Better to ask, or to give surprise?

surprise, build up the anticipation.

Just ask. If it's a surprise it has to be something hand-made. Otherwise, surprise gifts are hit or miss.

I'm used to surprises. I have friends that I invite to my birthday parties or when they want to give me a gift for like a holiday or something, they catch me off guard sometimes when they ask "what do you want?"

And they didn't stop asking me until I told them what I wanted so yeah...it's a habit now.

ask.

I prefer surprises and my friends too. So I always look for gift ideas on the Internet and on various sites like https://blablagifts.com/ in advance. My friends are all very different and it's always hard for me to choose something cool. Soon my friend has a birthday and I have some ideas for gifts but still don't know what to choose

I ask these days.

I give books as a gift lately, so I always ask just to check if the person is interested/has already read them.

If it's not a close relative or friend then I don't ask (because it would be awkward and they'll definitely decline or not tell me the truth, but I always keep it simple and neutral)

When it's someone really close, like one of my sisters or nieces or my bff, then I ask them what they want or if they'd rather get money because I want to make sure it's something they absolutely like and want, or that in case they need money they get the option of getting money instead of a gift.

ask, i hate it when people say "this is for you, why arent you happy?" after giving me a surpise that i don't want. im grateful but i wouldve wanted something else

Ask. It’s the prudent way to go.

If you don't have any ideas then it is better to ask. But from my experience I could say that always great gifts are gift cards. You only should choose what the ppl like. This site https://giftcards-market.com/ may help you to get acquainted with different types of virtual gift cards.