Your Birthday Gift Might Be a Waste of Money

I think a lot of birthday presents are unnecessary.

There. I said it.

People don’t know what to buy, so they buy something anyway.

Clothes they’re not sure you’ll like.

Flowers you’ll throw away two days later.

A novelty gift that gets one laugh and then spends five years in a drawer.

Or a birthday card with a printed message someone else wrote.

Sometimes, we’re not giving a thoughtful gift. We’re just ticking a box.

Birthday coming up.

Present required.

Job done.

Spending Money Isn’t the Same as Making an Effort

Of course, everyone can give whatever they want.

And a shop-bought gift can be brilliant—if you’ve actually thought about the person receiving it.

But I’d much rather receive something personal.

Something unique.

Something you made with your hands, your creativity, your time.

Something that says, “I thought about you,” not just, “I went shopping.”

Take a photograph.

You take it yourself.

Print it.

Sign it.

Frame it.

Then give it to someone who’ll appreciate it.

Nobody else has that exact gift, made by you, for them.

It doesn’t need to be expensive.

It needs to mean something.

Less Shopping. More Thought.

I’m not asking everyone to become an artist.

I’m asking whether we really need to keep buying things just because a birthday is approaching.

If the only reason you’re buying it is that you feel obliged to buy something, perhaps don’t.

Write something honest.

Make something.

Plan something you can do together.

Give the person a reason to remember your gift—not another object to find space for.

That’s what this week’s Spanish lesson at Spanish Super Tutor is about: birthdays, presents, and what makes a gift worth giving.

We’ll practise explaining what we like, what we’d choose, and why.

And we’ll debate a question:

Is a birthday present still thoughtful if you haven’t put any thought into it?