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Around the holidays, there’s lots of pressure to give great gifts and create memories for your family. Last year, a study by LendingTree showed that 56% of holiday gift-givers were feeling stressed out about presents.
Respondents said that they felt pressure to find the perfect gifts and were anxious about not being able to afford presents. Gift-giving anxiety is not only bad for your mental health, but also your finances. Here are 5 ways to avoid getting sucked into the gift-giving frenzy this year so you can stick to your budget and enjoy the holidays more.
Don’t Give In To Holiday Spillover
Every year it seems like the holiday season starts earlier and earlier and new gift-giving obligations pop up. Recently on TikTok, I’ve seen videos about “boo baskets” flooding my feed. They’re Halloween-themed baskets that are filled with fall gifts like fuzzy socks, pumpkin decor, cozy throw blankets, and more.
Many influencers are pressuring their followers to get these baskets for their spouses and children, creating yet another gift-giving holiday. What’s next, gobble gifts for Thanksgiving? Halloween costumes and candy are expensive enough! If you can’t afford boo baskets, don’t feel pressure to give in to this holiday spillover.
Just because boo baskets went viral online doesn’t mean you have to participate in this trend. If your loved ones try to twist your arm, remind them that Christmas is right around the corner, so you need to start saving money for it. Personal finance is all about priorities because most of us can’t afford to do it all. Christmas is more important than these minor holidays along the way, so permit yourself to ignore them.
Don’t Feel Pressure to Spend More
During the holiday season, there are lots of ads designed to pressure us to spend more, such as vehicle commercials. These ads always feature a huge SUV with a big red bow sitting in the middle of a snow-covered driveway. A husband or wife is led outside on Christmas morning and is elated to see a luxury car waiting for them.
These commercials are pure fantasy because most of us would be very mad if our partner made such a major purchase without our involvement! However, ads and social media posts that show over-the-top gifts can still make us feel pressure to spend more on presents.
Studies have shown that we expect our loved ones to enjoy and appreciate expensive gifts more, which makes us want to increase our gift-giving budget. But recipients don’t always enjoy gifts with higher price tags. 72% of Americans say their favorite type of Christmas gift to receive is a thoughtful present, not necessarily an expensive one.
Additionally, 83% of gift-givers derive satisfaction from the act of giving loved ones gifts regardless of what they receive in return. So all the financial pressure we put on ourselves to spend more and one up last year’s gifts is largely unnecessary.
It’s OK to Ask What People Want
Searching high and low for the perfect gift and trying to guess what your loved ones want adds a lot of stress to the holidays. If you don’t know what your loved one would like for Christmas, gift-giving experts say it’s typically okay to ask them.
Asking for someone’s holiday wish list usually doesn’t ruin the excitement of opening gifts on Christmas morning. The recipient is still likely to find the gift special and thoughtful even if you need some input before going shopping. For instance, if they are a perfume lover, and they tell you that they adore fruity perfumes, you can still surprise them by getting variations of this type so that they can mix and match.
You also don’t have to put pressure on yourself to get the most unique gifts. Experts say that most gift-givers overshoot the mark and get something that’s too niche. Many gift recipients are happy with common, popular presents like Amazon or Visa gift cards. So you don’t have to rack your brain to come up with innovative gift ideas or spend a bundle on obscure, artisanal products. Just go with your gut and get something you believe aligns with your loved one’s personality and interests.
Consider Alternatives
Since many Americans are stressed out by gift-giving, it’s likely that your relatives are feeling the same way and may be open to alternatives. Instead of buying gifts for everyone in the family, you could start a Secret Santa tradition. That way each person only has to purchase one gift for a specific relative, which will help reduce the financial burden of the holidays. Or perhaps the adults could refrain from giving gifts to each other and only purchase presents for the children. Another alternative to consider is donating to charity or volunteering at a local soup kitchen instead of gifts.
Shop Secondhand
Giving someone a used gift used to be considered a faux pas. However, now that secondhand shopping has become cool, it’s worth checking out your local thrift store to see if it has any items worthy of going under the tree. Sometimes you can find gems like gently used designer clothing or high-end cookware like Staub or Le Creuset. For example, I once found a $400 Marc Jacobs coat at Goodwill for just $10. You can’t beat that!
Antique and vintage stores can also be good places to find affordable yet unique gifts that not everyone else has. Vintage items are often better quality and cheaper than the mass-produced items on store shelves today, so don’t be afraid to shop secondhand for Christmas gifts and give your wallet a break.
Remember that the recipient’s satisfaction with a gift doesn’t always correlate with how much you spent on it. So if you buy an affordable, gently used present that suits their interests and tastes, they may enjoy it more than something new from the mall.
How do you avoid giving in to the pressure to buy the best, most impressive gifts? Share your tips in the comments!
Read More
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Vicky Monroe is a freelance personal finance and lifestyle writer. When she’s not busy writing about her favorite money saving hacks or tinkering with her budget spreadsheets, she likes to travel, garden, and cook healthy vegetarian meals.