Giving a Christmas gift is not always easy. Some which should be directly prohibited, according to a specialist.
When Christmas shopping begins, it’s always a headache to find the right idea for each person. There is always the fear that the gift will be resold online or given to someone else if it is not liked. Conversely, the recipient sometimes fears what he or she will receive, particularly for fear of being embarrassed by not liking it.
According to Deborah Y. Cohn, a certified professor at a management school, there are certain gifts that you really should avoid so as not to make the recipient uncomfortable or disappoint them. In this context, she conducted a study by interviewing individuals from fifteen couples, who talked about the gifts they exchanged between themselves, but also within their family. She supplemented with an observational study on the website Babycenter.com, using the keyword “gifts.” She then identified five categories of gifts that should really be avoided.
1. The prescribing gift. The offerer seeks to impose a personal will or vision on the recipient. The specialist gives the example (admittedly extreme) of the pregnancy test offered by a woman to her childless daughter-in-law or a father offering a book on Christianity to his non-practicing son. Very gendered gifts are also part of this category.
2. The offensive gift. It is a present that reaches the image of the recipient. We can cite the eternal example of deodorant, for example, which can imply that the person does not smell good. The issue of clothing that is too small is less well known, but be aware that it can affect a person’s weight.
3. The selfish gift. It is the gift that the giver will benefit as much, if not more, than the person for whom it is intended. This could be a console for a shared apartment or a man giving his wife a giant television, but for watching her own programs. The expert believes that it is a manifestation of a form of selfishness and that it reflects an unconscious desire to please oneself through others.
4. The gift out of obligation. It is the present bought at the last minute without taking into account the tastes of the person. If you take a box of dark chocolate for someone who loves milk chocolate, give a cup to someone who doesn’t drink hot drinks, or take earrings for someone who doesn’t have ears. breakthroughs, the lack of involvement in purchasing will be obvious.
5. The narcissistic gift. This gift is given to put yourself forward. This can result in overpriced gifts that the recipient didn’t ask for. The goal is not to please but to flatter your ego. These gifts also sometimes take on a competitive aspect with, for example, the war between grandparents to give the biggest gift to the grandchildren.
Malice, selfishness or simple laziness, there are several factors that lead to buying bad gifts. So it would be much better to opt for personalized or sentimental gifts that are guaranteed to touch the recipient’s heart.