82 Inspiring Gift Quotes

Finding the perfect gift can often feel overwhelming, but sometimes the right words can be just as meaningful as the present itself. Whether you're looking to add a heartfelt touch to your gift-giving or need a bit of inspiration, look no further. We've gathered a collection of 82 inspiring gift quotes that capture the essence of generosity, thoughtfulness, and love. These quotes, sourced from various thinkers, writers, and visionaries, serve as a beautiful reminder of the impact a simple gesture can have. Let's explore these expressions that celebrate the art of giving and inspire you to gift with intention and heart.

1. “A friend is a gift you give yourself.” - Robert Louis Stevenson

2. “Everyone has a gift for something, even if it is the gift of being a good friend.” - Marian Anderson

3. “The Gift of Truth excels all other Gifts.” - Buddha Siddhartha Guatama Shakyamuni

4. “Our flesh is a gift of laughter.” - Harley King

5. “I didn't expect to recover from my second operation but since I did, I consider that I'm living on borrowed time. Every day that dawns is a gift to me and I take it in that way. I accept it gratefully without looking beyond it. I completely forget my physical suffering and all the unpleasantness of my present condition and I think only of the joy of seeing the sun rise once more and of being able to work a little bit, even under difficult conditions.” - Henri Matisse

6. “The excellence of a gift lies in its appropriateness rather than in itsvalue.” - Charles Dudley Warner

7. “The great art of giving consists in this the gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be the more highly appreciated.” - Baltasar Gracian

8. “The worst gift I was given is when I got out of rehab that Christmas; a bottle of wine. It was delicious.” - Craig Ferguson

9. “How little we understandof the gifts we have been givenor the shape of the pathwe took to reach our salvation.” - Harley King

10. “Gifts of the heart can't be claimed by anyone except the giver.” - Nicholas Sparks

11. “Someone I loved once gave me a box full of darkness. It took me years to understand that this too, was a gift.” - Mary Oliver

12. “Hermes's eyes twinkled. "Martha, may I have the first package, please?"Martha opened her mouth ... and kept opening it until it was as wide as my arm. She belched out a stainless steel canister-an old-fashioned lunch box thermos with a black plastic top. The sides of the thermos were enameled with red and yellow Ancient Greek scenes-a hero killing a lion; a hero lifting up Cerberus, the three-headed dog."That's Hercules," I said. "But how-""Never question a gift," Hermes chided. "This is a collector's item from Hercules Busts Heads. The first season.""Hercules Busts Heads?""Great show." Hermes sighed. "Back before Hephaestus-TV was all reality programming. Of course, the thermos would be worth much more if I had the whole lunch box-” - Rick Riordan

13. “Gift giving is a true art.1. You need to understand the person to whom you intend to give the gift.2. You need to know what they truly want.3. You must be able to give it to them.Anything less is a symptom of varying degrees, on your part, of ignorance, distance, or insult.But if you cannot afford the right gift, telling the person what you would do if you could, justifies everything—as you present that not-so-perfect substitute.” - Vera Nazarian

14. “May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

15. “One true king knew when to step aside and give up the reins of power—to remove his crown and relinquish his kingdom—all for the sake of glimpsing, just once in a lifetime, the face of a holy child.He was the Fourth to follow the Star.His gift was a secret.The rest of his journey is unknown.” - Vera Nazarian

16. “Tucker: "But she gave me the perfect gift."Clara: "What?"Tucker: "You.” - Cynthia Hand

17. “A wonderful gift may not be wrapped as you expect.” - Jonathan Lockwood Huie

18. “Every problem is a gift - without problems we would not grow.” - Anthony Robbins

19. “Not all can believe anything they want to, because not all have the ability to believe.” - Toba Beta

20. “What you are is God's gift to you, what you become is your gift to God.” - Hans Urs von Balthasar

21. “You all have a gift. It's free. It's the gift of song.” - Christine E. Schulze

22. “Some men are so willing to know their future,but unwilling to face the fear of their own death.” - Toba Beta

23. “Even when you’d lost everything you thought there was to lose, somebody came along and gave you something for free.” - Jenny Valentine

24. “The greatest gift you can ever give another person is your own happiness” - Esther Hicks

25. “Gift ain't what you take by effort, as swag ain't what you worthy have.” - Toba Beta

26. “It's so tempting to resist a little gift when you're expecting the otherwise.” - Toba Beta

27. “I never had any doubts about my abilities. I knew I could write. I just had to figure out how to eat while doing this.[Cormac McCarthy's Venomous Fiction, New York Times, April 19, 1992]” - Cormac McCarthy

28. “...You can do something extraordinary, and something that a lot of people can't do. And if you have the opportunity to work on your gifts, it seems like a crime not to. I mean, it's just weakness to quit because something becomes too hard...” - Morgan Matson

29. “Life, for the living, is a gift of opportunity; an exercise of the will to choose.” - T.F. Hodge

30. “Past and future is determined by what is now…right now! This is why the present is a gift; the only one that ultimately matters most.” - T.F. Hodge

