What’s wrong with buying a bunch of presents ahead of time for gift giving for your significant other? These presents could be given out during the course of the year for events you know are coming such as her birthday, Christmas, and your anniversary During an episode of That 70’s Show, Red had a cache of presents ready for Kitty for every gift giving event during the year which of course during the show was stolen as Red was in dire need to give out a present. That spawned a conversation between Cat and I; she sided with Kitty, as this situation was cruel and lacked thought. One could purchase a bunch of presents, as in my case for Cathy, during a time of sales like after Christmas and hide the goods in a safe location like my office so I could dole out the token at the appropriate time during the year. A ready cache would mean a few less trips to the mall for me so I miss the high school kids macking at the mall.
I thought the idea of a ready cache of presents was a good idea and should be extended to others like friends and family when the need to give a gift arises. Just think of it a cache of presents that are ready to give to friends and family at a drop of a hat. Oh Shit its Tessa’s birthday for example, I got something right here. Gift cards ready in my wallet to dole out at a birthday. If I don’t give it out I can use it for myself…cool idea?
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3 comments:
i think most of society has forgotten the meaning behind the intention of gift giving. why do something if you don't mean it. same goes for why say it or give it?.. if you dont give out the gift and keep it for yourself, then it defeats the purpose of buying the "gift" in the first place. you can always buy stuff online and have it sent (i.e. flowers, spa certificates, etc). i still remember growing up how excited i was to receive a present on christmas or birthdays. or maybe its just that feeling of not knowing any better and anything new was exciting. n now that i've understood that gifts dont have to be material things, but things you can just do for another person... indoor or outdoor activities that can help build your relationship with the other, meaningful conversations over dinner at your special restaurant, or even knowing the other person enough to know what they'd want. or maybe that shouldn't even matter because it would be received unconditionally. here's something i read that stuck with me (while googling online one day)... "People may not remember what you say, or what you did, but they will always remember how you make them feel"
but then again.. something is better than nothing at all. though i'd prefer not to end up with last years fruitcake or someone elses unwanted present. n if i did, i wouldn't want to know that piece of info.
Part of gift-giving involves the time and thought put into selecting and individual gift for an individual occasion. If you buy all your gifts at one time, then it's not as meaningful or thoughtful as buying your gifts on separate occasions. What if a certain gift seems appropriate at the time, but by the time you give it out, it's no longer appropriate? Sure, having a cache of presents is "convenient" for you, but gift-giving is supposed to be inconvient in the sense that it should involve going out of your way to get something for you loved one.
My mom has a cache of presents for her friends and based on the random gifts I've gotten or seen from my aunt and parents' friends, I think they have one as well. My rule of thumb is that a cache of presents is acceptable for friends (though not your closest ones) and some relatives outside your immediate family.
In some ways, I think the whole gift-giving process is overrated, especially on holidays, anniversaries and birthdays. I'd prefer going out to a nice dinner or a day trip somewhere over receiving some gift I may never use. Unless that gift is money, of course. Yes, it's less personal, but I am never offended when I receive some cash, checks, or even a gift card (unless it's from Abercrombie and Fitch) as a gift.
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