How to Hint at a Gift

I have the world's greatest wife. She's smart, fun to be around, and, oh yeah, incredibly out of my league. If we were athletes, she'd be LeBron James and I would be the 12th pick on a junior high basketball team.

So you can understand my desire to find the best gift ever for her birthday or holidays that will show her how much she means to me. You know what I’m talking about. The "Wow!" gift, the "I can't believe you got this for me!" gift. The one that will make her text her friends: "Best. Husband. Ever!"

You’d think that since I’m a manners and etiquette pro, and often cover the topic of gift-giving in my podcasts and articles, I would be a rock star when it comes to showering my wife with appropriate gifts. Sadly, that’s not the case. For whatever reason, she always seems just a bit disappointed every holiday and birthday. 

If only she would drop some hints, or just tell me what she wants! 

Contrary to popular belief, most of us don't mind hints about gifts from our loved ones. After all, wouldn’t you rather get your friends or partner something they really want, rather than something they really want to return?

So with that, check out my top three Quick and Dirty Tips for properly giving hints for a gift. 

Tip #1: The subtle approach

Hinting at a gift is similar to a gift registry. Someone clearly points out "This is what I want" and then you can choose from a selection of options. But dropping hints about a gift when it's not a registry situation tends to cause some tension. One reason is that some people think dropping hints is rude — I don't know about the rest of the world but if you tell me what you like, it takes a lot of stress off my shoulders.

If you want to let the person know exactly what you want, without really telling them, the subtle approach works best. I understand that this can feel awkward, especially if you’re in a new relationship and still walking on eggshells around the person (aka, you haven’t let them see you with your nighttime acne medicine on). When done subtly, though, it can make a world of difference.

The best way to drop a subtle hint is to make it look like an accident.

A friend of mine recently spent the day working from her boyfriend's house. During the day, she saw a fantastic bracelet online that she thought would make the perfect gift for her upcoming birthday. Her boyfriend had repeatedly said that he was stumped about what to get her, so she thought a little help was...

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