When Getting Gifts by Personality, What Do You Do?

Gift giving isn’t always easy, especially if you’re sending to people who already have everything and you’re out of ideas. One way to resolve this dilemma is to choose gifts by their personality.

What kind of gifts would you come up with when you go by personality? How do you even pin down a person’s character and be sure you’re right on the money? Is there a tool that can point you in the right direction? With the holidays coming up, you’ll want to get your gift list in order.

Let’s start by determining what personality gifts entail.

What are Personality Gifts?

Personality types are part of the basis for gift giving. Christmas, for example, would be miserable if people received gifts based on their wallet size, age or similar categories.

Over the years, many have networked their interest groups into four or even 16 personality types. But there’s also the Clifton Strengths Finder (or StrengthsFinder 2.0), which was recently updated to include 34 categories.

The StrengthsFinder was developed by Gallup and is based on the belief that everyone has innate talents or “signature strengths” that motivate them and make them more effective in life. The test was created by Carl Jung and expanded on by Donald O. Clifton.

For example, the INFJ personality is all about being empathetic and a great listener. They may enjoy a nice, warm cuddly scarf to keep them warm through the colder months.

There are endless resources to help you discover a person’s personality. But there are a few sites that made it easy to find specific material that can help you find the right gift for the right person.

FiveThirtyEight is a site that helps you narrow down a person’s traits from a scientific point of view.

To create a character profile, they ask for your birthday and the birthdays of the people you’re buying gifts for. Then, they ask a series of questions to generate your Big Five personality traits. The questions revolve around how you react in situations, how you believe others see you, and how you present yourself to the world.

What personality types can you observe or have encountered?

The Personality Profiler

There are different types of personalities. Some people are extroverts, whereas others are introverts. Extroverts are more likely to be social and outgoing and introverts tend to be more reserved and shy.

When you want to avoid giving random gifts, know that there is more to people than whether they’re outgoing.

The ISTP Personality (Introverted, Observant, Thinking and Prospecting)

ISTPs are usually described as being “analytical” or “logical.” They tend to be very detail-oriented and methodical.

ISTPs are also known for their ability to focus on one thing at a time. ISTPs are generally good listeners and have a strong desire to understand other people’s perspectives. ISTPs are also great problem solvers who enjoy working with others to find solutions to problems.

Already, you’ve got a lot to go on in choosing personality gifts for the ISTP type.

The INFP Personality (Introverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Prospecting)

The INFP personality type is one of the 16 Myers-Briggs personality types. It’s also known as the “introvert intuition feeling perceiver” or “intuitive introverted feeling perceiver.” This personality type is characterized by being sensitive, caring and empathetic.

They’re usually described as having a strong sense of morals and ethics. They tend to be very creative and artistic. They’re also very intuitive and insightful. And they have a deep desire to help others and make a difference in the world.

The INTP Personality (Introverted, Intuitive, Thinking and Prospecting)

The INTP personality type is one of the rarest types of personalities. It is also one of the most misunderstood. This personality type is often confused with the ISTJ personality type. However, they are very different.

The INTP personality type has a strong desire to understand everything about anything.

They have a great ability to analyze things and come up with their own conclusions. They’re extremely logical and analytical. They’re also very independent thinkers. They don’t like being told what to do or how to think.

They tend to be very critical of others and themselves. They can be stubborn at times.

They’re also very creative. They enjoy coming up with new ideas and solving problems. They’re also very good at making decisions because they’re goal oriented.

They are also very detail oriented and organized. They’re very intelligent, logical and analytical but highly intuitive, making them insightful.

They’re very honest and loyal. They are also very determined and self-confident.

With the INTP type, you’ll have plenty of options even when you’re trying to get gifts for people who have everything — if they all happen to be the INTP type.

The ENFJ Personality (Extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Judging)

The ENFJ personality type is characterized by their ability to be empathetic, intuitive, and creative. They’re also very sensitive to other people’s emotions and can easily get overwhelmed by them. This makes them great at helping others, but they may struggle with being able to express their feelings.

What Do You Get Someone Who has Everything?

I’ve always struggled with what to gift to get my dad for his birthday.

I mean, he has everything. I’ve never seen him wear the same thing twice and he’s never carried the same phone case twice. But somehow, he’s always had everything he needed.

When I was a kid, we used to ask him what we should get him and he would say, “I don’t know. Just get me something fun.”

So we’d run down to the mall and find something cute or cool or silly to give him.

Over time, he’d grow dissatisfied with whatever we gave him and within a few months, it would be gone and forgotten.

He’d replace it with something new and exciting and we’d start the cycle all over again.

He’s not just a pack rat – he’s never been that – he just has an appreciation for life and the things that bring us joy.

If you’re in the market for a gift, narrow your list down to what would be useful for the person every day. If all else fails, a gift card may be your last resort. But that seemingly random gift should still have some thought in it.

For example, a gift certificate can be given to anyone who has a specific product or service they would like to purchase. Gift certificates are often given at restaurants, spas, salons, and other businesses. They’re also given to people who have done something special for you, such as taking care of your pet or cleaning your house.

To get the best personal gift for any occasion, you’d have to know the person. Personalities can sometimes be misleading; often they’re just on the surface. And what you end up getting someone may initially be OK, but may not be treasured for long. So it’s important to know who your recipient really is to truly give them a personal gift.

One other way to send someone a thoughtful gift is to convey your appreciation. Sometimes it’s easier to think about what you want to say with a souvenir or token than to factor in the recipient’s personality.