What makes a good tag based gift?
An object they would have kept regardless, with a tag inside it that opens something personal. The gifts that fail are the ones where the tag is the point, because that asks the recipient to care about the technology rather than about what you put on it.
The test to apply
Would they keep the object if the tag were not in it. If yes, the tag is a bonus and the gift stands on its own. If no, you have given somebody a piece of technology to be enthusiastic about on your behalf.
This sounds harsh and it is the most useful filter available, because it removes the entire category of gifts that are really demonstrations.
The corollary: spend the effort on what the tag opens, not on the tag.
The ones that work
A print or an album page with a video behind it, where the printed image is the gift and the video is the surprise.
A book with a card inside holding a recording of somebody reading part of it.
A physical object connected to a place, holding a page of photographs from the day it came from.
A card in a wallet holding the details somebody would need in an emergency, which is not romantic and is the one people thank you for years later.
The ones that fail
A blank tag with a link on it, handed over as an object. There is nothing to keep.
Anything requiring the recipient to install something, configure something, or be told how it works. A gift that comes with instructions has already lost.
Anything pointing at a page that will not exist in a year, which is most pages generated by a service on your behalf.
And anything requiring a phone the recipient does not have. Check what they carry before building around a tap.
Making it survive
Put the tag where it will not be peeled off: inside a mount, under a felt base, between the layers of a card.
Point it at an address you control, so that a service closing does not silently empty the gift.
Print or write a line telling them what it is. A tag nobody knows about is a tag nobody taps, and the surprise you built is then simply invisible.
Leave it unlocked, and keep a note of what you wrote. In three years you will be the only person able to repair it.
Frequently asked questions
What is the single most common mistake?
Making the tag the gift. If the object is not worth keeping on its own, the tag will not rescue it.
Should I tell them there is a tag?
Yes. A surprise nobody discovers is not a surprise. Print or write a line saying what to do.
What if their phone cannot read tags?
Then the gift does nothing. Check what they carry before designing around a tap.
How do I stop it breaking in a year?
Point it at an address you control and redirect onward, so a service closing does not empty the gift.