What is the perfect gift? For that matter, what’s the point of gift giving anyway? When you boil it down it really comes down to one thing: we want to let someone know they matter, they’re special and we appreciate them. That’s all, nothing more. So gift giving is just a matter of letting people know we care.
So why do we make ourselves crazy? We’ve all done it. We’ve shopped and we’ve stressed, sometimes we even tried to make something or do something for someone, all in an effort to give the perfect gift. I know I’ve been there, sweating buckets because I just can’t lay my hands on the right thing or I can’t figure out what to make someone. But I think I’ve finally gotten to the bottom of it and this is what I see – The perfect gift isn’t about the gift but rather how we feel about giving it and how we perceive the recipient feels about getting it. Basically, it’s all in our head.
Think about it. Go back to the last time you were giving something that you thought was the perfect gift. How did you feel? And what happened when the gift was opened? If the recipient was excited then I bet you felt great. And if they were subdued it probably dampened your enthusiasm. So the intersection of you feeling good about giving a gift and the recipient feeling good about getting it is what creates “the perfect gift”.
By this time you’re probably wondering what my point is. Well, here it is. You can’t control how the other person feels about receiving a gift so stop worrying about finding “the perfect gift”. Just think about the other person and what they enjoy, not what they ought to have or what you think they need but what they enjoy. Enjoy your search and when you find a gift (or make a gift) wrap it up pretty and present it with joy. That’s it – keep is simple shopper!!
[...] Your Inner Eloise – Stop worrying about finding the perfect gift! This is one of the top two stressors in holiday giving. Remember you are trying to show this [...]