Gift giving

During the whole year one of the most wonderful times is Christmas. It is a time of celebration when family and friends have enough time to sit and talk. Christmas is the time of fantasy and magical atmosphere. The smell of the turkey cooking the lights on the Christmas tree and though of what Santa Clause may bring - gifts. This brings the same problem every year, what to buy. Ii is hard to interpret the dreams of family and friends, and many people are unaware that we follow the hint giving by marketing special thru the media. Present may be:

functional – utilitarian,

symbolic – status symbols

and hedonistic – for fun.

Gershoff (University of Michigan) claims that personal preferences may cause a problem, because the more we like something can influence a conduct during buying a gift.
"This difference leads us to make more exaggerated predictions that people like the same things we do, compared to predictions that people will dislike the same things that we dislike” said Gershoff.

Peoples shopping habits have changed considerably in recent years. One of the most dramatic changes has been purchasing the goods via the internet. This is now the second most important venue for giftware shopping.

Danziger (2004) claims that:
-Gift giving is about emotionally connecting giver and recipient
-Emotional shopping – the goal is to achieve a special feeling
-The gift communicates a message
-Problems can occur when the giver and the recipient’s values differ.

In conclusion every single gift is proof of an affection to the gifted person. The value of the present is irrelevant compared to the act of giving.