It is just less than a week
before we celebrate the most joyous, highly-anticipated time of the year,
yep----Christmas! Now the question is, are your gifts ready?
If you are tied with an avalanche
of workload not just because of the holiday including year-end chores and errands that you have to do and you are
thinking of performing last-minute frantic shopping, then here are 5 practical
tips that you should remember before buying unnecessary gifts, or gifts
that won’t be used by your recipient in the end.
Practical Gifts Over Sentimental Items
Home decors, scented candles, picture
frames, toiletries, kitchenware among others are great, but if you know
that the one whom you will give the gift has a lot of them, then save yourself
from adding it to the collection which eventually will accumulate dust.
On the other hand, expensive
gifts like chunky, sterling jewelries, perfumes, and watches can be terrific
gifts knowing the sentimentality attached to it but are they really of practical
use or you just want to impress them with the cost of your gifts?
In an article entitled: “ Why
You're Bad at Giving Gifts”
In many ways, practicality seems like an enemy of great gift giving.
Beautiful jewelry, lovely watches, perfect rugs, meticulously crafted kitchen
hardware: These sort of things ostensibly make for great gifts because they
communicate something beyond practicality. They communicate that the giver
cares.
But do the recipients care? Often,
no. "Gift receivers would be happier if givers gave them exactly what they
requested rather than attempting to be 'thoughtful and considerate' by buying
gifts they did not explicitly request” to surprise them, the researchers write.
When you buy gifts, try to fight
the urge of buying expensive gifts just to impress. Aside from the fact that
you are saving yourself from spending into something that will not really be
that useful to the recipient, you are sparing them from those items that they
have to hide in their closets (which will remain unused for years) what’s worse,
sometimes they want to get rid of it but they can’t because it came from you.
Instead, buy gifts that are affordable,
practical, and something that can be of much use to your loved ones regularly. In
the first place, you are giving it to someone; which means, your loved one is
the one who will use it, NOT YOU; so be considerate enough to think of gift
items that he or she really needs - not because you like the item for them. In short, choose utility over desirability.
Know Your Recipient
You might think this is absurd,
but really? Even if we are talking about gifts for your mother, sister, a friend,
or even your spouse, which you’ve known all your life, the key here is to be
sensitive enough to know their passions, likes, desires and wants. It directly addresses
the fact of how well you know the person to the point that you can tell in a
snap what he or she wants for Christmas. It has been my mistake too, for years
now, buying gifts for my siblings which I thought they would like… so I invest
buying them expensive gifts only to see these gifts months after the yuletide
season, just sprawling everywhere.
I was hurt to see the gifts being
ignored and not given much importance that I had expected, but eventually I
soon realized that, just like the first pointer, we often buy gifts because we
like our loved ones to have that item---but in the end, did you ever ask
yourself if that is what he or she really needs?
Remember, many of what we give as
gifts are THINGS. If they're not useful,
practical, or convenient; then what exactly makes them a great gift? Else, they
will just be mere things to the one who will receive it.
Be sensitive and considerate
instead. You can try to research what our loved ones are secretly wishing to
receive this Christmas. Some are vocal by directly expressing what their
Christmas wish list is; some subtly will post it in their social networking
sites like: they like to receive a
certain book, want to attend a certain concert, or would like to have this
certain thing. Watch out for those
clues.
Be Tactful
If you are not so sure of what to
give, why not give a gift check or gift certificate? If your brother or sister
is into bands or movies, you can also give movie tickets, and even concert
tickets. If your sister-in-law is so much into pampering herself, buy her a
gift certificate from Ensogo or Metrodeal which offers a wide choice of salons
in the Metro that provide amazing pampering and beauty services with great
discounts. If you want to try something new instead of
buying your mother an expensive jewelry or yet another blouse, give her a bag of
grocery items.
It not only saves you from hours
of scouting in the malls and other known Christmas bazaars, but in a way helps
you immensely to make them happy by giving out what they really like to do or
what to receive the most. In the first place, the best gifts often are the
things that are simple, straight-forward and practical items.
Don’t get me wrong, being
sentimental is okay. Indeed, it is appreciated.
But what I want to highlight is the importance of looking for gifts that
can be utilized and used all the time. Most of the time, items that can be
consumed are highly-recommended to be given than those that will be kept and
hidden for a long time.
Have A Wish List
Either you are in a team, working
in a company, a bunch of friends, or among your family members, having a wish list to
be circulated in different forms (like manually, email, text, or even privately sending it to the different social networking) is an effective way of
knowing what to give to that specific person or loved ones that you would
like to give your Christmas presents. By indicating at least 3 items that a
person wishes to receive, it spares you from overtly deciding what to give and
to avoid mistakes in choosing the wrong item. Some may say it is a cheat sheet,
but I say, it is a practical way of knowing what your loved ones want the most to make them happy
and granting them their wish rather than wild guessing. Be realistic!
Set Up A “Gift-Theme”
This is a fantastic way of
agreeing as a group on what to give and how much will be the price range so
each and every one already has expectations of what to receive which heightens
the excitement. In our family, we decided last year to give something blue.
This year, it will be something funny. I am sure it will be a fun way of making
things easier for you especially if you have limited time to shop due to
errands and work to do. Be resourceful!
In the end, it is not really the expensive
gifts that matters the most, it is about the effort and the thought itself. It
is the heart of the giver. Do not forget that the real spirit of Christmas is
not how lavish and expensive your gifts are, not just the intention of making
someone very special by your presents; but most importantly, the real essence
of Christmas is about celebrating the birth of Jesus, the son of God (who owns
a kingdom up above) but choose to come to this world, gave up His throne,
humbled Himself and was born in a cold manger and eventually became the ultimate
sacrifice for our sins and for us to be redeemed.
So share the love, be thankful, lavish
yourself with the pure spirit of the Yuletide season and have a less expensive
yet more meaningful Christmas. Have a blessed holiday!
image credit: Jennifer C/Flickr
image credit: Jennifer C/Flickr
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