Save Yourself From Gifting Troubles
Birthdays, babies, festivals, Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and many such occasions have most people scratching their heads to figure out a gift. On top of that, if you are an indecisive person, the confusion is manifold. Statistically, 96% of people go through the same feeling when deciding a gift or gift amount, which includes, the whole world barring 4% smart cookies!
If you have wondered out of frustration, why we even bother to partake in this practice of giving gifts, let’s dig deep.
According to noted author and marriage counselor Dr. Gary Chapman, people use five basic love languages to express and experience love; including acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation, quality time, and receiving gifts.
How did gifting start?
Giving gifts goes back thousands of years and has been present throughout human history. The practice also dates back to the animal kingdom, confirming that gift-giving is in our very nature.
In primitive civilizations, gifts were often given to honor someone’s accomplishment for their tribe. A ritual that is still manifest in corporate culture wherein one is rewarded for their efforts for their company.
Another interesting record of gifts is related to the ancient Egyptians who were buried with various gifts like food and jewelry since it was believed that these gifts would aid their transition into the afterlife. Now, that is future planning to a whole new level!
Just like the Egyptians, many cultures have their own twists when giving gifts. For instance, Chinese New Year is one of the biggest events celebrated in China. Interestingly, during the period, all gifts are wrapped in red envelopes or wrapping paper as the color represents prosperity and wealth. This adds a special touch to the gift and signifies hope for the receiver’s fortune.
In India, the gifts exchanged at the festival of Diwali often include traditional sweets because it is considered pure. And well, festivals are also a good excuse to indulge your sugar cravings! In the Middle East, the act of gifting is an important custom that reflects the hospitality and graciousness of the Arab people. Especially during festivals, where gifts are exchanged with neighbors, even if you don’t know them well. If only we had such lovely neighbors instead of the ones we barely know the names of.
As it is widely known, gift giving closely ties into the festival of Christmas. Emerging from the religious story of the festival, it is now a crucial part of the celebration, wherein families exchange gifts on Christmas morning. Furthermore, the legend of Santa Claus is loved by children who await his presents each other.
On a different note, gifting can also occur between two countries. One of the most glorious examples of that would be the ‘Statue of Liberty’, which was gifted to the United States of America by France to commemorate American Independence and symbolize the alliance between the nations. This is your sign to up your gifting game!
Like the above-mentioned examples, there are various reasons and associated meanings behind giving gifts found in the Middle Ages, Ancient Rome, and Native American culture, among many others. However, the common thread among all cultures is to strengthen social ties and uphold traditions, even if the occasions or nature of gifts have evolved. Gifting is a part of our social fabric and must remain so for the following reasons.
Why Should Anyone Gift?
Giving gifts is a fundamental part of celebrations, especially when it comes to commemorating special occasions like festivals or birthdays. Newly married couples are given gifts or money to offer a financial helping hand as they enter a new phase of life.
In many cultures, following someone’s demise people present food to the grieving family as a show of emotional support. It is a meaningful and practical offering since it relieves the grieving parties of taking the responsibility of cooking.
Gifts are an expression of affection, gratitude, thoughtfulness, and appreciation. We give gifts because it helps us connect with our loved ones, reinforce relationships, and cement bonds. Especially for people who struggle to express their emotions, gifts act as a medium to convey their feelings. We gift to uplift!
If a gift consists of a little note or some form of personalization, that would be the cherry on the cake! That extra layer of care makes all the difference because eventually, it’s the thought that counts. Of course, in addition to the gifts!
Not to forget, the act of giving a gift has rewarding emotional benefits for the one gifting too, since it makes us feel good about spreading joy. Who knew gifting could uplift the gifter all well? That is why no occasion is small enough to surprise your loved ones with gifts. But many of us find the ordeal quite tedious. This brings us to the common issues people face when giving gifts and a single key to your wide-arranging problems.
Eight things that hinder the gifting process
Cash Crunch
Not everyone is able to spare a lot of money for gifts. You might wish to give someone a present but maybe you’re tight on money or you’re nearing the end of the month where a lot of your income has already been spent on necessities.
Not Having a Right Gifting Partner..
Gifting can be a pressuring task because you want to impress someone with what you get them but you might not be the best decision maker. Hence, many people like to have a partner with whom they can browse the shopping aisles and make joint decisions. However, not everyone has a gifting partner, making the whole process challenging.
Access
Not Everyone’s got great gift shops near their home. Maybe you aren’t located in a place with nice shops or malls nearby. In that case, your access to gifting options is limited. Moreover, no one wants to travel far and slog at some distant mall to find a single gift item, after a whole day of work. Just the idea is exhausting!
Time and Money both? Duh
Okay, how many times have we thought of getting someone special a gift, but due to lack of time, ended up giving them the same old box of chocolates or passed on a gift that we received? It isn’t easy for many to take the time out from their busy days for an activity like this.
Hurt Feelings
Do you remember the FRIENDS episode where Ross gets upset because Rachel keeps returning or exchanging all his gifts? Well, that stuff is real. Some people are hard to please when it comes to gifting. Say, you’ve put your energy and effort into carefully picking a gift and the receiver returns it, never uses it, or worse still, regifts it. Ouch! There’s plenty of room for hurt feelings in this situation.
Feeling obligated or burdened
Okay, raise your hands if you don’t like receiving expensive gifts because it creates a sense of obligation that you must do the same. Many people who aren’t the gift-giving type might feel embarrassed or burdened since they cannot afford to reciprocate the generosity of an extravagant gift.
One-Size-DOESN’T-fit-all
Despite your best intentions to buy somebody a thing they like, they might not appreciate it simply because of different tastes. It’s an honest mistake that most of us make when we assume what the other person likes. Sometimes, we just insist on buying something random rather than asking the recipient their preferences, just to retain the surprise element. Speaking from experience, it can be disastrous to gift someone a life-size teddy if they have a dust allergy.
Unwarranted competition
You know when Christmas gifts are unwrapped in the morning or a kid excitedly opens birthday presents in everyone’s attendance, it might create an atmosphere of slight competition where everyone hopes their gifts are liked the most. At the end of the day, the point of gifting anything should be about care and not competition. But at times, people might feel inferior for the gifts they have bought.
All we want to say is that these numerous factors can make the whole enterprise of gift-giving complicated and cumbersome. But there is an effective solution to all your gifting problems, Mojoly!
Mojoly is a platform through which you can send your loved ones a spendable balance, which they can use to buy whatever they like. Once you enter a gift amount and the recipient’s contact number/email ID, they will receive a unique URL, using which, they can choose from a catalog of over 250 million products across 60+ categories.
Here’s the best part, they won’t even know the amount you have spent or the price of products they view. They can just select whichever product(s) within the amount you’ve set. Plus, the balance never expires. Hence, no pressure, no disappointment, no standing in the exchange queue, and no gifting worries.
Sounds like peace to us!
