Thanksgiving is over, and it's time to focus on the best day of the year: Christmas. Thanks to a materialistic society, gifts tend to be the main focus of the holiday season. Some of you truly dedicated people may have started your shopping on Black Friday, while some of us chose to stay in bed and will probably put off gift-buying until Dec. 23. Either way, the entire process adds a great deal of anxiety to this time of year.
First of all, navigating stores during this special month is horrifying. Traffic is ridiculous and parking lots are packed. Once you finally enter the store, your body temperature rises by approximately 10 degrees due to the insane amount of people running around in there. You will face crazed middle-aged women with lists longer than Santa's, rummaging through the shelves at frightening speeds. There are bound to be some miserable dads lurking in corners or sitting on couches, if the store is nice enough to provide those. Once you make it to the checkout line, you can bet on waiting at least half an hour while the person in front of you argues with the cashier about the price of something. This is all quite exhausting.
Aside from the physical effort that goes into shopping for gifts, we have the mental stress of deciding what to get everybody on your list. Some of us might be running on a total budget of about $20 to divide amongst all of our family and friends. This can obviously be a challenge, as not everyone would consider a pack of gum a stellar Christmas gift. Once you figure out your financial plan of attack, you have to think about what everyone would actually want or need.
Friends are usually the easiest to shop for because it's basically like shopping for yourself, and you can always fall back on something funny or slightly inappropriate if all else fails. If you're lucky enough to have a significant other in your life, selecting a gift for him or her can be particularly troublesome. Women are hard to shop for because we have better taste than men in literally everything, and that can be intimidating. Men are hard to shop for because honestly, what do men even like? Why can't everyone just appreciate a nice decorative candle or a framed inspirational quote to hang on the wall? Of course, we can't forget about Mom and Dad. A nice spa gift certificate or some new perfume can usually suffice for mom, but poor Dad almost always ends up with some practical appliance that is less than exciting. My suggestion when it comes to choosing gifts: you can't go wrong with a gift card.
On the other end of giving gifts is receiving them. While this is typically the more enjoyable role, we all know that it can get a bit awkward at times. In some instances, you may want to either physically cringe or laugh out loud at the gift someone gives you (some poor, clueless uncle is usually behind these). As this would be incredibly rude, you muster up your best fake enthusiasm and exclaim "Thanks, I love it!" with exaggerated gusto. Thankfully, we have reached the age at which most confused family members would go with the tried-and-true gift card or, even better, cold, hard cash.
In all seriousness, gift-giving during the holiday season is a great way to tell loved ones how much you appreciate them. Although it comes with a lot of work, it is a fulfilling way to get into the holiday spirit. The focus should not be on a gift's monetary value or how "perfect" it is, but rather on the thought behind it.
