How To Choose A Gift For The New Year - Society

A gift is a non-verbal form of expression of an attitude. But this phenomenon has acquired many social stereotypes. More often than not, the content and form of presenting a gift is random and inept, and the language for decoding the symbols has been lost. Now the intangible content of the presentation is emasculated and the material one is exaggerated. It is not for nothing that websites have appeared that sell unnecessary gifts.

The attitude to a gift from the point of view of its material value is characteristic of conditions of need and total deficit. By inertia, we continue to look at the world with insatiable eyes. The situation has been brought to the point of absurdity that it’s time to talk about it, and not so much in the name of restoring the original meaning that was laid in the act of donation, but to jointly invent new meanings that are adequate to our reality.

Collection of information

1. Who do we give gifts to? Underline whatever applicable:

• to the one we love;
• to the one you depend on;
• to whom we consider friends;
• to someone who is used to giving gifts without thinking why we are doing it;
• the one with whom we have been actively communicating lately and who is in the field of attention;
• to the one who usually gives us gifts;
• for someone who suits what we don't need;
• your answer.

2. Why do we give gifts? Underline whatever applicable:

• out of habit, by tradition, not wanting to destroy the ritual;
• wanting to please, to please;
• earn bonuses in your reputation;
• to non-verbally express your attitude towards a person;
• prove something to yourself;
• your answer.

Gifted to give

There are people who have an amazing talent for choosing and giving gifts. Observing them allows you to sketch out a plan for the donation process.

• 1. Everything must begin with the impulse of the soul; an urgent need to do something good for a person; motivation that is difficult to suppress or sublimate.
• 2. It is important to carry out "psychodiagnostics" of the object of donation - what kind of person is this, what he enjoys, what will please him.
• 3. Aerobatics - to find the answer to the last question in the unconscious sphere of a person - to give him what he really needs, but he does not know about it yet. Psychologists call this an appeal to the zone of proximal development or unrealized personal potential. This is an appeal to the beautiful, but still hidden strings of the soul. For example, a person with musical talent can be presented with a musical instrument or a subscription to a training course. This is a message to the future. The best gift is not addressed to the present and by no means to the past of the individual. A gift about something that a person has outgrown, lost interest in, or for some reason left in the past can upset and even outrage.
• 4. Preparing a good gift takes time and thought. If the original intention is not very strong, facing the subsequent hardships of embodiment will almost certainly nullify the impulse "but it would be good …". That is why good gifts are valuable because they are a vivid evidence that a person has kept the issue in the spotlight for a long time, wasted his time (the most valuable resource in life), thought about it and worried about it.
• 5. No less important than the content of the gift is the form of its presentation. Giving is a kind of show, magic. Sometimes in social networks they launch a topic that arouses active interest - "Tell us about the best gift in your life." Reading such collections can help you produce a good idea or even adopt someone else's.

Gift classification

Shows of courtesy

… Inexpensive and cute. As a rule, they have no material value. Flowers are a classic example: only a sign of attention is given. There can be many such gifts (even the same ones), for example, to colleagues. Gifts with humor are good. But to please, one must know the person well.

In one organization, the chief was given a pot of borscht for his birthday. This was appropriate, firstly, because the person often mentioned how tired he was of restaurants and how he wanted simple homemade food; and secondly, his character was such that the employees knew for sure that the gift would be correctly understood and accepted.

Close and dear

These are personalized gifts. You can give almost anything, as long as it suits the tastes of the person to whom it is intended. If there are no creative ideas, you can be guided by pragmatism - the present should be necessary and useful. It should only be remembered that an overly expensive or unjustifiably intimate gift is an unauthorized invasion of personal space.

For the most

It is not things that are given, but feelings and relationships. Falsehood is especially dangerous here. You need to be in tune with yourself enough to adequately assess your attitude towards a person. In addition, you need to find a successful materialization of your attitude and make sure that the allegory is adequately read by the addressee.

Your beloved

Such gifts should be made without losing a sense of proportion - not deprived, but not oversalted.

New Year's miracles

They are fanned by the romance of the holiday, their special style is belief in miracles, fabulousness and childishness. In the New Year, it is more appropriate than ever to give feelings, mood and atmosphere. As mentioned above, the most successful gifts appeal to the zone of proximal human development. The most common mechanism of personal development is awareness. The alternative to it is a miracle - when something happens that is impossible to understand, but we have to admit: it is! If on an ordinary holiday it is good to give a subscription to classes in a music studio, on New Year's it is more appropriate to provoke a situation so that a person sings and receives confirmation that he is an outstanding vocal talent! On the one hand, you cannot give a miracle to someone who does not admit its possibility, on the other hand, Santa Claus has been doing it for so many years!

Photo: Oksana Gilman / Photobank Lori