Gifts: Giving or Recieving?

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Which do you like better. For me, it's receiving all the way!

Both! Receiving gifts is fun, but also giving gifts is fun too because I feel like it's a good deed.

Receiving, although I'm good at picking gifts for people.

I dislike both.

Receiving a gift is always awkward, I never know how I'm supposed to react, I don't have the NT gene that makes people squeal with delight, 'ooh' and 'aah' and say things like "Oh, you shouldn't have! I just love it!" Frankly, nobody ever bothers to get to know me well enough to even know what I like or what I'm interested in, so anything they give me feels like an obligatory afterthought, it's obvious they only did it because it's the socially PC thing to do.

Giving gifts I enjoy only if it's a spontaneous impulse, not a Greeting Card Holiday. The only reason for giving a gift is that it means something. If you do it because you're expected to, it's just an empty ritual.

Even thinking about it makes me uncomfortable.

I definitely prefer giving gifts to receiving them.

I posted about this already in another thread: I tend to get massively, absurdly upset when I receive a gift I don't like. I know myself that it's way over the top, and also rude and ungrateful, but I can't help it. I think it's because I can't deal with having to pretend I'm pleased, which isn't something I'm good at, and because I know that if, or rather when, I fail at doing that, the giver will be hurt and disappointed. (Sometimes there's also an element of "Why on Earth would you think I want this? Why do you not know me better than that?")

So anytime a gift appears anywhere near me, I become anxious and uncomfortable. I would much rather people never gave me anything than have to deal with this. (Except perhaps the sort of people who ask you what you want, and then get you that. That I can handle )

I prefer giving over receiving. I know the gifts I give people will be things that they're going to like. I've learned from observing mistakes made by an old friend that I've known for 30 years to buy for the recipient instead of myself while selecting gifts. When I'm on the receiving end, I never know what I'm going to get and I've gotten things in the past that I've never used or worn. I feel that it's better to give, because I put a lot of thought into who I'm buying for and I know that gift will be deeply appreciated.

Actually, now I think about it, that's true of me too. It's just that I have a vaguely effective strategy when I like it (I'll say something about why I like it), whereas when I don't, I'm completely overwhelmed and at sea.



For me, the joy of giving gifts is when I see something and think, "Ooh, X would like that". Then I'll get it for them and give it to them ASAP, no particular occasion required. "Having" to exchange gifts just leads to pointless accumulations of tat and bric-a-brac anyway.



Yep...

Definitely giving. I don't particularly care for shopping throughout the year, but I really enjoy Christmas shopping for gifts for others.. in part because I'm good at it. I almost always know just what to get for each person and my gifts are very well received. I put a lot of thought into gifts for others and it shows when they open them and realize it's something they needed/wanted/like etc and are appreciative of my efforts. Ditto goes for birthday presents, too.

..on the topic of gifts; I'm not sure why gays just don't really get into the spirit of giving at Christmas. Once again this year, in a recent Fox News poll, only 50% of gay men responded that it was better to give than to receive..

I hate recieving things that I don't want.

Of the two, I prefer giving because most people are thankful for whatever they get, and I have gotten good at either getting something someone really wants or at least something they can enjoy. I've gotten enough lame gifts to know what I figure nobody wants to get.

The problem with getting is that you have to show sincere appreciation for the gift...even if it sucks, and most of them suck. I need few things, and nobody really knows what I want, so their gift is only going to be returned. The last debacle my mom got silk thermal underwear and earmuffs for everyone. Um, I don't use earmuffs (if I need to protect my ears, I'm already wearing a hat), and the thermals were the wrong size. The place she got them from had no more in stock until next Christmas, so there was no way to exchange them. She was reduced to tears because of all the work she did to get these gifts only to have nobody want them (it's not like we could hide never using them).

I like the gift giving practice of everyone pick a fun or practical gift and you pick gifts by random drawing. The next person can steal an opened gift (letting that person pick another) or keep it. As none of the gifts are particularly valuable, it's not like anyone really gets slighted because they could go out and buy themselves the same thing if they would want one of their own.

I love giving gifts. I've started making up gift baskets for people and filling them with different interesting things.

I'm not that into getting gifts because I'm usually given things I don't really want and won't use. Although it irritates me that my siblings got lots of nice kitchen things when they got married. Why does no one think to buy me nice glasses or fancy nibbles bowls. Just coz I'm single doesn't mean I don't have a kitchen.

I like giving, too bad I'm broke and can't do that very often.