Do you Obsess over buying gifts for people?

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Right now I've already decided on gifts for Christmas for my older sister and brother in-law and I have already bought 2 gifts for my nephew LOL! (he's 2) IMO the little sisters are easy (Barbie,Hannah Montanna/latest toy on tv LOL!) (they are going to be 8 and 10 this year) dad( buy a tool of some type they always break etc. and by Fathers day/Bday/or Xmas he needs some new tool) and my mother is the hardest LOL! (My Nanny loves candles so she's easy) I usually obsess over gifts MONTHS in ADVANCE! LOL! (I'm so happy my older sister had a boy I LOVE Superman,Batman,Star Wars and boy clothes/action figures in general) My little sister said I'm 1% girl and 1000% boy the other day while shopping in the mall LOL!

No.

In fact, I'm terrible about gifting.
It's not necessarily that I don't like my relatives, or can't afford to get them things...

I just can't seem to integrate the:
- knowledge of when birthdays/holidays/occasions actually are.
- likes/dislikes/preferences of the people I know.
- appropriateness of gifts for anyone.
- place where I might even begin to look for gifts.

It just seems like a confusing mess to me.
Hence, I usually end up getting some lame gift at the last second, or not getting anything at all.

I think children are much easier to buy gifts for than adults. Overall, it's usually easier buying for femals than males I think, because there is a whole lot more choice, whether it's clothing or novelty or 'cute' gifts. With guys, I find, you usually have to have a pretty good idea of what their interests/likes are to get the gift right, but there's more of a margin of error for women. I don't usually obsess over buying gifts, however, I absolutely detest buying cards. I can stand in the card shop and look at every single relevant card and still not know which one to choose!!

Im the opposite because I rarely buy gifts for people even my family. I try to avoid special events such as birthdays, fathers day, mother's day etc. I might give something on christmas. Even receiving gifts is hard for me cuz I have to fake being surprised or happy about getting it. Or feel guilty cuz I didn't get them nothing. Or stress out because now I have to get them something.

I do, but because I end up running out of time. If I see things that they like I may plan to buy it for them once the date comes closer.

This is where I am really organized. I have a diary which lists important birthdays, anniversaries and stuff and if I think of a suitable present I write it on that page of the diary. Some pages have lots of entries because the people are easy to buy presents for whilst others are empty right until the last minute.

Number one rule though (since I am not a Christian anyway). I don't even THINK of Christmas shopping until December 1st

Vanilla_Slice

No, I could not say it was an obsession. Clueless, maybe. I have sometimes bought very expensive gifts for someone I rarely know, and forgotten to buy anything for the ones I know closely.

I have a real problem giving gifts to people in general. I just feel awkward about it, I don't understand how it works. Sometimes I'll buy gifts for people and then never give them the gift, and I have no real explanation as to why. There's just something about the actual "giving" process that makes me nervous. Or I'll get a gift for someone whose birthday is in April, for example, but not actually have both the cause and the inspiration to give the gift until Christmas.

It's not all the time, sometimes I give gifts at the proper times. I don't have problems recalling birthdays and stuff (in fact quite the opposite), I'm just totally hit-or-miss on this stuff and I have been all my life.

Also I have NO idea what to get people, but it works out sometimes because, not surprisingly, many of the people I am close to have a lot of the same interests as me. So in that case I just buy them something I already have and enjoy myself.

Yes!! ! I love coming up with the most perfect gift and will think about it months in advance. I don't think that everyone appreciates the thought involved though. Either that, or I'm not nearly as good as I think I am. I never spend a lot of money because I truly believe that it is more about the thought, and I'm usually broke. My hubby and kids appreciate the thought and time so that's good enough for me.

Oddly, my husband (probably Aspie) either gets/makes the best gift ever in life, or the absolute worst gift. I can pretty much count on a really crappy birthday gift. I don't mind though. I know it can be really hard for him to organize thought, planning, shopping/making, and on time delivery. But he makes up for it on Christmas when he literally floors me with the most thoughtful, loving and personal gift ever.

For me, I think money is the anti-gift and I would rather receive nothing.

It seems like nearly every time I try to think of what to get somebody my mind goes blank. And it shouldn't when it comes to close relatives because I know what their interests and hobbies are pretty well. And if they mention what kind of gift they'd like I often have trouble finding it and have to shop in a place I'm not used to being in and don't know my way around and if the place is crazy because of a holiday then it gets a million times worse. Plus the people I normally shop for have way more money than me and can easily buy things themselves and I think deep down they don't really like what I give them they just pretend even when they tell me they do like them even if it cost under $5.00 or I crafted it by hand instead of getting it from a store.

If my mother wasn't around to help me, I'd be a total failure at gift-giving because my brain is mush. I only seem to be good at picking out cards or edible treats on my own.

If I buy surprise gifts at all, I usually have to work hard at it, because I don't feel I know enough about people to be able to second guess what they'd like. I don't often like people giving me surprise gifts because they don't usually know enough about me to second guess quite what I like. I'm often picky about which type of radio, computer, shirt, soap, etc. I want, I take a while evaluating what to buy for myself, and most people wouldn't want to know the details of the features I seek. And I hate throwing gifts away or putting them away never to be used. On the other hand, when the giver actually gets it perfect, whether it's me or them, it's a great feeling.

I can just about do token gifts, if they're suitably small and inexpensive, and I can take some pleasure from the symbolism of it.

Non-surprise gifts can be fun. If it turns out a friend needs something and I've got one spare, or if it happens the other way round, I enjoy that.

I don't buy gifts for people