Worst Christmas Gifts Ever
September 22nd, 2014
While Christmas approaches, you get busy decorating the home as well as selecting gifts for friends and family. The latter task has become more and more difficult with the sea of gifts available.
During the holiday season, one mistake that you should not commit is to select the wrong or inappropriate gifts. Here is a list of gifting gaffes you must avoid:
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About me gift: This gift is about the giver rather than the recipient. For instance, if you get into competition with your siblings on giving the more expensive present, you will lose out on making the recipient happy by choosing what she likes. Similarly charity donations in the recipient’s name also sometimes fell into the ‘About me’ category. This is because you might gift to a charity you like rather than to a charity close to the heart of the recipient. Sometimes you may not give any thought to the type of charity also.
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The re-gift: When you pass off a present you possess as a gift to others, you belittle the feelings of the recipients. Unless it is an heirloom of the family, the re-gift will not be appreciated by a recipient as it reflects that not much thought went into the gift and the gift was not chosen with the recipient’s liking in mind. But re-gifting is a common practice. The art of re-gifting is to consider whether the gift will be liked by the recipient, and then, remove all traces and signs that it is a re-gift. But most re-gifts tend to flounder as they are usually last minute ideas, picked out of desperation.
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The statement gift: All gifts are intended to pass on a message of love and caring. But statement gifts tend to communicate certain type of disapproval or judgmental commentary targeting the recipient. For instance, a mother kept giving her daughter a dress two sizes smaller than hers every Christmas. It was meant to inspire her to lose weight, but ended up making her feel unloved and belittled.
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The well meant misfire: Misfired gifts happen during the time when you suffer from momentary lapses of empathy. You are not thinking of the recipient but only about yourself. Such mistakes often happen in the stress of holiday shopping.
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The passive-aggressive gift: Passive aggression is hostility wrapped in soft bunting. It is special type of statement gift which when handed over is meant to deliver a blow to the ego of the recipient. For instance, presenting some luscious chocolate to a friend who has just successfully lost weight is a sign of jealousy rather than kindness.
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Non-gift: This is an item the recipient would have purchased anyway. The worst of the lost are major purchases made without consulting the recipient and exudes the ‘about me’ message.
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Ties, Celebrity perfumes and iPods: The silk tie is the most clichéd gift you could get for your man. It reminds him of the worst thing –his job. Gifting cologne indicates that you think he stinks. An iPod is a hackneyed idea as most people already own one.
These are some of the worst gift ideas for Christmas. Why go in for such obviously wrong choices when you can impress with simple and thoughtful gifts like fruit, flower or hobby Christmas hampers by post.