How to get someone a great gift

I don't really know what would qualify as a gift-giving "expert," but I've given a fair amount of gifts that I'm pretty darn proud of. And hey, what is being an expert at something if not feeling proud of what you do with it? So without further ado, here's how you, too, can get somebody a present they'll never forget:

1. Throw out all the usual ideas. I'm looking at you guys who got your girlfriend or boyfriend flowers and a teddy bear for Valentine's Day. That stuff may put a smile on their face for now, but I guarantee as short as a month from now they won't remember what in the world you got them. They certainly won't remember if it was YOU that got them the carnations and chocolate, or if that was Bobby last year?
2. Know the person you're getting a gift for. The reason why the gifts I'm alluding to in part 1 are so awful is because they're not personalized. Even if society's moronic gender expectations tell them to, most girls don't love flowers. Like, maybe, but not love. They're not personally significant. Getting a great gift for someone means you need to know at the very least what their really deep interests and passions are: whether that be mountain biking, maps, Ocelots, 19th century backscratchers. Find that thing that they're into more than anyone else!
3. Know your own abilities. The common wisdom usually dictates that something handmade is always better than something bought. While that might be true, there are different things you can handmake - and quite frankly, if you don't have any handmaking-worthy talents or even adequacies, you might be better off buying something after all. That doesn't mean you can't be creative! But in getting a great gift, you have to know where to concentrate your efforts - Cameron's not gonna appreciate that 19th century backscratcher you handmade if it breaks before it ever gets used.
4. Combine a thing with an idea. In part 2 you might have come up with a thing, or an idea. If you're lucky, you came up with both. For example, Cameron's love of antique backscratchers gives you a thing. Julia's love of ocelots is more of an idea. The thing is the form your gift will take - the idea is the concept which makes that gift stand out. For a really simple example, I've made my friends shirts as gifts (using a bleaching method to create designs) on several occasions  The shirt is a really basic thing, one most people will at least be okay with. Each shirt also contained an idea (e.g. Legend of Zelda, foxes). Oftentimes the thing or the idea will be more prevalent or may even take over. Thats fine! For my shirts, the idea was definitely the focused element. Cameron's backscratcher may not even require an idea - he may simply love a genuine antique. That's all fine! Just make sure that whatever lack in one department is made up for in the other.
5. Make a list of options. This can be pretty informal. You might not even write it down! But you'll need some sort of short list of what your final gift should be. Perhaps you've decided on the form or the idea, and have several possibilities of the other element to pair it with. Perhaps you've just come up with so many brilliant ideas that you don't know which to implement! Have that list ready and keep it with you for the rest of the process. If something goes wrong, you can use something on the list as a backup.
6. Consult with others. I always find it useful, when planning a gift, to share my ideas with other friends or close family members of the recipient. Sharing the ideas sometimes allows you to flesh out your ideas more and discover things you hadn't considered, but more than anything it gives you a preview of how the idea would be received. I've yet to give a gift which the recipient's reaction was not almost perfectly predicted by their friends' reactions. Using these reactions, you can usually decide between the ideas you put on your short list in part 5.
7. Go price shopping. This might seem a bit late, but I find it helps most to do this later because step 6 can inform the prices you're willing to pay, or the efforts you're willing to put into a gift. If a gift is likely to only be received lukewarmly, it may not be worth sinking many resources into. On the other hand, if you have a real winner, it might help to go all out. As far as where to shop, this depends largely on what you're looking for, but one recommendation I'd make is Etsy.com. Etsy is a great website full of unique products, and you'll often find a quirky and cool take on an already awesome idea.
8. Be realistic about your resources. Sometimes it can be tempting, especially when you have an awesome idea, to spend loads of money on it. However, no matter how awesome the idea, you never want to run the risk of crashing yourself financially. Have a clear idea of what you can afford to spend, and understand that your friend won't fault you for skimping where necessary. One good strategy if you really really want a particular gift is to team up with a friend or two to get the gift. Splitting the cost, and credit, among two or three people will get the same awesome gift and avoid anybody having to break the bank too much.
9. Have it ready early, but not too early. I can say from experience that there are few things more frustrating and anxiety-inducing than rushing to finish a present just in time for the occasion  and even worse is when you don't have it ready in time. Just like most things in life, procrastination will get you nowhere here, and your future self will thank you if you get this done ASAP. On the other hand, don't try to get the gift planned and ready too fast. A great gift is a mighty exciting thing, and sometimes it can be tempting to spill the beans to the recipient or someone untrustworthy about what it is. But there is nothing more satisfying than the look of surprise when someone gets a great gift they never expected. So be realistic about your own self-restraint! If you can't keep a secret very well, don't put the thing together until perhaps a week or even less before the occasion. Just make there's still ample time to do it all right!
10. Present it with the same creativity you made it with. There's a few fun ways to approach the packaging of a gift. One is to go all out aesthetically. If you baked someone a cake, for example, put it in a box lined with lace and decorated with ribbons and the like. Another, my personal favorite, is the Surprise Package. This is where you make the gift seem that it'll be something else - perhaps by hiding it in an oversized box, or in a less-than-expensive secondary gift. I pulled this recently when I gave a friend of mine a certificate for her gift hidden in a kid's book. Finally, there's what I call the Use Ready Package, where you do all the work for the recipient so that the second they receive it they can put it to use. This can work particularly well with jewelry - by declining to present it in an actual box, you can place it right on their person, thus creating a fun surprise that will enhance the gift-receiving experience.

Looking back this all sounds very Martha Stewart. Oh well! I hope you find this guide useful, and get to see lots of huge grins and hear lots of screamed thanks in the future!