At this time of the year, in hustle & bustle of pre-Christmas, it is easy to forget why we present gifts and what makes the Perfect Christmas Gift.
With this in mind, we wrote this article.
What Is A Gift?
Here is a definition:
A gift is something (an item or service) given without the expectation of anything in return.
The gift (or present) may be a tangible item or a service.
We undertake the act of ‘giving’ to sustain our social relations (e.g. friend & family) and / or contribute to social cohesion (e.g. charity).
The intention is to make the other happier or less sad.
Christianity consider the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ to save Humanity to be the greatest gift to humankind.
We accept this sounds all very abstract but felt it is worthwhile at this time of the year to strip everything away and look at the essence of gifting.
Bear with us, you will find out why further down why and what makes the Perfect Christmas Gift.
A Little History
The tradition of gift-giving in generally very old and one of the oldest forms of social interaction.
In the ancient Rome, giving a gift probably happened around the winter solstice, which in Europe occurs in December.
In Christianity, during Christmas period, the custom of gifting is symbolic of the ‘The Three Wise Men’ presenting gifts to the baby Jesus.
It is interesting to note that different countries / Christian religions, practice gifting at different times:
England / Ireland / US / Canada: the 25th
Germany / France: the 24th
Netherlands: 6th of December (St. Nicolas)
Spain: gifts are presented on the ‘Three Wise Men’, e.g. 6th of January
Greece: on the Feast of Saint Basil (the 1st / 2nd of January), gifts are presented.
Going back to our original question:
The Psychology Of Gifting
Gifting allows people to connect!
This is the essence of a gift.
When making a gift, the giver shares their feelings & emotions with the recipient.
In receiving these, the recipient makes a connection with the giver.
In giving a gift, we extend and make ourselves vulnerable to the recipient, as it (or we) may be rejected.
This act displays a strong humility or humbleness.
Making connections with the people gives us self-fulfillment, happiness and purpose.
We have all heard the saying:
“It is better to Give, than Receive”
It is the Path to Happiness.
A Perfect Gift?
So, … this leaves us with the question, how do we make a gift perfect this Christmas?
It is simple, actually:
Inject as much as possible of yourself into the gift.
Here are two ways of doing this:
1 – Make Something
2 – Find the Unique
Make Something
Show some of yourself by making something for the person you intend to make happy.
Here are some ideas:
Cookies, Pralines or something similar that is made with sticky fingers and tastes delicious.
A Painting, Song, Poem or a hand crafted Christmas Deco Item
Chutney or Marmalade with an unusual flavour profile. Let your phantasy go wild.
A handmade piece of clothing, a scarve or hat.
Well, … we suppose you are getting the gist.
What all of these gifts have in common is, that you are making a gift of your own precious ‘Time’ and ‘Thought’.
In the age of 24/7 and especially pre-Christmas, these two are the most scarce.
When making something, you give especially your ‘Time’.
Most people nowadays can easily afford the gift you are making, but what they can’t buy is your ‘Time’ or ‘Thought’.
Find The Unique
When uncovering a gift that is ‘Authentic’ and / or ‘Unique’ you inject your ‘Thought’.
The gift is your skill.
It is your skill (and time) to find something that the recipient would not have been able to purchase her/himself.
It explains why we like Craft Items and the ‘Christmas Market’.
Here are a few ideas that are very popular when giving your ‘skill’ of finding the impossible:
Craft Cheese, Beer, Whisky, Bakery, Chocolates, ….
Products of Limited Quantity or produced in small batches, such as handmade clothing / handbags / jewellery / ….
Niche, Boutique, Artisan or Indie Products with authenticity and limited batch sizes.
This is where we can help you here at Pairfum with our online boutique.
We invite you to introduce your family & friends to Pairfum, The Artisan Perfumers of London, and give them the gift of ‘Your Thought’, it is authentically yours.
You are thinking of them!
This is the Essence of the Perfect Christmas Gift.
