The gift, to be true, must be the flowing of the giver unto me, correspondent to my flowing unto him.

A real gift carries something of the person who gave it, and it lands properly only when there is already something flowing the other way. Objects handed over out of obligation are transactions with wrapping paper. What makes a gift mean anything is that it could only have come from that person to this person.

Before buying something for someone, ask what you actually know about them that nobody else does. Give from that, even if it costs almost nothing. And when you receive something given in that spirit, let the giver see that it landed, because the receiving is half of what makes it a gift.