The holidays are approaching fast, which means that a lot of people are struggling with a very similar problem: what to get that close relative in your life who refuses to tell you anything about what they want.

Of course, they refuse to budge, and now you're stuck with this most daunting of challenges: finding a gift for them that will make them as happy as you want them to be this Christmas.

It’s for Your Father, Isn’t It.

According to a 2018 study conducted in the United Kingdom, the three “groups” of people who are the hardest to shop for around the holidays are significant others, children, and parents (the easiest were godparents and bosses). The same study also found that more adults prefer giving gifts to receiving gifts, a wonderful sentiment that unfortunately translates into a lot of pressure to find the best gift possible.

There are a lot of ways to approach the issue of not knowing what to buy for a friend or loved one. A lot of people will start paying attention to the daily routines of their close friends and family and look for “gaps,” instead of asking bluntly what it is they want (it can be a surprisingly hard question to answer). This is also a good time to start planning at-random trips in or around shopping centers, and go without a particular goal in mind. Since it’s still November, it’s no hardship to walk away from these trips empty-handed, but it’s amazing how well the mind makes associations when it isn’t trying to; you might be surprised at how quickly you can get a head-start on your holiday shopping, and for not a whole lot of effort.

Another thing you could try is to find a gift that would be helpful to anyone, regardless of what their hobbies or jobs are. The eSmartr sleeve is the perfect example of this type of gift, because it is designed to enhance the wearer’s concentration, memory, and sense of calm. The sleeve is a wearable item that can provide a non-invasive boost to the elements of cognitive function that we use every day. This means it is a gift that can be helpful to nearly everyone! The sleeve is the ideal complement for an office job, physical work, school, or anything else – which makes it an ideal gift as well.

"More adults prefer giving gifts to receiving gifts, a wonderful sentiment that unfortunately translates into a lot of pressure to find the best gift possible."

The holidays are an unfortunately stressful time for a lot of people. It can be very hard to bear the feeling of not having a gift ready before the holidays begin – yet it happens to most everyone. Just knowing that you’ll have a gift in hand for everyone can go a long way towards relieving this familiar anxiety. Although it is still a little early in the season, it is never too early to take positive steps that will reduce future worries! In the same way that the sleeve can help you find that slight edge to stay ahead of your own competition, early-season gifts have a way of doing the same thing with stress – and the importance of a calm and clear head can’t be overstated in today’s fast-paced world.