Are you having trouble coming up with a unique gift suitable for that work colleague or acquaintance you don't know very well? Do you owe a stranger a thank-you for a good deed? If you don't want to resort to a generic gift, there is something personal and unique that they will appreciate. Take a lesson from babies.

Imagine this. You put 4 things in front of a year-old baby – a box, a stuffed animal, a special rattle, and a sophisticated electronic toy. What do you think she will do? She will ignore the stuffed animal, the special rattle, and the sophisticated electronic toy and play with the plain old box.

She'll open the box and empty its assortment of goodies and fill it up again 4 times in a row and entertain herself this way with amazing patience. It doesn't matter much to a baby what's in the box – it could be heirloom silver or candy canes or novelty items for all she cares. Babies are unique in their ability to appreciate and have fun with regular objects, whatever is present in front of them. But in a way, they are a lot like adults.

Like babies, adults like getting things in containers. Whether it's a grab bag of goodies, a care package sent by mail, or a unique gift basket filled with unique items, people like to dig for buried treasure. It's 4 times as fun to discover the treasures stashed inside a holiday stocking, as it is to find the same treasures sitting on a table.

So that special gift for your acquaintance or colleague? Get them a unique gift basket and stuff it with an assortment of tasty, unique, or artistic goodies. They'll love emptying the basket, in other words, they'll be as happy as a baby!