Gifts ...... ?

[Alan tm]

Christmas gifts, or any gifts really.

Today I was asked " you do like your present don't you ?.. its hard to tell "

I said yes it's good.

" your very hard to read "

The gifts wernt really things that were relevant to like or not.
They were a few functional things like socks ,a shirt and an office chair i needed.

I wasn't asked what I would like .

Some things I'd like are too expensive as a gift but again are basically practical items.
So I would still have the same reaction to them .

A good gift would have been help with a few situations .

These days gifts don't really make me happy . Shopping for other people is ment to bring some feeling of giving and joy but really it's stress and pressure.

In a sea of people at the shops it felt more like I was in the path of a herd of wildebeest.

I was stood in a door way thinking " I'm sure everyone else is getting more out of this experience than I am"

 

[Mattymatt]

I think the gifting experience is much more rewarding when it is done at times when it is not expected. I've always enjoyed giving and receiving gifts on random occasions and times other than holidays. When I get a gift outside of a holiday, it is much more special.

 

[Katleya]

I'm with Mattymatt on that one; I absolutely prefer unprompted gifts, whether given or received. When I get one, it gives me the feeling that the person who gave it to me thought about me, and cared enough to do a little extra gesture. It doesn't have to be expensive, either. And when I see something that I know would bring some joy to the person it reminded me of, I'm not able to wait until one of the designated dates to give it, I'll just gift it when I see the person.

Now, I'm not saying either that I'm an ungrateful person who doesn't like getting gifts for Christmas or birthdays, but I don't like the idea that we're forced into this "just because it's what's supposed to be done". That's not really meaningful, in my opinion.

Regarding people not being able to tell if the gift made me happy, I've been told that a lot, even at times when I was very happy with what I'd received. I'm still terrible with that. The problem is, if I did express what I feel inside, some people might think my reaction is fake because of how enthused I would be. Also, because the size/financial value of the gift doesn't seem to play a decisive part in how happy I am, I feel that seeing me jumping up and down for a $5 item could scare people a bit

 

[Nervous Rex]

I’m in MattyMatt’s camp, too. Christmas, Valentines Day, Mother’s Day, My wife’s birthday, and our anniversary mean that every 73 days (on the average), I have to come up with something awesome or I feel like I’ve blown it. If I don’t have an awesome idea I wrote down earlier, it stresses me out (My wife isn’t even that demanding - it’s just my own expectations).

I hate being told I have to give a gift. A few years ago, in my family’s gift exchange, I drew my brother’s ex-wife (why is she still in this thing!?) and she complained to my father about the quality of my gift. Then my father called me up to “put things right.” After that, I told him to count us out of the gift exchange. I will give gifts to those I want to give gifts to. I will decide how much I’m going to spend on the gift. I have never regretted that decision.