I feel so relieved every year around this time. It's because in the four weeks leading up to the end of September, I've had to find the perfect gift for the seven people I'm closest to in this entire world. That's a whole hell of a lot of pressure.
I can handle the majority of the gift-buying. My brother loves Ohio State and beer, and my sister loves all things girly. Simple! Ohio State beer mugs and a sparkly shirt. Done and done.
The people who are the worst to buy gifts for are my parents, by far. They're exactly three days apart, so I'm always looking for gifts for them at the same time. And it's not they're difficult to buy for, but I just never know what to get either of them - my dad especially. So I'm always racking my brain to figure out something thoughtful, but get frustrated easily by how much I feel like I strike out at this.
I was talking to a new friend/colleague the other day and he was telling me that his birthday was a few days ago. I told him happy birthday, asked him what he got for his birthday, and was shocked when he told me "nothing."
He said he neither gives gifts nor receives them for birthdays in his family because he thinks it's weird that on a particular day every year you're required to give someone a gift. He said he'd much rather give a friend a gift because he saw something at a store he thought his friend would like, regardless of the time of year, and I shouldn't be surprised if I come into work one day to find a small gift from him on my desk.
After thinking about that for a bit, I realized how right that seems. I've been at a store before and have seen something that I thought would be perfect for someone, but thought, "but it's March and Christmas is so far away so there's no reason to buy this." That's ridiculous to think.
Therefore, in Lichtenstein, you are only obligated to get gifts for someone when you feel like it or when you see something they'd like. And that person is absolutely not obligated to get you a gift in return.
This way, there's no pressure to figure out the perfect gift under a deadline, and there's the possibility of getting a gift all year long!
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