Have you thought of a befitting gift item for your friends, family members, and your colleagues during this festive period?
Shopping for gifts this festive season can make you indecisive because you have to consider individual tastes and styles.
The festive period is an annual recurrent period, and it is recognized in many countries.
In some countries, the festivity starts in early November(thanksgiving) and ends in early January, while in other countries it runs from December to after the new year.
It is the time of the year usually associated with hangouts, carnivals, gifting, family dinner, carols, parties, decorations, baking unique Christmas cookies, and writing letters to Santa.
The festive season includes; the Christmas season, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day.
When shopping for gifts to present to your loved ones, colleagues, and neighbors, it’s advisable to buy presents that express your love for them.
That’s what the festive season is all about – it’s a time to show love to one another.
Most times our loved ones prefer the time we spend with them during the festive season.
So, when you are shopping for gifts this season, please ensure you shop for some of your time too.
Gift-giving is a Christian tradition, however, the practice is not only limited to Christianity.
Other religions, like the Hindus, and the Jews also engage in gift-giving to mark the end of the year, because gift-giving is fundamental to festivities.
Three reasons why it is important to gift people
Several people have various reasons why they engage in gift-giving.
To some, it may be to show support and kindness.
Here are the top three reasons why it is important to give gifts to people.
1. To show appreciation
Most times, people give gifts to people who have impacted or influenced their lives in a positive way. They do this to show gratitude.
Giving gifts also shows appreciation towards those you care about and hold in high esteem, regardless of if it’s a special occasion or not.
Gifts are given to your teacher at the end of the session to show appreciation.
2. To express your love
Love for a person, or people, must not necessarily be expressed with words, it can also be expressed through gift-giving.
Unique and thoughtful gifts are essential in showcasing your love for a person or group of people, it shows that you value and cherish the relationship between you and them.
When love is expressed through gift-giving, strong emotional bonds are built.
3. To show people that you care
Gifting your relatives, friends, family members, and colleagues shouldn’t be done only during the festive season.
It can be done on non-festive seasons, it is a good way to show people that you care for them.
When you surprise someone with a gift, you make them feel loved, cared for, appreciated, and listened to.
4 kinds of people you can gift
If you are wondering about the people you should gift this season, here is a list for you.
This list is not placing a limit on the range of people you can offer gifts to, this is our top 4.
-
Family
Your immediate family members as well as your extended family are one of the most important people to you.
They care for you, provide your needs, offer support, and console you when certain unpleasant things happen.
There are some events that only your family members have an idea about, they shield and cover your flaws from the eyes of the general public.
Christmas is a period to appreciate your family members, to remind them that you care so much about them and you always want to see them happy.
Most times people struggle with identifying the perfect gift to give their loved ones; however, it shouldn’t be much of a hassle.
Although the gifts should be thoughtful, what really matters most is the fact that you care.
-
Friends
The Bible says “there is a friend that is closer than a brother” and this is true.
Nowadays, it might be difficult to believe in the concept of true friendship because of a lack of trust and recurrent betrayals.
However, the truth is strong friendships do exist!
A friend is not someone that you never argue with or someone that never makes hurtful decisions that affects you.
Rather, a friend is that person that stands by your side through thick and thin, loves you despite your flaws and points out your mistakes even when it upsets you.
These kinds of friends are hard to come by, therefore if you’re opportune to have one, ensure that you celebrate your friendship with a gift this festive season.
-
Strangers
It’s not uncommon to see people on the street looking tired, tattered, and hungry while begging for food or money.
If you have been ignoring them all through the year, now is the time to show kindness to these people.
It doesn’t have to be something extreme; you can help to solve some of their challenges.
For instance, you can give them money or perhaps take them to a restaurant and order good food.
If you have clothes you no longer use, you can give them rather than disposing of it.
-
Business associate
Most organizations usually organize Christmas parties before the close of work for the holiday.
This is a perfect time to gift your colleagues or boss, it could be a box of homemade cookies, a customized pen, or a planner.
You may also choose to send a seasonal greeting card to their home address.
This is a perfect way to appreciate your boss or a colleague you admire.
Gifts ideas to present your loved ones this festive season
It’s almost Christmas and you are still struggling with the perfect gift to give your loved ones.
Here are some suggestions that will help you.
i. Grant a wish
One of the easiest ways to make your loved ones feel loved this season is to grant them a wish.
You can ask them what they wish for this Christmas and then surprise them with their wish.
This saves you from thinking long and hard about what they need or already have.
Are you thinking about what to get for your favorite nephew or niece?
Get their siblings to ask them what they want, then go ahead and surprise them like Santa Claus.
ii. A hand-crafted Christmas cards
You might want to gift your friends or family but you lack the finances to grant their wish.
This might make you sad and unhappy but guess what?
You can still gift your loved ones without spending a lot of money.
All you need are single materials that you may already have or you can purchase from a stationery store they include; cardstock or cardboard, glue, ribbon, and gift wrap.
If you have no idea how to create a card, that’s not a problem.
Visit YouTube, there are a lot of craft videos with DIY hacks and tips that will help you create a hand-crafted card for your loved ones.
Finally, after creating your card, you need to write down a heartfelt note.
Don’t scroll through the internet to copy and paste heartwarming notes.
Try to write an original note based on your relationship with the individual.
3. A new toy for kids
Children love their toys and if you give a child a toy during this period, be ready to receive that beautiful smile and a bone-crushing hug.
If you have lots of kids to gift this period just visit the toy store close to you.
There are lots of toys ranging from Legos, dolls, board games, educational games, puzzles, computer games, and teddies to choose from.
A toy store can be pretty frustrating – too many options.
If you have no clue about what to get, you can ask the kid’s parents about their child’s toy preference and make your purchase based on their guidance.
4. Fashion items
Everyone will appreciate a new item for their wardrobe; gifting people fashion pieces can never go out of style.
To gift someone a fashion item all you need to worry about is their size or color preference.
However, this should not be a problem as most stores have a return policy that enables shoppers to switch their original purchases.
The next time you feel confused about what to gift your loved ones, just visit the mall and get a scarf, pair of glasses, top, gown, skirt, etc.
5. Recent tech gadgets
It’s the gen Z era where everyone is interested in making use of technological advancements to make life easier.
Tech gadgets ranging from laptops, iPad, digital watches, virtual reality games, etc are popular tech gadgets you can gift people, especially teenagers.
Teenagers tend to get bored with their gadgets as they are influenced by trends.
If you have a teen niece, nephew, or sibling, just purchase a new gadget for them. They will love it.
6. Customized gift
Picking out the perfect gift for someone, especially in a corporate environment can be difficult.
This is the major reason a lot of organizations contact gift companies to handle the entire process.
You might not have a lot of money to pay for the services of a professional however, you can get some ideas for them.
In official events, most gifts distributed are always branded (i.e.it has either the company logo or name).
If you wish to gift your boss, partner, or colleague, you can get a branded mug, pen, planner, mouse pad, etc.
Note: The brand should be their name, not the company’s name or logo.
7. Cash gifts
A lot of people argue that money is not a good idea for a gift to give someone however, this is not entirely correct.
If a loved one is going through a financial crisis, gifting them money can be the perfect gift in this season.
You might give them clothes, gadgets, and other things of which they will be appreciative but, what they really need at the moment is money.
Conclusion
Gifting is one major way to show that we care and love the people around us. We cannot say that we love people when we cannot give to them.
This festive period, make it a priority to gift the people around you!
It doesn’t have to be extravagant; it just has to be thoughtful.
