The Trouble with Presents......Is Debt!

Hi doves

How are we all? Enjoying the festive season?

Mine has begun with a slow start, so there isn't much partying going on. But there has definitely been some present exchanging.

See presents are nice, you feel all warm and fuzzy inside when you open them. Smile at the thoughtfulness of the gift giver and thank them profusely. Then the dreaded realisation hits you that they probably might, certainly, will definitely want something just as nice or better in return. *scratched record* Yeah... Am I the only one who has felt like this before..no?

                               

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Case in point: We had a certain someone help us a lot this year, so as a token of appreciation we got him a gift. And honestly it was just a genuine thank you for all his hard work. A few days later, he showed up with a beautiful painting. We were genuinely thankful as it is a great work of art. But then later my dad was like "Oh no, I hope he didn't think he had to give this as something in return. "

Gift debt is a common phenomenon during birthdays and the festive season. You receive a present, and believe that come giver's special day you need to repay that gift. The truth is that we also foster this attitude in that we think of how much we spent on a gift for someone, or how much effort we put into it. So come our day, xyz better give me something just as nice..

                                         ........cause no one wants this

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after giving this....

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I've seen people going to extremes of leaving the price tag on expensive presents just so the recipient knows how much value their lil' token was worth. And that's partly why some are afraid to get presents during any other time apart from Christmas or their birthday, it just means the scramble for a rare gold plated rhino horn must ensue.

The whole point of giving a present is just to leave a token or talisman of your appreciation  for the recipient..or to say "I was thinking of you, thought you might like this"

When you give, give from the heart and don't expect anything in return. Secondly stay within your budget. No need to reach your bank account and credit card limit to finance an all expenses paid trip to the Taj Mahal (unless of course you actually can afford it and it's nothing to you lol). Whatever you receive, try and think of the good intentions behind the gift. Maybe that was all the person could afford. After all Jesus counted the poor woman's one coin as more valuable than the pharisee's many silver coins, because of the intention behind the offering.  One thing someone said also struck me, sometimes it's better to give a present a long while after they gave you one. It will have more meaning and won't look like you're trying to settle the balance of your gift debt.

So yeah, have a merry one this year.