21 Days to Christmas, Thursday, Dec 4, 2025

Solutions for Bad Gift-Givers.

Birthdays, holidays, and special occasions have one thing in common:  the giving of gifts.  For some of us, the giving of gifts is very stressful, but not because we’re selfish, cheap, or ungrateful for our loved ones.  Instead, when it comes to the giving of gifts, our brains are like a giant, unmolded hunk of clay.  What little creativity we have disappears, leaving us empty and helpless.

If this describes you, I want you to know that you are not alone. Lots of us are bad gift-givers.  In fact, I bet we are the majority.  Now, as you ponder on that thought for a moment, take a minute to consider the other problems our bad gift-giving cause.

Problem One:  “We seem unprepared.” 

Problem Two:  “It seems like we are procrastinating.”

Problem Three:  “It’s more expensive because we become emotional buyers.”

Problem Four:  “It appears that we don’t care.”

Problem Five:  “We make poor buying decisions.”

I’m not going to waste time explaining these issues.  Those of you who are thoughtful, organized, and prepared don’t understand any of this.  You are always ahead of schedule and able to take advantage of special Black Friday sales, which is something the rest of us “wish” we could do.  While you’re already down to the last name and gift on your list, the rest of us are stuck somewhere between Problems One and Two. 

Today, those of us who are bad gift-givers are beginning to worry.  It’s already midway through the first week of December and we haven’t begun to make a dent in our gift lists.  Bad gift-givers who also celebrate Hanukkah are really in a pickle, because they must come up with 8 gifts by December 14th, which takes the stress to a whole other level. 

I wish I could offer bad gift-givers a piece of advice to help, such as “Don’t give a piece of fruitcake, especially to a Southerner.”  Sure, we can ask Google and ChatGPT to help, but really, are we so uncreative that we have to ask an inanimate object what gift to give our loved ones?  Yes.  That’s how bad it is.

When it comes down to it, that ol’ saying, “It’s the thought that counts” is always good to remember.  The people receiving our gifts probably don’t care about the gift itself.  Instead, they, too, are just wanting to feel loved, needed, and remembered.  How do we accomplish this?  One solution is to get outside our box of understanding and creep into our recipients’ box for a  minute.  Take them to a show.  Invite them over for a cup of holiday cheer.  Cook them a meal, or pickup a meal and personally deliver it to them.  Give them something they can cherish, such as a framed photo of you and them.  Or, how about this:  Invite them to Church/Mass/Synagogue and enjoy a meal with them before or after.  Talk about blowing their minds! 

We can do it!  We don’t need to be stressed about hitting a homerun this Holiday Season.  Instead, consider a little uncomfortable, focused creativity.  We’ll be surprised how easily our bad gift giving worries are taken away!

“A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.”  (Proverbs 11:25, NIV)