Some research was done on gift-giving, and a most fortuitous discovery was made! Turns out that the best gifts to receive are the same ones that the giver also gave to himself or herself. The Christmas season seems a little bit brighter, knowing that it doesn’t have to be selfishness that motivates us to buy for ourselves. The satisfaction of giving a much-appreciated gift definitely beats buying and getting an unenthusiastic response. If you’re going to spend your hard-earned dollars on someone, you want the gift to at least be treasured, right? Well, buying the same gift for yourself and letting the receiver know you did elevates the value every time.
One for You, One for Me
There’s a Biblical proverb saying that it’s better to give than receive (Acts 20:35). Where does that leave those of us who secretly know in our hearts that receiving great gifts is simply the best? We may be unenlightened but we know what we like. What we like is getting is presents. So God bless the University of Wisconsin-Madison for finding out that making a gift really count involves buying the same type of gift for yourself, too, and advising the recipient.
This study shows that scores for gifts went up if an attached card indicated that the same gift was purchased for the giver. It’s sort of like giving a necklace where you and a friend each get half of a heart or something like that. Only better!
Something Everyone Can Get Behind
For countless individuals, Christmas no longer sucks, with this revelation. Not everyone likes Christmas music, endless Christmas décor, or dealing with holiday traffic or crowds. But everyone can support giving a gift to both yourself and others! Forget about having to make nice when receiving unwanted gifts. Well, this should still be practiced, but it’s a lot less painful when you gave as good as you got on another level.
The Christmas Train has Left the Station
Christmas is still two weeks away, though relentless commercialism makes it seem as though it should be well in the past for the year. You can make it through with spiked egg nog and a whole new approach to gift-giving. Might as well find a way to make it work because Christmas is nigh impossible to ignore.
