Unexpected Gifts they Never Knew they Needed

Compiled by Win Salyards, Senior Marketing Consultant at Heinz Marketing

 

Ah, the holidays–full of joy, family, friends, and the stress of getting them the right gift. Even when you’re on the receiving end, it can be challenging to answer the question, “what do you want?” Sometimes, someone gets you a gift you never knew you wanted or needed. Here are four stories of precisely that from colleagues at Heinz Marketing. Hopefully, they will give you some inspiration or bring holiday cheer!

A Gift of Healthy Smoothies

From: Payal Parikh
My favorite unexpected gift I received a few years ago was from my brother. It wasn’t a holiday gift but a ‘just because’ one. He gave me Vitamix to make healthy veggie smoothies for my kids. I have been using it every day since then.

A Gift Given with Warmth

From: Sheena McKinney
My favorite unexpected gift came from my husband Christmas 2019.
He is not a shopper and not one to shop ahead.
In fact, he’s not a gifts-person in general.
He seemed extra excited and secretive about my present—also not like him.
Despite all of this and the fact that my gift was on my Amazon wish list, it was still a complete surprise that he bought me a portable infrared sauna.
It was a higher price point than he usually spends (another reason it was an unexpected gift).
The significance of the gift was also a considerable investment in my health.
I had just finished 10 months of intense cancer treatment (chemo & radiation), and the sauna was (and is) an excellent tool for healing.
I love my sauna, and it’s all the more meaningful to have received it with love.

A Gift for Warmth

From: Maria Geokezas
Two Christmases ago, my husband bought me a very puffy winter coat. I was surprised in two different ways. First of all, this coat is enormous – about the size of a human – and I couldn’t imagine where he hid it. Do we have a place in our house where you can hide bodies? Second, I never once hinted that I needed another winter coat. I had a puffy black winter coat. I’ve had it for a while, and it still works. It wasn’t until I tried on the new super puffy jacket and walked outside into a snowy winter wonderland that I knew it wasn’t going back to Nordstrom. It was so soft, fit like a glove, and kept me toasty warm. I wear this super puffy coat almost every day from November to March. Best gift I never knew I needed.

A Gift Ten-Years On

From: Lisa Heay
It was the Christmas of 2010. My boyfriend and I had been together for 5 years already, and I was (not so) patiently waiting for a marriage proposal I was beginning to think would never come. For the holidays, we were already bouncing between families. On one of our parent visits around Christmas Eve, I accidentally (I swear I wasn’t snooping!!) discovered a ring box packed with his clothes. I thought he’d propose on Christmas day, but I spent the next few days on edge, waiting for the moment to arrive. We finished family visits, and Christmas came and went, and still nothing. I doubted I even saw what I thought I saw. Finally, a few days later, we were walking along the lake, and he popped down and asked me the question. I guess he was waiting for the perfect moment, too. It was the Christmas gift I’d hoped for so long—then I got my hopes up and back down; finally, it happened, and we just had our 10th anniversary this year!