The Femme Files

Gifts for the Sake of it….

Having done my fair share of typical part time retail jobs to get me through study, I can say I am a qualified veteran of the peak consumer season oft referred to as Christmas.

When I worked in retail, my job was to up sell as much useless clothing as possible in the name of Christmas, not to berate customers about the wonders of giving.

Much to my dismay, all I could ever offer was advice on what to get unseen child who has everything.

So often, I would get teams of women marching up to the counter and purchasing each other unnecessary gifts together. “Thank God, at least we have sorted each other’s present out”, they would say as they swiftly swiped credit cards and exchanged their purchases at the counter. One present down ten to go.

Forgive me if this comes across as all Scrooge, but giving someone a gift because you expect one in return is downright stupid! Can’t we forget this pretence of good will and realise the loss of value in such gifts? Rushing around, checking off a list of names with accompanying price points according to perceived value of the recipient seems downright foolish to me. We feel obligated to buy gifts, and finding the perfect present is a stressful, time-consuming pursuit.

Don’t get me wrong, I adore GIVING. Seeing someone’s eyes light up when you have hit the nail on the head with the best idea of a present is, dare I say, beautiful. The problem at Christmas is that gift giving is so entrenched in our culture that we forget the sole purpose of giving, which is selfish really. When time and thought has gone into the present, it makes us feel good…no it makes us feel GREAT.

In the book, ‘Scroogenomics’, professor Joel Waldfogel states that on average, we perceive gifts we receive as 20% less in value than items we spend on ourselves. So really the most economically resourceful gift is cash, but with such a stigma against ‘cash as present’ the next best bet becomes gift cards. Given that millions of dollars in gift cards go unused each year, I just can’t be confident that my gift will become tangible. And also, I’d hate to reveal how much I truly valued someone via my certified dollar amount.

After all this, I have realised that what most people need at Christmas is someone in their lives who is happy to, dare I say wants to, take the time out to think about them before and after 25^th December.

I am hoping this year that maybe, just maybe somewhere beneath the tearing of paper and tinsel that we realise that Christmas is so much more than presents. If you detest family time, why not take the time out over the Christmas break to catch up with those people you love and care about regardless of the season.

Pray tell me, do you take the time to search for the perfect gift for the perfect someone?