Findings from the burgeoning field of money and happiness suggest that one of the surest ways to boost one’s own mood is to donate money to others rather than buying material stuff for oneself. In light of the glitz and glamour associated with holiday gift-giving, this should be the most wonderful time of the year.
Research has shown, however, that gift-givers often miss the mark. One’s present recipient’s wants and needs are notoriously difficult to predict, even for the most considerate and well-meaning of gift givers. The good news is that there are five ways that you may make not just the people on your gift list but also yourself happy, all based on scientific study.
If you’re like me and the other roughly 10 million individuals in the United States who are worried out of their minds about all the things they still need to get, you may find this encouraging: the typical consumer wants to purchase 15 Christmas presents this year.
If you’re feeling guilty about all the Christmas presents you’ve given away, try this:
Chances to Make Friends and Influence People, Not Things
Deloitte reports that this year, clothing, toys, and technical items will account for sixty percent of the money spent on Christmas presents. Only 27% of individuals plan to buy experiences as gifts, such as tickets to a show or dinner at a nice restaurant. Things like Halloween Costumes are important here.
However, studies suggest that experiential gifts are far more likely to be valued than financial ones. This result agrees with that of a wide body of previous research that have shown that investing in one’s own happiness is best accomplished via participation in meaningful activities rather than the acquisition of material goods.
Make a Real World Connection
Certain types of tangible gifts are often accepted. Linking a physical present to an experience and giving them both together as a gift may provide the same connection boost as presenting a purely experienced product.
Simply Appeal to Their Emotional Desires
Gift givers often make a big mistake when they try to surprise the recipients with something they think would show how much they care about them by showing that they bought them something they really wanted. A person’s wishes should be respected if they have been communicated to you. The Kids Valentine Card is one of the elements there.
Give the gift of time to someone you care about.
Spending money on time-saving services (like housecleaning or grocery delivery), rather than material objects, is associated with greater satisfaction, according to research done in 2017 by Norton and four other researchers (such as clothes and wine). People are reluctant to part with their cash for this reason, though, in part because they feel guilty about outsourcing work that they would rather not do themselves.
Acquire More Cult Status
Giving to charity in someone else’s name shows compassion, don’t you think? If you aid other people, you’ll be doing something that shows you care about them. The difference is so enormous that it is not even meaningful to say.
A 2015 study by researchers at the University of Southern California, Harvard University, and Duke University found that people often overestimate the appreciation their friends have for socially responsible gifts, especially when the individuals in question are not very close to them.