Fearing that a gift may be too practical or too useless, we often struggle to find the perfect present for their special people. While not representative of everyone’s tastes, here are some of the wish lists of Northwood students and teachers to help answer this difficult question: What gifts do people actually want? 

Arelene Chang (9):

“Stuffed animals, clothes or books because I like to read, as long as the books are not textbooks.”

Melia Wong (10):

“Ice cream, especially coffee peanut butter ice cream. It’s a really good flavor and I recommend you try it.”

Zara Tahir (11):

“The soft sugar cookies with frosting that people find disgusting but are actually really good, gummy bears and the new Pokémon game. It’s a remake of one of my favorite games that I played a lot when I was younger, so I’m really excited for its release.”

Nithin Parthasarathy (12):

“Another pair of pajamas because pajamas are really comfortable to wear when you’re at home. I already have three pairs, but it would be fun to have one for each day of the week.”

Irene Tang (12):

“An acceptance letter from the school I applied for early.”

Nelly Tsai (Science Teacher):

“It depends on who I’m getting the gift from. If it’s from my husband, I’d like a massage. If it’s from my friends, coffee is good. If it’s from my kids or my students, a handwritten card would be really meaningful.”

Elizabeth Zuniga (Science Teacher): 

“I enjoy painting, so I would like more paint and canvases. I paint a bunch of anime, like characters from ‘Naruto,’ that I should bring in one day.”