As we are starting to approach holiday time I am wondering what your thoughts on gift giving are? Do you think that most of the holiday season is around gift giving? how is that effected this year (and maybe last year too) by the economic issues that seem to be everywhere. Do you have holiday traditions that are not based on Gift giving?
Mrs Hunt
13 comments:
As we approach the holiday season, my thoughts on gift giving is that first off, it’s not that important and gifts give us way too much pressure to please everyone. We feel pressure when it comes to our money budget as it is, never mind the holiday season, and we feel pressure to get our loved ones the best gifts they could possibly enjoy. Stores are always so chaotic and packed; people get all caught up in gifts when that to me is not the sole meaning of Christmas. I would say most of the holiday season is focused around gift giving due to the mass amount of products being marketed in every which direction. Due to the economic issues, I do believe a lot of people are cutting back on the amount of gifts they are getting and receiving, people are also taking advantage of the “door buster sales” and black Friday in order to save as much as possible. For my holiday tradition, of course with Christmas my family all shares gifts, but we do not go all out when it comes to our extended family. Instead my family has agreed to spend less, or give one gift the family can use as a whole in order to cut back with our spending, and during Christmas just spend more time together as a family, which is what we all should be doing.
After reading this question I feel that the idea of "gift giving" is truly something hyped by the media and stores. The holidays are meant for spending time with family, enjoying good food and ultimately being with the people you love. Gift giving, in my opinion, is a hassle for almost everyone. Whether it be money/economical issues or simply difficulty getting the perfect present, issues dealing with gift giving are apparent. Because of our country's recession this year, I feel that gift giving will most definitely cut down. Many Americans today can't afford to buy expensive, "must have" gifts for their immediate family, let alone the rest! This year my family is focusing on each other. My cousin is being deployed in January right after New Years. Our focus is surely not getting a good gift for everyone, but rather spending time with each other and making the best of what we have while we have it. Which is something we should be doing all the time, not just around the holidays!
I don't always think that people think the holidays are about giving. I think they think its rather about what they get rather then what they can give. I personally like giving. Its always a great feeling to make someone you really care about happy! I think people have a hard time giving now too because of the economy. I think though people should recognize that for the most part they are healthy and have a wonderful family. They should be greatful for everything that bring them joy.
Jenna Tinti
Jennnifer Hebert
I think that the season has a lot to do with gift-giving, especially the younger generation. I think that children are more invloved with the gifts than adults.
I think that the economy has a lot to do with gift-giving. This is seen in my own family as we limit gifts to children 16 and younger. There is no gift-giving between adults. Then, between friends, the group partcipates in Secret Santa in order to only buy one gift.
My holdiay traditions have a lot to do with the location of our celebrations. We will have Thanksgiving at one person's. Then, Christmas at another's. There is anotehr tradition in my family. At the first snowfall of the season, we always watch "White Christmas".
Happy Holidays!
Jennifer Hebert
I think that part of the reason why gift giving is so popular in the holiday season is because of the media and the emphasis it has on us. People put a lot of money into buying things for others which is not necessarily a bad thing but it's not always from the heart, like it should be, in my opinion. In my family, we celebrate Christmas and have a very religious and traditional polish approach to it. Personally, I rather get a gift that is not worth a lot but is from the heart and the giver put a lot of thought into it, rather than something expensive and that must have been quite a burdon, especially with the recession and whatnot. I think that the holidays should be a time when people come together and celebrate each other's company and the happiness and joy that takes over this time in the year. I think that less emphasis should be put on giving and recieving presents but more on doing good things and being a better person.
I think that part of the reason why gift giving is so popular in the holiday season is because of the media and the emphasis it has on us. People put a lot of money into buying things for others which is not necessarily a bad thing but it's not always from the heart, like it should be, in my opinion. In my family, we celebrate Christmas and have a very religious and traditional polish approach to it. Personally, I rather get a gift that is not worth a lot but is from the heart and the giver put a lot of thought into it, rather than something expensive and that must have been quite a burdon, especially with the recession and whatnot. I think that the holidays should be a time when people come together and celebrate each other's company and the happiness and joy that takes over this time in the year. I think that less emphasis should be put on giving and recieving presents but more on doing good things and being a better person.
