My mother has a different view about gifting during Christmas. I can still remember the film I watched when I was little, I saw families gathered together to share gifts on Christmas morning, and when I asked her why we didn't do the same, she responded that there are many ways to show love and give gifts during Christmas and giving gifts to families is one of the many several ways. She believed that the Christmas period is a time to show love to people who are in need.
So during Christmas, we prepare lots of food to give to people in need, you would think it was a wedding celebration instead of Christmas. Also, we gift out clothes, shoes and other things to them. In my family, festive gifting was about helping and feeding other people in need. Sometimes we do family gifting during the festive period where we gift things to each other but honestly, this is very rare, gift giving is mostly done on birthdays.
Am grateful to my mom, the hurdle of searching for a gift, thinking of what to buy, and what will be most appreciated by the receiver is never an easy task. You want to give something that the person would like but then you wonder if they appreciate or hate the gift or even if the gift will be meaningless to them. Thanks to her though, we don't see gifting as an obligation but something that should be done with love.
During Christmas, sometimes we go visit relatives and neighbours, so this particular Christmas we went to my aunt's house to celebrate with her. On getting there, I saw my cousin crying profusely. When I asked her what the problem was, she refuse to talk but aunt merely told me she was being a spoilt brat. That morning my aunt gave her the cloth she had bought for her but my cousin was not happy with the dress, apparently, it was not a princess gown.
She wanted a gown that will make her look like a princess and what her mother got for her was an ordinary gown that does not signify her princess status. No matter how much we all petted and pleaded with her, she refuse to stop crying and eventually her mother became so angry that she threatened not to buy her any new dress again. The trick work and she stopped crying. Children her so funny, rejecting a gown because it is not princess-like but then she was just 8 years and it was this age every little girl wants to be a princess, I know because I wanted to be a princess at that age also.
I always try to appreciate every gift being given, even if I have no use for it or it is not to my taste. I believe it is the thoughts that count and not the gift because I know gift shopping is not easy.