By Hunter Haskett, Staff Writer
The holiday season is here, and with that comes gift giving. Some people love to treat others with well-thought out gifts. Others, meanwhile, like junior Ethan Valdivieso, believe the whole ordeal sucks their wallet dry.
Junior Ida Greenlee said she enjoys the gift-giving process.
“I love it, because my mom owns a store (the French Door), so I just go into her store and look around for a bit, find some cute things for my friends, and it’s all 50 percent off for me, so it’s even better,” Greenlee said.
Freshman Lauren Shelton also likes giving gifts to others because it makes them happy. But finding the right gift can be difficult, especially for family. She is not alone in that department, as many students struggle with figuring out what to get for relatives.
“My close family, I pay attention, I get them really good gifts,” sophomore Julia Bachman said. “Then sometimes I don’t really know what to get everyone else, so I just give them a card or a hug.”
Greenlee, on the other hand, has a different approach to the Christmas season with her sibling.
“My brother and I have this kind of mutual agreement not to buy each other gifts, so if I don’t buy him a gift, he won’t buy me a gift,” Greenlee said.
Valdivieso prefers a list to know exactly what he’s shopping for, so don’t expect any surprises from him.
Trying to find family and friends the perfect gifts is a challenge, so knowing the right places to shop will be a Christmas miracle. Bachman likes to do her Christmas shopping at the mall or TJ Maxx.
“I like to go online to Urban Outfitters because you can get a lot of cheap knick-knack type of stuff, and Foxy Flamingo usually has cute deals,” Greenlee said.
And if you can’t find a gift? Different students have different go-to gifts.
“You get someone a gift card to somewhere. They can pick out what they want,” Bachman advised.
“A lot of times I base their gift from their personality,” Greenlee said, adding that her go-to gifts are bath bombs and candles.
Valdivieso prefers gift cards to Wal-Mart or Amazon because they have everything.
If you’ve run out of time to shop, hand-making a gift is a thoughtful thing to do, but they don’t always turn out how you expect. So you might want to go ahead and get overnight shipping from Amazon.
“Nobody in my family likes getting handmade gifts from me,” Bachman said. “I tried to make that sugar scrub stuff, but then it didn’t really turn out that great and it sort of smelled bad. I’ve never done that again.”
Other times, you’re prepared and you’ve knocked out all of your shopping and you end up getting people really good presents – presents that you like yourself.
“All the time – and I usually do keep it and then get them another gift,” Bachman said.
“Oh my God, yes, I usually buy multiple gifts of the same thing, but like little things within the gift, so if I find a cute lip balm then I’ll buy different types of that, but for each of my friends and then I’ll buy one for myself, too,” Greenlee said.
Just admit it: You’ve kept a present you really liked too, and then had to find a new one.
Once you’ve got a new present that you didn’t keep this time, now it’s time to actually give it to the person – and hope they like it.
Shelton recalled a time when she was younger: “I bought my sister a cotton candy machine when I was 7 – she never used it.”
People all have unique ways that they exchange gifts with the people they care about. Greenlee and her friends host “Thanks-getting.”
“My friends and I are planning on having it closer to Christmas now. It’s Thanksgiving with friends and pie and gifts,” Greenlee explained.
Whether you choose to hunt for the perfect gift, grab a gift card, or attempt to make a present, you can’t go wrong – except maybe if it’s a funny-smelling sugar scrub.
Sophomore Hunter Haskett can be reached at hasketthu0318@daretolearn.org.
