As the Christmas season approaches, many of us begin to think about the gifts we want to share with the people we love.
Discovering what kind of gift giver you are can help you find peace and joy in this Christmas season. You can give in a way that best reflects your personality, your interests, your faith and your values, while still bringing happiness to the person receiving it!
If gift giving is stressful for you, maybe it’s because you haven’t figured out what kind of gift giver you are? Read on to see which one fits you and tailor your gift giving to your strengths!
You get bored wandering through shopping aisles partly because you aren’t interested in buying one more thing for your people. You’d like to give them the gift of your time and planning.
Maybe you like to give your parents a special day out with you, complete with a wine tasting trip and a long drive. You give your kids an annual pass to the zoo. You want your gifts to come with the time you invest in it.
Now, all gift giving involves thought, but you’re someone who cannot just pick up a random candle on the shelf to put under the Christmas tree. You want your gift to hit the spot with the person who receives it.
You’ve been listening all year for little hints and ideas. You might also gift people throughout the year and care less about what to wrap up for Christmas. Maybe you need to take the pressure off at Christmas and remember that you prefer gifting throughout the year instead of when you’re “supposed to".
You think most of us have too much stuff (and you’re probably right), and really don’t like the thought of buying a gift for the sake of it. You want your gift to mean something, but you don’t want to add clutter to anyone’s life.
You might like to give consumables like special pantry items or a coffee-table worthy magazine (check the catalogue of beautiful back issues of Soultread). Instead of toys, you could give children colouring books or craft supplies: items that get used up and discarded.
You love to make gifts and cards. You buy them from the op-shop, or you use your skills to craft and build the gifts your loved ones appreciate. You need advance planning and time to spend on making the gifts, so maybe it’s time to start making a plan for what you want to make this year!
Your friends’ wish lists are your best friends. You love to give people exactly what they want, and you thrive as a gift giver when you know what people are expecting. You need to ask people for their lists and remind them that this is who you are. You love giving people what they really do want.
All the presents are sustainably sourced and packaged, in fact you probably wrap your presents in old newspaper and hand stamp them. You prefer to buy gifts from organisations you support. Your friends know they will get something from a part of the world they’ve not heard of, and they know it will be unique while also socially impactful.
You love to splurge on the people you love. The big gift they’ve been eyeing for a while. Something extra special or top quality, with a heftier price tag. You know that to have a meaningful gift giving season you want to have money saved up to spend.
We invite you to prayerfully consider joining this work of restoration and hope by supporting Tearfund’s partners to overcome poverty and injustice.
