We spend more time in the
stores after the holidays than we do before, because we are standing in long
lines to exchange unwanted Christmas gifts.
It’s a shame really, because a great deal of thought went into selecting
those gifts in the first place.
Joel Waldfogel wrote a
timely column for the Seattle Times (November 21, 2009) called “Oh, Grandma,
you shouldn’t have,” and it discussed holiday gift giving. In essence he postulated that givers don’t
know what the recipients want and as a result buy things that the recipient
doesn’t want, doesn’t need, and values much lower than the actual cost. Confusing?
It boils down to the giver not knowing what the recipient really wants.
The worst offenders are
extended family members. Parent,
siblings and friends do a pretty good job choosing things that you might like
but grandparents, aunts, uncles, and in-laws do not.
It’s not really the gift
givers fault. When the givers are only
in contact with the recipient on a monthly or yearly basis it is hard to keep
up with the current trends. The reason
Granma does a poor job isn’t because she is dumb but because she doesn’t see
you or hear from you on a regular basis.
She doesn’t hear from you often enough to know what you like, and who’s
fault is that? So give Grandma a call or
visit on a regular basis. She is a
pretty interesting person in her own right, so you could be doing yourself a
huge favor in many different ways.
This includes knowing what
to give to Grandma too. Enough of the
bath powers and robes! She has enough of
that kind of thing to last several lifetimes.
Find out what that special person in your life really likes. Chances are she would settle for your company
and some friendly advice on how to surf the internet.
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