31. “And you, Ring-bearer,’ she said, turning to Frodo. ‘I come to you last who are not last in my thoughts. For you I have prepared this.’ She held up a small crystal phial: it glittered as she moved it, and rays of white light sprang from her hand. ‘In this phial,’ she said, ‘is caught the light of Eärendil’s star, set amid the waters of my fountain. It will shine still brighter when night is about you. May it be a light to you in dark places, when all other lights go out. Remember Galadriel and her Mirror!’Frodo took the phial, and for a moment as it shone between them, he saw her again standing like a queen, great and beautiful.” - J.R.R. Tolkien

32. “Above all, consider this: The greatest gift we can give ourselves, our children, and our world is to live well and love well.” - Alexandra Katehakis

33. “Emotion is always multiplied in the art of a person who doesn't really show much emotion. It once expanded deep within his hidden soul, and following the downplay his audience is blown away.” - Criss Jami

34. “There is a master way with words which is not learned but is instead developed: a deaf man develops exceptional vision, a blind man exceptional hearing, a silent man, when given a piece of paper...” - Criss Jami

35. “One of the greatest gifts from God is the eternal perspective. It is a level of fearlessness, a level of understanding where one can experience even emotional harmony with God.” - Criss Jami

36. “The most essential gift for a good writer is a built-in, shock-proof, shit detector. This is the writer's radar and all great writers have had it.” - Ernest Hemingway

37. “And there’s also ‘To him that hath shall be given.’ After all, you must have a capacity to receive, or even omnipotence can’t give. Perhaps your own passion temporarily destroys the capacity.” - C.S. Lewis

38. “The gift was not large as money goes, and my need was not great, but the spirit of the gift is beyond price and leaves me blessed and in debt.” - Robert Fulghum

39. “There's no need to curse God if you're an ugly duckling. He chooses those strong enough to endure it so that they can guide others who've felt the same.” - Criss Jami

40. “He gave me a gift, a surprise. It was my first present in this place so far from home.” - Laura Kelly

41. “She sang, as requested. There was much about love in the ballad: faithful love that refused to abandon its object; love that disaster could not shake; love that, in calamity, waxed fonder, in poverty clung closer. The words were set to a fine old air -- in themselves they were simple and sweet: perhaps, when read, they wanted force; when well sung, they wanted nothing. Shirley sang them well: she breathed into the feeling, softness, she poured round the passion, force: her voice was fine that evening; its expression dramatic: she impressed all, and charmed one.On leaving the instrument, she went to the fire, and sat down on a seat -- semi-stool, semi-cushion: the ladies were round her -- none of them spoke. The Misses Sympson and the Misses Nunnely looked upon her, as quiet poultry might look on an egret, an ibis, or any other strange fowl. What made her sing so? They never sang so. Was it proper to sing with such expression, with such originality -- so unlike a school girl? Decidedly not: it was strange, it was unusual. What was strange must be wrong; what was unusual must be improper. Shirley was judged.” - Charlotte Brontë

42. “There are souls in this world who have the gift of finding joy everywhere, and leaving it behind them when they go.” - Frederick William Faber

43. “This is a perfectly good picture. And if I didn't know you, I would be impressed and charmed. But I do know you."He thought some more, wondering whether he dared say precisely what he felt, for he knew he could never explain exactly why the idea came to him. "It's the painting of a dutiful daughter," he said eventually, looking at her cautiously to see her reaction. "You want to please. You are always aware of what the person looking at this picture will think of it. Because of that you've missed something important. Does that make sense?"She thought, then nodded. "All right," she said grudgingly and with just a touch of despair in her voice. "You win."Julien grunted. "Have another go, then. I shall come back and come back until you figure it out.""And you'll know?""You'll know. I will merely get the benefit of it.” - Iain Pears

44. “LOVE is and will ALWAYS be the greatest GIFT ƸӜƷ” - M.G. Wells

45. “Forgiveness is the one gift you don't give to others. Rather, it is the gift you give yourself, so you can finally be free.” - Shannon Alder

46. “To be a well-favoured man is the gift of fortune; but to write and read comes by nature.” - William Shakespeare

47. “Gift better than Himself God doth not know,Gift better than God no man can see;This gift doth here the giver given bestowGift to this gift let each receiver be;God is my gift, Himself He freely gave me,God's gift am I, and none but God shall have me.” - Robert Southwell

48. “Sometimes memory is the only gift we give ourselves and the only hope we have of finding our way home.” - Harley King

49. “There is nothing I can give to the lost, except this: I have a responsibility I need to fathom. I have a sorrow I cannot weigh.” - Michelle Dicinoski

50. “If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself.” - Charles M. Schulz

51. “My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” - Jim Valvano

52. “I believe that our world was created with a sense of order. For every loss, there's a gain. Sometimes we're so blinded by the loss that we don't see the gain, don't recognize the gift.” - Debbie Macomber

53. “... pain has been with him since birth - the universe's gift to a poet ...” - Dan Simmons

54. “Some people today are wandering generalities instead of meaningful specifics because they have failed to discover and mine the wealth of potentials in them.” - Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha

55. “There are people who are simply gifts to everyone they meet.” - Clara Kramer

