The most unusual Christmas gift I've received to date was a present from my Grandmother: a wooden coat hanger and a bar of soap. I could have taken this to be a thinly veiled reference to concerns about my sartorial inelegance and personal hygiene. In fact, it was a symptom of my Grandmother's delusion that she was sliding rapidly into penury and so needed to watch every penny. Thankfully, Bioelectric impedance she resumed her usual generous and thoughtful gift giving the following year. Nevertheless that 'black Christmas' taught me one very important lesson about Christmas gift giving. However little money you're going to spend, you should avoid buying mundane Christmas gifts. Everyone will have their personal horror stories, but included amongst my 'black museum' of mundane Christmas presents are the following:
Everyday Items Garnished with Tinsel
Anything you would buy in a supermarket or department store without a second thought as to its cost or your need for it, is mundane. Gift wrapping a washing up brush and giving it as a present won't make it a more exciting gift.
The Ghosts of Christmas Past
The occasional disappointing Christmas gift is inevitable, but receiving the same uninspiring gift from the same relative year after year can drive you to distraction. The pleasure of receiving gifts is the anticipation, the guessing, the squeezing and shaking of unopened parcels. All this is destroyed if you know that your unimaginative aunt is going to give you exactly the same gift that you "so loved" last year, and the year before, and the year before that.
Presents that Repeat Ad Infinitum
Some presents have a life all of their own. Without actually receiving anything, you find that the present you accepted without enthusiasm last Christmas has now been rolled forward for another year. Magazine subscriptions, memberships and season tickets all have the capacity to be easy for the giver and monotonous for the recipient. If you reached your teenage years before you were able to persuade your Grandmother that you were ready to relinquish your subscription to Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends magazine, you'll appreciate the true horrors that such perpetual presents can bring.
So, what should you do if you anticipate a Christmas morning which involves giving profuse thanks for gifts that include handkerchiefs, hand-knitted sweaters and home-made conserves? The answer seems counter intuitive and takes some years to work. The best way to avoid receiving mundane gifts is to improve the quality of the gifts you give. It's important to emphasise that this doesn't necessarily involve spending more money. It means devoting time and energy to ensure that you purchase imaginative presents which are individually selected for your family and friends. In a few years time, you should start to reap the rewards to your new enlightened approach to choosing Christmas gifts.
Phil Ward works at Gizoo, a leading UK retailer of gifts and gadgets. If you're stuck for Christmas gift ideas, Gizoo offers a great choice of stocking fillers and Secret Santa gifts, plus romantic Christmas gifts for her and a host of hi-tech gadgets as Christmas gifts for him.
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