I have a little confession.
I haven’t bought a single present yet.
It’s not a big deal. I don’t buy many presents anymore. I’ve been playing the poor grad student card for quite a while. I ask people not to buy me presents, and most of them listen. But, like, I haven’t done anything for my mom, and whatever I get her has to be sent to Alaska. I should do something for my nieces too, but those gifts also have to be sent to Alaska. I’m realizing this all right now as I write. Hmm.
Okay, but for the most part, I’m not buying gifts. I guess this is a little sad. Opening gifts is a fun thing to do. But, honestly, I don’t miss gifts much. I mean, there’ nothing like getting someone the perfect gift, but more often I feel like I’m just getting someone something because it’s expected, and it’s impossible to make every gift perfect.
Sometimes it’s the people you know the most who are the hardest to shop for. There are such high expectations, because you’re supposed to know them, and therefore know what they want. I mean, I’ve received gifts before that, while nice, made me realize that the person giving me the gift didn’t know me very well. Or, at all. Or, maybe they just weren’t thinking about me when they bought the gift. Maybe my expectations were too high. But, if gifts are going to make me feel worse about the relationships in my life, then they don’t seem worth it.
The other day, I actually found myself thinking that I didn’t care about the gifts–I just wanted to spend time with my family. Wow. That’s straight out of a Hallmark Channel movie. I don’t mean to say I’ve ever been extremely materialistic, but when did I get so mature that I didn’t care at all about the gifts?
Was the point of this post that I need to go buy some gifts or that I’d rather skip gifts all together? I don’t know. This is a very new thought for me. I’ve always been pro-gift. I’ll have to think about this some more.
What do you think about gifts? Do you enjoying shopping for them, wrapping them, giving them?
{ 17 comments… read them below or add one }
I hate feeling like you HAVE to get someone a gift and then you go and pick out some half ass thing that they will probably re-gift.
I LOVE buying things for people I know really well. I like the feeling of giving someone something that I KNOW they will love. This year I only got gifts for my immediate family.
Also, I hate getting gifts. I have no idea why.
Hate shopping, for them. Can’t wrap them. Love to give them.
I think you’re being too hard on yourself. The line between good gift and ‘she doesn’t know me at all’ is wider than you think.
I love shopping for them. In fact, I help people shop for christmas presents I love it so much. I did all my best friend’s christmas shopping for her this year. And I help my mom and dad do their shopping too. I’m not a big fan of wrapping, but I’ll do it if I’m watching a movie or there’s music or something. And giving- I hate it. I feel so awkward. Like I’m begging for their love. I try to get it over with asap.
Gift giving/receiving in my family has gotten more and more convoluted over the years. This year my mom asked me for specific items from where my sister works and she got them with my sis’s discount, and she bought herself something which I paid her back for and will wrap and put under the tree, and my sister is buying most of the rest of the gifts for our family and herself with her discount and we are all paying her back for the respective ones. It’s all very complicated. But that’s kind of OK, because really the best part of all this is shopping WITH my family! Who would’ve thought! ;)
i love giving gifts, wrapping them, all that good stuff.
i don’t like when you get gifts & you have to open them in front of the giver. too much pressure.
i have zero christmas presents bought as of right now & i’ve got a few to ship, too. yikes. i better get on that…
I personally love shopping for other people. I love the hunt for the perfect gift and seeing their reactions. It makes everything worth it.
I strictly only buy presents for my immediate family and my boyfriend & I only exchange exclusively home-made things. I too really just enjoy spending time with my family, but it’s sort of a tradition for us with the opening of presents, so it ties in with each other.
The act of shopping is a chore for me; however, I really enjoy wrapping presents. It’s hard to find a unique gift for people who always tell you, “Oh, some new pants or a belt would be nice.” What if I don’t want to give them the same gift every year? That’s why I find it difficult to shop. One year I actually waited until Christmas Eve to do ALL of my shopping. I will never make that mistake again- mainly because people drive even crazier the closer it gets to the holidays. Anyway, I hope that you have a great Christmas and New Year!
Ah, so you’re one of the “last minute” callers we get at Wells Fargo. I’m kidding; honestly, I think you are more in touch with Christmas than many people I know. You want to see the people you love and don’t seem to be about gifts – if only everyone could see Christmas this way.
Off topic, but I’m sure as a fellow writer you love Dr. Seuss, right?
I’m having the same issue this year! I’m so happy to be home for the holidays I haven’t worried about the rest … but I probably should.
You’re not alone. I started yesterday and wound up spending WAY too much on Shipping and Handling at amazon in order to get the gifts ASAP so that I can wrap them in order to ship them, once again, so that they arrive in time for x-mas.
Lesson learned.
These days I like giving people gifts more than I like getting them. But I must say, my favorite is when I get gifts from people who take on the mindset of “What would I want if I had his set of interests, but kept my same personality?” Then I end up with sports-themed shot glasses or coffee mugs, when I don’t drink alcohol or coffee, but love sports.
I have bought two, count ‘em TWO gifts. Lame, right?
I haven’t bought any gifts either. I’ve been playing the poor card for a while too but I … end up shopping for myself. I’m an awful person.
Don’t be so hard on yourself, my dear. :)
I enjoy thinking about what to get someone, because you really have to think about it, if you want to get a good gift that is. That sort of intellectual rigor is always fun for me (I am a raging nerd). I don’t mind going to shop, I guess because I’ve seen too many movies and it’s part of the whole Christmas experience.
Hmmm, perhaps I should start my shopping pretty soon…
I love giving gifts, just the joy on every person’s face after they open your gift. I don’t think its the gift that really matters, but the sentiment behind the gift. Don’t worry if you are poor and can’t spend a lot of money. If you come up with something thoughtful and inexpensive, I think that would mean more than spending a fortune. Happy Holidays!
I LOVE Christmas shopping, but I start months ahead of time. I get a huge kick out of picking the perfect thing–I want people to know I was thinking exactly of them. Sometimes I will bake instead, to keep costs down.
Spending time with the family is what ends up mattering the most to me, though.