Whether it is a birthday, wedding, shower, housewarming, or dinner party, when going to a party, it is usually appropriate to bring a gift, and it is generally a nice touch. 

What kind of gift should you bring? 

If you know the person fairly well, think of what they would enjoy.  It truly is not the expense of the gift that counts, but the thought that was put into it.  If Tommy is into race cars, it would probably mean more to him to receive one of the $2.00 Matchbox cars he is missing than a $50.00 art set.

If you don’t know the person very well, think of a general gift that you would enjoy receiving…gift certificates, movie passes, or a gift set with a few small items.

I like to give and receive gifts that are consumable.  Food, candy, flowers, candles, soap, wine, or coffee are all things that can be used or consumed and don’t add clutter to the house.  Granted, you are not going to give a child candles, wine or coffee, and they probably wouldn’t enjoy soap and flowers as much as an adult would, but food and candy are enjoyed by almost everyone.

But while you may put time and thought and money into buying a gift, when you give the gift, give it freely and completely…with no strings attached. 

Hopefully you had a good time picking out and wrapping the gift, thinking about your friend and doing your best to pick out something he will enjoy.  You may even have wonderful pictures in your mind of your friend playing with your gift.  But once the gift is given, it is his.  He is free to enjoy it however he chooses.  You have no control over that.  He can play with it, return it to the store for credit, give it to his friend Ian, or run over it with a bulldozer.

 The nice part about giving gifts freely is that you can also receive gifts freely and enjoy your gifts however you would like.