Is it Better to Give than to Receive?

The holidays are here and chances are, you’re either done with your shopping and psyched about your fabulous gifts, or you haven’t even started and are dismayed by the prospects of yet another year of gift-card-swapping. On the other hand, free sh*t is just around the corner! Yay! Obviously, the holidays are all about passing gifts around. But which end is more fun to be on? Is it truly better to give than to receive?

By Kathryn S

Giving: Lets you show someone how much you care. When you find that one “perfect” gift for someone, you are ecstatic to see their reaction.

On the other hand, you then have to find the same perfect novelty for everyone else in your family or circle of friends, or else it might seem like you were playing favorites.

Receiving: Umm, hello? Free sh*t. Perfect opportunity to ask your parents for stuff you want but can’t afford on your own.

However, if you get a hand-knitted sweater from Nona with giant snowmen on the front, it’s not like you can return it, exactly. So you better perfect your gritted-teeth-smile and thank you.

Giving: You can use it as an excuse to buy something you want that’s still shareable. It’s like killing two birds with one stone: see a top you love? Buy it for your roommate, and borrow it every chance you get. Or, get your boyfriend a pair of hot concert tickets – obviously, you’ll be his date.

The downside? You will blow your cover if you buy your dad Britney’s new Circus CD.

Receiving: You get to see how much people love you, because they clearly want to shower you with gifts! And they might surprise you by being uber-creative and getting you the gift you never realized you wanted, but now can’t live without (my roommate wins that title this year).

The cons? If you didn’t buy a gift, or just threw something together, you will look tacky when the other party gives you the best present ever. Who knew getting wonderful presents could be so hard?

Giving: You can flaunt your creativity as a shopper, as well as the fact that you know your recipient so well that you’ve found the best gift, ever.

Unfortunately, this will burn a hole in your wallet, and if you cant’ find the perfect gift for everyone on your list, you’re still bound to succumb to mindless giftcard swapping.

Receiving: No matter what, it’s still free items. And with the economy in its present state, we can all use free stuff.

Just be careful – trying to be economical and regift any of your received goods can be detrimental if you regift the wrong thing to the wrong person. It might be better to just suck it up and sell your new Oster on Craigslist.