Tips for a successful gift

As beautiful as the Christmas season can be, it is also often responsible for the fact that a big hole can be found in your wallet for months after the party. A study by Birg & Pommeranz from 2018 showed that Germans spend an average of € 472,30 on Christmas gifts. For many, however, the money is worth it because giving presents (according to Prof. Miklautz from the University of Vienna) is a "form of communication". You can show your fellow human beings with a nice gift that you appreciate it, underline the bond or document closeness materially. According to the "social network theory", gifts are the most expensive, the closer the relationship is.

Too often, however, the perfect gift for an important person does not quite work - somehow no material gift can say / show what you want to bring across. But not giving a gift is not an option either. What to do?

Here are some tips from the GEO magazine for the right gift:

• Put in the perspective of the recipient: What would the person like? What does he / she like to do? What could the person really use?

• Awareness of your own interests: This step is often important to differentiate your own interests from the other person you want to give something to. It is often the case that you give others what you would like to have yourself.

• Go shopping with a gift idea: This tip is usually known from the context of grocery shopping - you should never go shopping hungry or without a plan, because otherwise you go home with a pack of custard along with pickled cucumbers, which then dust in the closet. This can also be transferred to the purchase of gifts: a plan usually makes sense, since the overstimulation and the stress in shops risk a wrong purchase.
• Packaging is important: Some studies have found that the packaging adds to the perceived value of the gift. A bad or unpackaged gift often gives the impression that the gift is also not of high quality.

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