Gift

Agiftorpresentis an item given to someone (who is not already the owner) without the expectation of payment or anything in return. Althoughgift-givingmight involve an expectation of reciprocity, a gift is intended to be free. In many countries, the act of mutually exchangingmoney,goods,etc., may sustainsocial relationshipsand contribute tosocial cohesion.Economists have elaborated theeconomicsof gift-giving into the notion of agift economy.By extension, the termgiftcan refer to any item or act of service that makes the otherhappieror lesssad,especially as a favor, includingforgivenessandkindness.Gifts are often presented on occasions such asbirthdaysandholidays.

History

Presentation

In many cultures gifts are traditionallypackagedin some way. For example, inWestern cultures,gifts are often wrapped inwrapping paperand accompanied by agift notewhich may note the occasion, the recipient's name and the giver's name. InChinese culture,red wrapping connotes luck. Although inexpensive gifts are common among colleagues, associates and acquaintances, expensive or amorous gifts are considered more appropriate among close friends, romantic interests or relatives.^[1]

Gift-giving occasions

Gifts under aChristmas tree

Modernengagementgifts basket in Bangladesh.

EmperorPedro I of Brazilreceives a sword as a gift from his wifeAmélie.It belonged to her fatherEugène de Beauharnais.

Gift-giving occasions may be:

An expression ofloveorfriendship
An expression ofgratitudefor a gift received.
An expression ofpiety,in the form ofcharity.
An expression ofsolidarity,in the form ofmutual aid.
To sharewealth.
To offset misfortune.
Offering travelsouvenirs.
Custom, on occasions (oftencelebrations) such as
- Abirthday(the person who has his or her birthday givescake,etc. and/or receives gifts).
- Apotlatch,in societies where status is associated with gift-giving rather than acquisition.
- Christmas(throughout the history of Christmas gift giving, people have given one another gifts, often pretending they are left bySanta Claus,theChrist ChildorSaint Nicholas).
- Feast of Saint Nicholas(people give each other gifts, often supposedly receiving them fromSaint Nicholas).
- Easter basketswithchocolate eggs,jelly beans,andchocolate rabbitsare gifts given onEaster.
- Greek Orthodox Christiansin Greece, will give gifts to family and friends on the Feast ofSaint Basil.
- Muslimsgive gifts to family and friends, known asEidi,onEid al-Fitr(the end ofRamadan) and onEid al-Adha.
- American JewsgiveHanukkahgifts to family and friends.
- HindusgiveDiwaliandPongalgifts to family and friends. Rakhi orRaksha Bandhanis another occasion where brothers give gifts to sisters.
- BuddhistsgiveVesakgifts to family and friends.
- Gifts are given to amongAfrican Americanfamilies and friends onKwanzaa.
- Awedding(the couple receives gifts and givesfoodand/ordrinksat thewedding reception).
- Awedding anniversary(each spouse receives gifts).
- Afuneral(visitors bring flowers, the relatives of the deceased give food and/or drinks after the ceremonial part).
- Abirth(the baby receives gifts, or the mother receives a gift from the father known as apush present).
- Passing anexamination(thestudentreceives gifts).
- Father's Day(thefatherreceives gifts).
- Mother's Day(themotherreceives gifts).
- Siblings Day(thesiblingreceives gifts)
- The exchange of gifts between a guest and a host, is often a traditional practice.
- Lagniappe
- RetirementGifts
- CongratulationsGifts
- EngagementGifts
- Housewarming partyGifts
- Women's dayGifts
- Valentine's Day

Promotional gifts

Promotional gifts differ from regular gifts. Recipients may include employees or clients. These gifts are primarily used for advertising. They help promote the brand name and increase its awareness. In promotional gifting, the quality and presentation of the gifts are more important than the gifts themselves, as they serve as a gateway to acquire new clients or associates.^{[citation needed]}

As reinforcement and manipulation

Giving a gift to someone is not necessarily just an altruistic act. It may be given in the hope that the receiverreciprocatesin a particular way. It may take the form ofpositive reinforcementas arewardforcompliance,possibly for an underhandmanipulativeandabusivepurpose.^[2]

Unwanted gifts

Giving the appropriate gift that aligns with the recipient's preferences poses a formidable challenge. Gift givers commonly err in the process of gift selection, either by offering gifts that the recipients' do not wish to receive or by failing to provide gifts that recipients earnestly desired. For example, givers avoid giving the same gifts more than once while recipients are more open to receiving a repeated gift,^[3]givers prefer to avoid givingself-improvementproducts (e.g.,self-help books) as gifts while recipients are more open to receiving such gifts,^[4]when choosing between giving digital and physicalgift cards,givers opt for the latter more often than recipients want,^[5]and many receivers prefer a futureexperienceinstead of anobject,or a practical gift that they have requested over a moreexpensive,showier gift chosen by the giver.^[6]One cause of the mismatch between the giver's and receiver's view is that the giver is focused on the act of giving the gift, while the receiver is more interested in the long-termutilitarianvalue of the gift.^[6]

Due to the mismatch between givers' and recipients' gift preferences, a significant fraction of gifts are unwanted, or the giver pays more for the item than the recipient values it, resulting in a misallocation of economic resources known as adeadweight loss.Unwanted gifts are often "regifted",donated to charity, or thrown away.^[7]A gift that actually imposes a burden on the recipient, either due to maintenance or storage or disposal costs, is known as awhite elephant.

