Some gifts fall into the love-it-later category, like Uggs

Have you ever said "thank you" through clenched teeth? The gift in that nicely wrapped box was so not what you wanted: comfy clothes instead of designer duds, or a kitchen gadget instead of a shiny piece of jewelry.Sometimes, though, the best gifts are the ones you use, and, frankly, most of us probably wear hoodies more than haute couture.

With a closet full of beautiful boots and gravity-defying heels, flat-foot, furry Uggs weren't at the top of celebrity stylist-designer Rachel Zoe's shopping list. They were OK for other people -- she might even have suggested them -- but she didn't see them fitting into her closet until someone gave her a pair.Even small gifts can say thank you.

"Once you put them on, you can't go back," Zoe says. "In my house, it's now the family at-home shoe. I wear them all the time. My son has 10 pairs, and my husband has 10 pairs."Christine Frietchen, a shopping expert who is advising TJ Maxx and Marshall's this year on their gift-giving programs, says a gift is something you wouldn't get for yourself. And the best way to know you've given a successful gift, she says, is if the receiver becomes an evangelist for it.