A Gift-Giving Guide
Maybe I’m missing something, but frankly, I just don’t get it.
And maybe that’s my deal. Maybe I just love Christmas too much to understand. I love decking the halls; hanging my stocking with care (I’m going to say the cut-off age for that is 30 so I’m good;) gawking at Christmas lights; and getting just a tad too competitive at the office holiday party gingerbread-house-building contest. But mostly, I love gift giving.
Sure, there are the financial constraints (but who needs food, really?); the 150 degree stores at the malls; the fact that there is never enough tape to finish wrapping that last gift. But these are par for the course, people!
The look of joy on your loved ones faces when they open that something special is well worth the Ramen dinners, heat rash, and frantic drawer-scrounging! If there is any time to give, this is it! Not because we have to but because we want to. Six days later when New Year’s rolls around, we make resolutions for ourselves. In fact, we spend the whole year focus on ourselves: our goals; our problems. The holidays are about showing a little appreciation to those who make the year something more than a run on a gerbil wheel.
So, yeah, I don’t understand why to show this appreciation we flock to the web to ask some stranger to figure out what our loved ones would love the most.
Is it laziness? Stress? Or is it because we want to please them so badly, we are searching for some definite way to do so? In the spirit of the season, I will go with the latter. But I want to assert that the answer is not on these sites. At the risk of being super corny (though tis the season!) I will state that the meaningfulness of the gift is in the consideration that went into it.
How would some site know that your sister needs a new coat after she left her old one at a fraternity? How would it it know that your mom needs another crystal cat miniature to add to her 42 piece collection? How would it know that your best friend needs a Spanish dictionary to impress his new foreign neighbor?
It wouldn’t.
Only you would. Understanding the desires and needs of your loved ones is the entire point of gift giving. Scanning blogs and web pages for “what’s hot this holiday season” doesn’t do that. So take a moment to actually think about the people you’re giving to this season, then be it something you buy (or make), give and be merry!