Nice Envelope!
Over the last few weeks I have thought about how gift-giving has changed over the last few decades. In some ways I find that the act of giving has become more virtual, generic and risk averse. As a result exchanges have lost some of their mystery. They've become less tangible somehow, less memorable. They relay less about the personalities of the individuals doing the giving and receiving.
As I child I used to go to my grandmother's house for Christmas. All my aunts, uncles and cousins were there. With so many of us present the presents spread out way beyond the shade cast by the fake silver tree. Wrapped boxes with surprises waiting to be discovered were stacked all the around the back of the tree. While some of the boxes did a poor job of masking their contents others were generic cubes.
My cousins and I were especially fond of music and so many of the gifts under the tree took the shape of a flat, square record sleeve. We were left having to guess whether it was an album from Supertramp, Styx, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Cars...... (I remember that we'd use a key or our fingernails to slit the sleeve open, careful not cut ourselves.) In addition there were some gifts that clearly looked like Tintin or Schtroumpfs comic books. The rest of the wrapped gifts would hide board games, play cars and airplanes, jewellery and clothes...or some other object.
These last gifts were always the wildcards as you'd never know how one would react to the sweater, its colour or its style. Would the earrings match the recipient's personality (long-dangly and wild, stubby and conservative)? Would the gathered relatives react positively or negatively to the giver's interpretation of this person's likes and dislikes? What would be the intended person's reaction?
All of this added to the mystique of the exchange. The uncertainty around the content, the choices made, the reactions. As there were so many people and gifts, and since we followed the rule of "one-gift-opening-at-a-time" - so that all could stare, comment, take pictures and poke fun - it would take a lot of time to unwrap all the gifts. Words, looks and thoughts circulated between aunts and uncles as we all watched the person unwrap their surprise.
We all left my grandmother's house with arms full. Things have changed.
Most of what my children had on their wish lists this year either was, or required, some sort of iDevice, game console, etc. This got me thinking...
Today books, movies, music, games are all downloadable. They do not come in a box but come down over the internet and get loaded onto an iPod, iPad or Kindle. What does one wrap-up and place under the tree? An envelope with a print-out of the "cover" of the book, movie or album. Clothes are no longer given nor asked for. Instead this has been reduced to the requesting and giving of a gift-card for a favourite chain (Garage, H&M, Abercrombie). One might know a sweater is wished for but the wrong colour, size or style might be purchased. Embarrassment avoided.
A crowd favourite seems to be plain old cash or VISA gift cards. The giver no longer needs to even worry about where to by an item. "Just go buy what you want. I did not know what you wanted anyway." What flexibility! The recipient can buy whatever they want away from the stares of the gathered family (which by the way has shrunk considerably). We avoid the need to call, write, phone and exchange words or lists with the intended recipient. What efficiency! In fact those cards are so convenient that they can be given with no thought whatsoever! What ease and convenience!
The result is that one ends up with a bunch of envelopes and the potential for one lame exchange.
"What are you going to buy?"
"I don't know yet."
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
As I child I used to go to my grandmother's house for Christmas. All my aunts, uncles and cousins were there. With so many of us present the presents spread out way beyond the shade cast by the fake silver tree. Wrapped boxes with surprises waiting to be discovered were stacked all the around the back of the tree. While some of the boxes did a poor job of masking their contents others were generic cubes.
My cousins and I were especially fond of music and so many of the gifts under the tree took the shape of a flat, square record sleeve. We were left having to guess whether it was an album from Supertramp, Styx, Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, The Cars...... (I remember that we'd use a key or our fingernails to slit the sleeve open, careful not cut ourselves.) In addition there were some gifts that clearly looked like Tintin or Schtroumpfs comic books. The rest of the wrapped gifts would hide board games, play cars and airplanes, jewellery and clothes...or some other object.
These last gifts were always the wildcards as you'd never know how one would react to the sweater, its colour or its style. Would the earrings match the recipient's personality (long-dangly and wild, stubby and conservative)? Would the gathered relatives react positively or negatively to the giver's interpretation of this person's likes and dislikes? What would be the intended person's reaction?
All of this added to the mystique of the exchange. The uncertainty around the content, the choices made, the reactions. As there were so many people and gifts, and since we followed the rule of "one-gift-opening-at-a-time" - so that all could stare, comment, take pictures and poke fun - it would take a lot of time to unwrap all the gifts. Words, looks and thoughts circulated between aunts and uncles as we all watched the person unwrap their surprise.
We all left my grandmother's house with arms full. Things have changed.
Most of what my children had on their wish lists this year either was, or required, some sort of iDevice, game console, etc. This got me thinking...
Today books, movies, music, games are all downloadable. They do not come in a box but come down over the internet and get loaded onto an iPod, iPad or Kindle. What does one wrap-up and place under the tree? An envelope with a print-out of the "cover" of the book, movie or album. Clothes are no longer given nor asked for. Instead this has been reduced to the requesting and giving of a gift-card for a favourite chain (Garage, H&M, Abercrombie). One might know a sweater is wished for but the wrong colour, size or style might be purchased. Embarrassment avoided.
A crowd favourite seems to be plain old cash or VISA gift cards. The giver no longer needs to even worry about where to by an item. "Just go buy what you want. I did not know what you wanted anyway." What flexibility! The recipient can buy whatever they want away from the stares of the gathered family (which by the way has shrunk considerably). We avoid the need to call, write, phone and exchange words or lists with the intended recipient. What efficiency! In fact those cards are so convenient that they can be given with no thought whatsoever! What ease and convenience!
The result is that one ends up with a bunch of envelopes and the potential for one lame exchange.
"What are you going to buy?"
"I don't know yet."
Let me know what you think about what you have just read. Please and thanks!
Comments