people just stop giving each other gifts at some point