56. “Falling in love is easy. Fools fall in love all the time. Staying in love is the test of time and the gift you give to one another daily….” - James A. Murphy

57. “My identity and my security are not in my spiritual progress. My identity and my security are in God’s acceptance of me given as a gift in Christ.” - J.D. Greear

58. “[on his satisfaction as an artist] In terms of cinema and filmmaking, there are certainly the unexpected gifts that the actors bestow on you. Film is always a question of compromises with respect to what you originally intended.” - Michael Haneke

59. “Be aware of the high notes, of the blissful faces and their soft messages, and listen for the silent message of a highly decorated gift.” - Dejan Stojanovic

60. “We just have to live each new day as if it’s a precious gift. When I wake up in the morning I like to think that this day will be better than any day I’ve ever lived.” - J.E.B. Spredemann

61. “I bought you something" Willows blurts out."You bought...What?"Willow closes her eyes for a second. She's a little surprised she's going to give it to him after all, but there's no going back now. She has to."At the bookstore." She reaches into her bag again, and pushes the package across the table towards him.Guy takes the book out of the bag slowly, Willow waits for him to look disappointed, to look confused that she would buy him such a battered, old-"I love it when used books have notes in the margins, it's the best," Guy says as he flips through the pages. "I always imagine who read it before me." He pauses and looks at one of Prospero's speeches. "I have way too much homework to read this now, but you know what? Screw it. I want to know why it's your favorite Shakespeare. Thank you, that was really nice of you. I mean, you really didn't have to.""But I did anyway," Willow says so quietly she's not even sure hears her.Hey," Guy frowns for a second. "You didn't write anything in here.""Oh, I didn't even think...I, well, I wouldn't even know what to write," Willow says shyly."Well, maybe you'll think of something later," he says.Willow watches Guy read the opening. There's no mistaking it. His smile is genuine, and she can't help thinking that if she can't make David look like this, at least she can do it for someone.” - Julia Hoban

62. “Life is a gift and a challenge.” - Jay Payleitner

63. “You are the gift that only you would have to give.” - Silvia Hartmann

64. “Link says if a girl says not to get her a birthday present that means get me a birthday present and make sure it’s jewelry.” - Kami Garcia

65. “Time is the most precious gift you can give to someone, because if you give someone your time. It's a part of your life that you will never get back.” - Gloria Tesch

66. “The world knows nothing of you. That is my gift to you. You are no one.” - Mark Allen Smith

67. “I'd rather strive for the kind of interview where instead of me asking to introduce myself to society, society asks me to introduce myself to society.” - Criss Jami

68. “Gratitude goes beyond the 'mine' and 'thine' and claims the truth that all of life is a pure gift. In the past I always thought of gratitude as a spontaneous response to the awareness of gifts received, but now I realize that gratitude can also be lived as a discipline. The discipline of gratitude is the explicit effort to acknowledge that all I am and have is given to me as a gift of love, a gift to be celebrated with joy.” - Henri J.M. Nouwen

69. “We, and I think I'm speaking for many writers, don't know what it is that sometimes comes to make our books alive. All we can do is write dutifully and day after day, every day, giving our work the very best of what we are capable. I don't that we can consciously put the magic in; it doesn't work that way. When the magic comes, it's a gift.” - Madeleine L'Engle

70. “The more varied the environments in which you exercise your leadership gift, the stronger that gift will become. You will become a far more effective leader.” - Bill Hybels

71. “A gift involves sacrifice. If you give away something that you no longer value or want, it cannot be a gift. It is simply a discarded item.” - Wayne Gerard Trotman

72. “You have always given me more than I gave to you. You were the wings on which I soared.Lotte Lehmann” - Lotte Lehmann

73. “Like a gift, beautifully wrapped at the foot of your bed each morning, today asks that you open it and enjoy everything inside. Exhaust yourself with all it has to offer!” - Steve Maraboli

74. “The most precious gift to give to your spouse is not your life because if you die,he/she will no longer have use of you rather the most precious gift is your time, attention, affection, self and love!” - Jaachynma N.E. Agu

75. “Remember, a book is always a gift.” - Sheridan Hay

76. “Sometimes life is your opponent and just showing up is a victory.” - John Passaro

77. “Jesus came to give us life. We don't have to hang on a cross like he did. For him, it was a sacrifice. For us, it is a gift.” - Dillon Burroughs

78. “Find your truth and make your existence real as you choose it. Your creation is your own greatest gift. (Neings of Light via Joules)” - jay woodman

79. “It is necessary for us to have an imperfect freedom so that we can give ... if we cannot give anything to God, we do not have a share in his Spirit, who by his very nature is Gift.” - Wilfrid Stinissen

80. “The inmost significance of the exaggerated value which is set upon hard work appears to be this: man seems to mistrust everything that is effortless; he can only enjoy, with a good conscience, what he has acquired with toil and trouble; he refused to have anything as a gift.” - Josef Pieper

81. “We all have been given a gift; if you have not sort it out yet, yours is stupidity.” - M.F. Moonzajer

82. “Love is the most powerful gift we have to offer.” - Kristi Bowman