8 REASONS WHY WE GIVE GIFTS

The best gifts come from the heart, not the store.

Sarah Dessen

Gift giving has been in existence from time immemorial and will always be, no matter the era. Even with the future generations, the act is never going to become outdated, in fact, it would only get more interesting. Why? because, gifts as a thought provoking act, has to do with the heart. Therefore, as long as MAN has a heart and mind, he can feel, think, love and be loved, then, the act of gifting can never be eradicated from him. More so, gift giving is an integral part of love/loving.

Gift is a universal language. Apart from families, friends or partners; religious bodies, business organisations and schools also embrace the concept of gift giving and occasionally organize programs that encourage such act amongst their members, workers or students.

However, as much as we enjoy giving and receiving gifts, understanding the reason(s) behind the act, would greatly influence our choice of gifts as well as when to present it. Answer this question honestly if you’re thinking of gifting someone right now: Why do I want to gift this person?

For the purpose of this article, we are going to discuss 8 possible reasons why people give gifts. Let’s dive in.

Some of the reasons people give gifts includes, but are not limited to the following:

1. To share love or make someone happy: these gifts are usually not preplanned/premeditated but is usually a thoughtful one, and you don’t necessarily have to be in any way emotionally attached to the person. For instance, your workplace organized a gift exchange party and you were paired with a colleague. Normally, you may never have had it in mind to gift the person but the aim of such event is to spread love. Another instance is, you may decide to give someone a gift to make them happy simply because of their exceptionally good behaviour or you probably hear them make an off-the-cuff comment about something they like.
2. To strengthen bonds in relationship: be it friendship, mentorship, romantic, amongst siblings or family members, professional relationships and so on, no matter the phase of the relationship, gifts have the capacity to strengthen bonds among people, although it doesn’t guarantee the durability of such relationships. It is also very important that you do not give gifts in order to make appreances, it would only stress you, hence, forfeiting the purpose.
3. To show gratitude: for someone who has always been helpful, supportive and always willing to guide you through any issues or challenges you have, someone who have touched your life positively in some way, we often think of a gift to give them to appreciate their effort, guidance, support and presence in your life – regardless if there’s a special occasion or not.
4. To convey a heartfelt apology: mistakes and hurts are part of life, but no one would want to intentionally hurt the ones they love and care about, hence the need to apologize when you realize the hurt you’ve caused. But there are times when our partners or friend may feel too hurt to hear out our explanations no matter how hard we try to explain, in this case, when just words are not enough, gestures comes to our rescue – gift. However, gift is like a supplement to apology. Never apologize with just a gift. Don’t just go to the store and get a gift, add a personal touch – a simple note with the words I’m sorry can do a lot.
5. To celebrate special occasions: for some people, this is the only time they get gifts. Birthdays, wedding, new jobs, graduation, anniversaries of any sort and other special occasions are usually a simple excuse to gift people. It shows you care about them and their achievements. For instance, a friend just got a new job, let’s say at a firm or a formal organization, and he shared the good news with you, gifting such person an office bag, some pair of socks, a couple of tie or anything relating to their work environment is usually a very thoughtful gift, it doesn’t matter the numbers of such items they may have, the thought behind the gift is what matters.
6. To rekindle romance: ever wondered why partners often exchange gifts with one another during their wedding anniversaries? There you have it, to rekindle romance. Every relationship transitions and the stress of life may take it’s toil on your once strong love, but it doesn’t mean that love is lost. Gifts are mediums to remind your partner you care a lot about them and that they mean a lot to you. If you can do it while you were dating, then you can do it again.
7. For creating memories: this right here is one of the major significance of gifting – creating memories. A very thoughtful gift have the power to create good memories – a gift that keeps giving. Although, some material gifts may not last a lifetime but definitely the experience will not leave you so easily, especially when you see something that reminds you of such gifts.
8. Respecting your partner’s love language: understanding your partner’s love language is very important. For some, it is gift, others, words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch or quality time. For those whose love language is gift, it is not greed or that they are materialistic, it means they feel loved when you put thought and effort into thinking of a gift for them. The monetary value of the gift doesn’t really matter, it doesn’t have to be grand, what matters most is that the effort and thought put into the gift.

There are so many reasons to give gifts beyond what I’ve listed above. So what’s stopping you from waiting until a special occasion to give a thoughtful gift to someone you care about?

I would like to read your thoughts in the comment section though. What do you think about Gifts? How do you feel when you receive a gift?

Thanks for reading to the end. 😊