Gift-Giving No-Nos and Faux-Pas
How to Avoid Giving Holiday Presents that No One Wants
Gift giving is an art. Avoid giving ho-hum presents and follow tips to help giving the best gifts for any holiday season.
So it's time to return that Cheese Appreciation for Dummies manual you got over the holidays, or was it Learn to Moonwalk in 12 Easy Steps? Or maybe you're not happy with the oversized sweater in orange and mauve with outsized ornamental zipper? (Why do people suddenly buy the most hideous clothes as gifts over the holdays?) And what about that automated plastic cleaner that looks like a spaceship from an '80s B movie and now just sits in the middle of the kitchen floor making disturbing grinding, whirring noises? How does a Mystery Machine wall mount embossed with gold suddenly sound like a good thing?
It doesn’t have to be that way; just keep it simple, plan ahead, and don’t get overwhelmed. There are enough maniacs out there running around at the last minute, and you don’t need to be one of them. After all, you don’t want your gift-giving legacy to be, "here, have this big expensive piece of junk! I don't know really know what it is, and, frankly, I don't really care. But I had to get you something, and I ran out of time to make it kind of semi-interesting or have anything to do with you personally, but here it is anyway. Merry Christmas!” This speaks more of a chore and less of doing something nice for someone (which is, presumably, the point).
So, in the spirit of better gift-giving, the best advice is "to create a list, set a spending limit and stick to it," says Hilka Klinkenberg, founder of Etiquette International. But when in doubt, the following tips may help.
- Don't give low-carb or healthy eating booksEveryone needs a little R+R, even if they are trying to shed a few pounds. So go easy on the healthy eating stuff; people generally already know about pitfalls of putting on holiday pounds.
- Don't give gift certificates to places recipients would never intend to go. (Just because you've got a certificate to Bob's Greasy Cavern of Fun Fried Foods from last year's holiday gift exchange doesn't mean you re-gift it like some hot potato or communicable disease.)
- Don't give clothes (No one wants Uncle Jimmie's hand-me-down socks or undies! And your sister-in-law obviously has no taste in sweaters so don't give them to Jimmy and expect him to wear them to school.
- No cheap candy! There is enough of this stuff floating around and hanging on Christmas trees or stuffed in stockings to satisfy even the most dependent of sugar junkies of the family.
- No extensive accessories or assemblies. Unless it is a new home or home theater system, no one wants to build anything during the holidays – scale models and puzzles excluded. Further, if a gift doesn't work without buying additional accessories not also given it's like giving the gift of a big fat frozen lump. "Merry Christmas, Sally. Have fun playing with this lump I got you."
So let these tip guide you to the art of better gift-giving and enjoy the holidays, any holday. Just remember above all else that a little thought behind gift-giving goes further than an open wallet and no sentiment.
