We are now coming upon my favorite season: the season of receiving. If you think that’s a typo and I selflessly meant to say it’s the “season of giving,” you are wrong, and think too highly of me. The holidays bring out my inner Scrooge, which is ironic, since it’s supposed to bring out our inner Bob Cratchit’s, helping all the Tiny Tims of the world. We all say that it’s the “season of giving,” but what we really mean is that it’s the season for others to give to us.
With this time of receiving comes many awkward gift situations, the first of which being when someone gets you a gift when you get them nothing in return. In defense of the apathetic receiver, a role I admit to having played a time or two in the past, it can sometimes be hard to predict who likes you enough to buy you something. It’s especially challenging if you’re like me, and everyone likes you and wants to itemize their feelings of affection.
Another awkward gift situation we’ve all endured is receiving bad gifts: the gift cards to stores you haven’t shopped at since fourth grade from a (well-meaning) but naïve cousin, weird-smelling body product gift sets from that aunt (who isn’t really your aunt, but you call her your aunt anyways,) and craft kits to “make your own fanny pack” from your still-single uncle, to name a few. What is the mystery and difficulty in buying someone a good gift? If you aren’t sure if someone will like a gift you purchase for them, chances are they won’t, and your misgiftings (that was a pun–I apologize), will be immortalized forever in the receiver’s journalism column.
The wise and all-knowing Mariah Carey once said “All I want for Christmas is you.” But honestly, I wouldn’t mind a rose-gold watch and a few pairs of shoes…and Season Two of Storage Wars on DVD.
The point is that I, like many other gift-receivers, am very particular about what I want for Christmas. If you’re planning on buying someone (me) a gift, do your research. Don’t be that guy who regifts the holiday sweater your grandma knit for you three Christmases ago. If you’re going to buy someone a gift, and I say “buy” because no one wants a homemade gift anyways, don’t waste your time and money on something they won’t like.
Whatever you decide to do, remember that it’s the thought that counts (for very little). To paraphrase the talented (and greasy) Paula Deen, I wish you a holiday season free of awkwardness, from my (sad, awkward, pathetic…I could go on) life to yours.
This editorial is part of a weekly column, The Way I See It, by staff writer Riley Cosgrove.