The art of gifting gone wild

Growing up in India, I was used to festivals and holidays being rather evenly distributed across the calendar, though ‘heavy hitters’ like Dasara and Deepavali occurred towards the end of the year. After moving to the US, I realised that November-December was undisputedly THE king of holidays—and a period for obsessive gift giving.

Planning for gifts begins very early with the arrival of the first catalogue from the first retailer, getting a head start on the proceedings. Lists have to be drawn up carefully to avoid missing out on some long-lost aunt or friend. Identifying the right gift for each person requires careful assessment of age, lifestyle, whims, and fancies and a meticulous review of gifts given in the past to avoid duplication. I try to stay out of this process, which is clearly beyond my skills and capabilities. I routinely attempt, and fail, to have the family members consider budgets too in the overall analysis.

Thanksgiving Day has been traditionally recognised as the start of the holiday season. In retailer terms, this marks the beginning of price wars and discounts. Black Friday, which follows Thanksgiving Day, used to offer the biggest bargains for consumers. But the greedy commercial cycle has now advanced this ‘sale’ event by several weeks, and ‘Black Friday’ is a month-long phenomenon for bargain hunting.

If you thought gift selection on the personal front was stressful, wait till you take a look at corporate gifting. It has to involve the right price, represent and project the company’s image, and, in today’s world, be certified to be non-sexist and non-racist and satisfy a host of other criteria that evolve on social media
on a daily basis. Holiday parties constitute a non-controversial form of customer appreciation, but selecting a date that suits all parties (pun intended) could prove to be excruciatingly painful—often resulting in a date so far ahead of time as to be confused with the previous year’s celebration.

The gifting season continues till Christmas and sometimes through to the New Year, for late or lazy folks to catch up. Families with young children place a Christmas tree in their living room, decorating it with glittering lights and ornaments. Parents, relatives, and friends wrap their carefully selected gifts and place them under the tree. It is, of course, an ordeal to hold off the youngsters from opening the gifts before Christmas Eve.

An inevitable outcome of the gift exchange bonanza is the credit card bill that brings you back to earth with the amount to be paid—before starting the next cycle!