Marcelina Pyzik
My thoughts on gift giving are that they are a nice gesture and bring everyone a little closer during the holidays, and lets be honest every one loves getting a gift here and there. But on the other hand like amy said, gifts give way too much pressure to please everyone. You always have to make sure that you get a gift for every one, and then worry about wether you got the the right thing or not, its just all so crazy. And on top of that, our economic situation doesn't make it any better. People can't afford to go out and by gift's for every one they know its just all to much. I just think that now a days the holidays are really about gift giving which isn't all bad, just maybe not the best way to go about the holidays. My family and I do do gifts but my sister and i never ask for much. One year instead of gifts we decided to donate the money that would have gone to our christmas presents to the Saint Judes Hospital.
I do think that the holiday season is mostly around gift giving because the way that stores advertise to the public shows that they profit from what we buy during the holiday season. It’s sad but that’s the way the industries are now. They say you need this, and you must have that, and if you don’t you'll be sorry sort of attitude. It’s affected this year because of the economic situation. Stores have realized that budgets are tighter than in previous years so they all have lowered their prices. Which in the long run is good for us because, we get to save. Yes my family does have non-gift giving traditions, every year I go over to my Aunt B’s house Christmas Eve for a get together and a dinner I really enjoy it :). We also go see the lights display in Hartford which is really fun!
-Lauren Bush period 1
As the holiday approaches gifts are always a big deal to a lot of people. Because of the economy recently I feel like a lot of people aren't spending as much as before on gifts but they are still spending a lot of money. Christmas is my favorite holiday, not because of the gifts but because of how much time I get so spend with my family that I don't see very often. My parents are divorced so I celebrate lots of christmases and they never get boring. Recently we started not getting gifts for adult on my dad's side of the family and instead everyone donates their money to a charity instead. This year i decided to give up my gifts from my grandma and aunts and uncles and I'm picking the charity of choice for this years donation. It doesn't bother because I'm already very fortunate and I just feel like it's a really good thing to do. Like Erin, I have a cousin over seas and another in the military and a new baby cousin so really I'm just happy to be spending time with those who can and taking advantage of the time I have with them.
I believe that gift giving ranges with each family's tradition. With the economic set backs these past few years, I'm sure people have tried to save money by buying little things that happen to be more meaningful rather than a bunch of little things (not that they aren't meaningful as well). I personally love giving gifts so sometimes I go overboard when buying gifts for my friends and family and my mom has to remind me to make sure it's something meaningful at a good price. For my family, since there are 10 grandchildren including myself, we onlt get gifts for the kids and our grand parents, so we don't give to our aunts and uncles just to save money. Instead, we have a beg dinner to spend family time together and t saves money if we are all together.
My thoughts on gift giving are that in someway you can think of gift giving as a family tradition because people will exchange gifts with their family every year. I also think that the holiday season is associated alot with giving gifts. Everywhere you go you will see advertisements and commercials telling people to buy presents at their store. Its deffinitely been hard this year and last because of the economic issues. Its tough to buy presents for everyone you know. I know with my friends we decided this year to not exchange gifts because we are low on cash. One tradition me and my mom do that doesnt involve gift giving is we bake all different kinds of cookies. Its alot of fun and gets me to spend some quality time with my mom.
The holidays in my family isnt so much about gift giving as it is eating good food and sharing laughs around the table. However when it does come to gifts we all like to give rather then recieve. Also it doesnt matter about the cost of the present, we value the thought put behind it. I think with the economy down people wont buy as many gifts. This will have a positive effect on the holidays because it will be more meaningful. Maybe the focus will be less on what cool gadget you got, and more on the memories you made and the company you shared.
gina grant
per. 2
I feel that our society has made the holiday season based alot on gifts and gift giving, but i feel that is only because we see stores trying to do their job of selling their items to make money. When it comes down to the family, personally i really dont care what i get, yes i ask for a certain gift but that is the inner kid in everyone wondering if santa got them the gift they always dreamed of. but know that the economy is bad things that i have noticed in my gifts this year is that they arent as expensive, but they are very personal, like this year i received a tie and because i dress up alot it is something i know i will use alot and is something i will enjoy.Christmas in my family is about have dinner with everyone and sharing the birth of jesus, yes my younger cousin care more about santa and the gifts they get, but they are little and everyone was like that when they were young. but i know as i get closer to going away to college i will be more happy celebrating christmas with my family rather than the gifts i receive.
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