The Season of Giving
Struggling to Find Perfect Gifts?
We all know the joy of watching someone open a gift that we’ve poured ourselves into. It feels good to give — almost like getting a gift yourself, right?
I came across this video about holiday gift giving and what economists call deadweight loss, which is all of the time and energy that’s spent on giving people things they don’t want. The video is three minutes and forty-nine seconds short. Check it out!
I’ve been part of the deadweight loss equation— just yesterday — roaming the aisles of Target.
Would they like a wooden box full of wooden classic board games? Would they like green eggs and ham? How about a ping pong set that attaches to the kitchen counter — no bulky table required? In a box? On a fox? What about yogurt covered raisins? Cherry wood smoked, bacon-enhanced, beef jerky? I do not like green eggs and ham! Duh, how did you not know that?
Ugh!
I left the store with dishtowels (they were really on somebody’s list), the raisins and a gift card. Check!
Whether you agree or not, we live in an unprecedented age of prosperity. There is very little most of us need. That leaves us guessing as to our loved one’s wants.
I read in the Little House on the Prairie series that Charles Ingalls had to scrimp, save and make a twenty mile, round trip horse ride to get Mary and Laura each one candy cane.
Last year, I bought a scarf for my husband. It turned out to be too long. Tags already off, it sits on a closet shelf.
I purchased a hooded shirt for my son. It hangs unworn in his closet. I’m not exactly sure what the problem is, but I remember being a teenager once. I recall the gift of a peach sweatshirt I never wore.
Isn’t exchanging money in the form of gift cards is silly.
My father? Last year I decided I would give him a gift of a different flavor. I was hesitant about giving him a gift — that he’d then give away as a gift — in a random act of kindness. It worked out pretty well and so I’m gifting it again this year. Maybe there is somebody on your list who’d like such a gift.
To make sense of the mysterious paragraph above, you’re going to have to read the short links below — in order. They’re short — with pictures.
