Dictionary defines gift as something given voluntarily without payment in return as to show favour to someone, honour an occasion or make a gesture of assistance; present.
Gifts are given for many reasons: for any celebrations, for success in any event, for building personal relationships or even for getting into the good books of someone for some personal gain and so on.
The simple reason of giving a gift by any individual or a company is to please the recipient. The reason why you want to please the recipient could be many; some are altruistic and some plain selfish. The latter could be derogatorily referred to as bribe.
What do you gift and how
Gifting should be a voluntary act, an act of free will and must not be done with a selfish motive. A gift, however small, should reflect the goodness of the giver. It is not measured by its monetary value but by the magnanimity of the thought.
A lot of thought should go into selecting a gift. The cardinal question that you should ask yourself is that, will the gift that you plan to give, make the recipient happy and excited? Then, find out what would make the recipient happy. Examine his or her hobbies and interests; maybe it is books or gadgets and gizmos. It could be a utility item related to a hobby. Some may like music or may be a movie buff.
Gifting items of clothing, especially shirts and Tees or saris or an item of western wear are personal items and great care should be taken in selecting them: colour, size and fit, design and type of material have all to be taken into consideration before your purchase. You wouldn’t want to gift something that the recipient would not care to wear: you should not, for instance, gift a woolen article of clothing to someone in Chennai in summer. Application of mind is necessary in selecting gifts, it shows that you care.
Select gifts for the occasion: a house warming function would mean that you give some article of use in the house. It would help if you could find out what would be needed and depending on your budget you could present such a gift; otherwise your host may end up with multiple numbers of the same gift. Your gift should be practical and have either utility or aesthetic value. A painting, for instance, would be a good choice for a house-warming party while gifting a box of sweets or chocolates to a diabetic would be a very thoughtless act.
The right gift tells the receiver that you have put some thought into the selection and the level of happiness goes that much higher while an unimaginable and ill-chosen gift could be construed as insulting.
Giving gifts is an art and so is receiving it. When you receive a gift be gracious about it and never look a gift horse in the mouth. The best way to receive a gift is to accept it smilingly and say a polite ‘thank you’. You can even show excitement and ask the giver if you could open the gift and proceed to do so and express joy at the gift. It would make the giver happy.
A thank you note or a phone call to the gift giver would be a nice way of expressing gratitude and also letting the person know that you value what has been given. These are some of the niceties of social relationship.
Some tips in gift giving
Hone up your powers of observation. The person who is the subject of your gifting may unconsciously drop hints of what he or she would like. You should be able to gauge their interest. A bottle of wine to a teetotaler is unwise. Giving books to an avid reader is correct but find out what authors the person has already read. Avoid gifting leather or ivory articles to an animal activist. Sometimes a recipient may be organizing a charity event. Making a donation to it would be an apt gift. Gift for feng shui or vaastu should be given to those who believe in it. Another gift that would be very well appreciated is ticket to a sporting or cultural event that would be otherwise difficult to obtain. A wedding is one event where giving the right gift is appreciated more. Invariably, it is found that when the event is over, the couple finds many gifts of the same type. This will only land up in someone else’s wedding later.
Presentation of the gift
This is an important part of giving a gift. A gift must always be wrapped. A carelessly wrapped gift displays a cavalier attitude on the part of the giver and this would negate the value of your gift. The presentation of the gift is as important as the gift itself. If you cannot be creative in this get it done by the shop assistant who is experienced.
There is nothing better than giving and receiving gift with joy to cement a relationship. This is an art in itself and should be cultivated assiduously.
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