Christmas is just around the corner and with it the annual stress of the festivities to get all the presents together in time for the gift-giving. Those who are really late face a difficult decision searching for a genuine gift at the last minute or giving a voucher or cash directly.
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No money as a Christmas gift
A British study by the University of Exeter shows what is already rather frowned upon in society - money is not a real alternative to a gift! The researchers asked young adults and their mothers about the topic in several rounds.
In the first two rounds, it was proven that the givers always prefer a real gift and that it does not matter whether the alternative is money or a voucher. In the further course of the experiments, it turns out that the young adults, should they be forced to put money under the Christmas tree, often give more than twice the value of their actual financial limit in cash - apparently they feel bad otherwise.
The emotional value of a gift
In the last round of interviews, the participating mothers revealed that they would naturally be happier to receive a traditional gift, although they may not communicate this so openly. With that said, the results of the study are clear. As you've probably guessed, Christmas gift-giving is about more than material value. It is an expression of mutual appreciation when you show that you have taken the time to give a gift and that it obviously comes from the heart.
This has now been officially confirmed once again by the study. So if you haven't got all your presents together for your relatives yet, you might want to take care of it sooner rather than later so you don't get into another predicament as Christmas approaches.
This article was translated from Gentside FR.
Sources used:
-Journal of Economic Psychology: 'The unacceptability of money as a gift'
