Dec 13

Dec 13 On Three Tips for Giving the Best Gifts in Covid

What a weird year. The holidays will likely also be weird. What could your partner, parent, or paramour possibly need in Covid times? And much worse, how will you even go about going shopping? One thing is for sure, we can rely on behavioural science to help us narrow in on the perfect gift.

So, you really want to nail it this year with your gifts. Maybe giving gifts is something you look forward to, or opening gifts is something you know your recipient will look forward to. After all, it has been shown that giving gifts can make you happy. A 2008 study by Michael Norton from the Harvard Business School found that participants were happier spending money on someone else rather than on themselves – even though they had prior predicted the opposite. This is known as “warm glow”, the warm fuzzies. Either way, we all could use a little magic this holiday season.

(Note: Don’t forget to take care of yourself too, this season – check out the Survival Guide.)

Given the constraints of Covid (closed stores, an over-stressed shipping and delivery system, and people simply not needing the same things because they aren’t going anywhere), how can we go about choosing the best gifts to give?

Here are three tips from a Behavioural Scientist to help you win Christmas.

Presenting the Sassonomics guide to giving the perfect gift

1. It Might Be Fun To Open Now, But Will They Use It?

When shopping for a gift for someone, it’s possible that we get caught up daydreaming about the moment that person opens the gift and seeing their reaction and basking in it all. But it turns out that the gift giver is more concerned about the value they get from the gift after that initial unwrapping moment. Because, you know, they’re the one stuck with the gift forever. So this means that sometimes we discredit some gifts that the receiver would actually really like because it doesn’t have the potential for a sexy unwrapping moment. For example, I wanted to do some renovations on my bathroom, so my parents gifted me a toilet. Awkward present, but much valued. On the other hand, giving people novelty stuff might be funny or cute in the moment, but it’ll sit in a drawer somewhere until being given to the Good Will, which begs the question, can it be considered a good gift?

2. Prioritize Experiences Over Stuff

Research has found that experience-based gifts are more likely to bring the giver and receiver closer together than material gifts. Interestingly, the gift-giver doesn’t even need to share in the experience for this to happen. This has been attributed to the emotions the receiver experiences when consuming the gift, as opposed to the emotions experienced when receiving and unwrapping a gift (in the case of material goods). Experiences are definitely on trend; especially with Millennials with a whopping 72% preferring experiences over things. For just about all generations, pictures are the new currency, so providing opportunities for gift receivers to have unique experiences that build their social media capital is highly valued.

There are other benefits, too. Experiences need not be consumed immediately (i.e., in Pandemic times) but could count as something great for the receiver to look forwards to – which brings its own swath of psychological benefits. Alternatively, you could get creative and gift people Covid-safe experiences, which might help as well. Best of all, you don’t have to worry about the cost of shipping, or delayed deliveries.

We all have someone like this on our list

3. Gift At The Intersection Of What They Like and What You Like

There is a temptation when shopping for a gift for someone to try to find something that is uniquely suited for your recipient, you know, to make them feel special. It turns out when we think “oh, what will Susie want?” we think about who Suzie is, and try to match the gift to those traits. A better idea would be if when we asked ourselves what Suzie wants, we actually think about what should/ would she want, and possibly need. For example, Susie loves giraffes. Like… SO MUCH. And at the store you found this adorable Giraffe HAT. You think to yourself… Susie will love this! But alas, she is a corporate executive and rarely would have occasion to wear a Giraffe hat.

But what we are excellent at is knowing what we want and what we’ll find useful. So try to think of something you have in common. For example, Susie loves cooking. I love cooking. And I love this amazing cutting board I got last year. Perhaps Susie will love it. But she will value that I gave her something I authentically like and that reminds her of our shared interest. What might work well in Covid is to give a gift that you’ve found to lighten your spirits during this tough time. Doing so shows caring, thoughtfulness, and authenticity.