The Holiday Season is right around the corner. Thanksgiving is two and a half weeks away. Christmas is seven weeks away. Hanukkah begins on the 12th of December and Kwanzaa begins on the 26th. For many people this is a joyous time, for others it is a very stressful time. For everyone there is Holiday gift shopping to be done, either a little or a lot.
What happened with your Holiday gift shopping last year? Did you wait to the last minute and then just buy everyone on your list gift cards? Or did you wait to the last minute, to to the mall and buy the first thing you saw? Or did you give a practical gift when a personal gift was more appropriate? And then, were you surprised when the recipient was not excited about the gifts you gave them?
You can have a great time or you can have a miserable time doing your Holiday gift shopping. It’s all about how you think about your gift giving. So here’s a question for you. Why are you giving gifts? Is it because you want to honor the relationship you have with that person? Do you want to show them how much you appreciate them? Or are you giving a gift out of a sense of obligation? And you know what, the gift you give tells the recipient exactly how you feel about giving them a gift.
What do I mean by this? Here are a few examples:
A Gift Card —
Most people think this is the perfect gift. The thought being the recipient gets to pick out exactly what they want. The message being sent is I don’t care enough about our relationship to take the time to select a meaningful gift.
A Practical Gift —
The husband knows they need a new vacuum cleaner, so for Christmas he gives his wife the vacuum cleaner. The message being sent is I didn’t take the time to think about what would be a meaningful gift to you.
A “Me” Gift —
A boyfriend loves to hike so he give his girlfriend a new backpack for Christmas even though she doesn’t enjoy hiking. The message being sent is this gift is all about me.
An Intentional Gift —
A beautiful blue scarf is selected to give to a friend. The gift giver knows the friend loves scarves and her favorite color is blue. The message being sent is I care enough about this relationship to pay attention to what you wear and the colors you like.
Let VirtuArte help you become a more intentional gift giver this Holiday Season. If you do, I can guarantee two things will happen. First, you will have more fun with your Holiday gift shopping. Secondly, you will get a more positive reaction to your gifts from your recipients.
In the next blog post I will begin taking you through the process of becoming an intentional gift giver.