One means of reducing the mismatch between the buyer and receivers' tastes is advance coordination, often undertaken in the form of awedding registryorChristmas list.Wedding registries in particular are often kept at a single store, which can designate the exact items to be purchased (resulting in matching housewares), and to coordinate purchases so the same gift is not purchased by different guests. One study found that wedding guests who departed from the registry typically did so because they wished to signal a closer relationship to the couple by personalizing a gift, and also found that as a result of not abiding by the recipients' preferences, their gifts were appreciated less often.^[8]

An estimated $3.4 billion was spent on unwanted Christmas gifts in the United States in 2017.^[9]The day after Christmas is typically the busiest day for returns in countries with large Christmas gift giving traditions.^[9]^[10]The total unredeemed value ofgift cardspurchased in the U.S. each year is estimated to be about a billion dollars.^[7]

In some cases, people know the preferences of recipients very well, and can give highly valued gifts. Some value in gift-giving comes from assisted preference discovery - people receiving gifts they did not know they would like, or which they did not know were available. Behavioral economists propose that the non-material value of gifts lies in strengthening relationships by signalling the giver was thoughtful, or spent time and effort on the gift.^[11]

Legal aspects

Atcommon law,for a gift to have legal effect, it was required that there be (1) intent by the donor to give a gift, and (2) delivery to the recipient of the item to be given as a gift.

In some countries, certain types of gifts above a certain monetary amount are subject to taxation. For the United States, seeGift tax in the United States.

In some contexts, gift giving can be construed asbribery.This tends to occur in situations where the gift is given with an implicit or explicit agreement between the giver of the gift and its receiver that some type of service will be rendered (often outside of normal legitimate methods) because of the gift. Some groups, such as government workers, may have strict rules concerning gift giving and receiving so as to avoid the appearance of impropriety.^[12]

Cross border monetary gifts are subject to taxation in both source and destination countries based on the treaty between the two countries.

Religious views

Lewis Hydeclaims inThe GiftthatChristianityconsiders theIncarnationand subsequent death ofJesusto be the greatest gift to humankind, and that theJatakacontains a tale of theBuddhain his incarnation as the Wise Hare giving the ultimatealmsby offering himself up as a meal forSakka.(Hyde, 1983, 58–60)

In theEastern Orthodox Church,the bread and wine that areconsecratedduring theDivine Liturgyare referred to as "the Gifts." They are first of all the gifts of the community (both individually and corporately) to God, and then, after theepiklesis,the Gifts of theBodyandBloodofChristto the Church.

Ritualsacrificescan be seen as return gifts to adeity.

References

^Brigham, John Carl (1986).Social Psychology.p. 322.
^Braiker, Harriet B. (2004).Who's Pulling Your Strings? How to Break The Cycle of Manipulation.McGraw Hill Professional.ISBN 978-0-07-144672-3.
^Givi, Julian (2020-09-01)."(Not) giving the same old song and dance: Givers' misguided concerns about thoughtfulness and boringness keep them from repeating gifts".Journal of Business Research.117:87–98.doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2020.05.023.ISSN 0148-2963.S2CID 219930823.
^Reshadi, Farnoush (2023-10-01)."Failing to give the gift of improvement: When and why givers withhold self-improvement gifts".Journal of Business Research.165:114031.doi:10.1016/j.jbusres.2023.114031.ISSN 0148-2963.S2CID 258819983.
^Reshadi, Farnoush; Givi, Julian; Das, Gopal (May 2023)."Gifting digital versus physical gift cards: How and why givers and recipients have different preferences for a gift card's mode of delivery".Psychology & Marketing.40(5): 970–978.doi:10.1002/mar.21790.ISSN 0742-6046.S2CID 255635981.
^^a ^bGalak, Jeff; Givi, Julian; Williams, Elanor F. (December 2016)."Why Certain Gifts Are Great to Give but Not to Get: A Framework for Understanding Errors in Gift Giving".Current Directions in Psychological Science.25(6): 380–385.doi:10.1177/0963721416656937.ISSN 0963-7214.
^^a ^bLee, Timothy B. (December 21, 2016)."The economic case against Christmas presents".Vox.RetrievedDecember 5,2017.
^Mendoza, Nohely (December 26, 2017)."New Study Explores Psychology Of Giving Wedding Gifts".Nexstar Broadcasting.Waco, Texas.
^^a ^bMendoza, Nohely."Biggest return day of the year".Nexstar Broadcasting.Waco, Texas.RetrievedSeptember 19,2018.
^Musaddique, Shafi (January 2, 2018)."Unwanted Christmas presents set to rise on busiest day of the year for returns".The Independent.RetrievedSeptember 19,2018.
^Jeff Guo (December 19, 2014)."No, Virginia, Christmas is not an 'orgy of wealth destruction'".The Washington Post.
^"Gifts and Payments".Washington, D.C.: United States Office of Government Ethics.Archivedfrom the original on September 15, 2020.RetrievedSeptember 19,2018.