Giving Christmas Gifts Has Long, Established History
The practice of giving Christmas gifts has been around since no one really knows, as the history of this practice is confusing at best, and conflicting at worse. Possible times include the Christmas Feast hosted by Kink Richard II in 1377 in England, but giving of Christmas gifts is most often credited to the Middle Ages and the practice of offering gifts to loved ones associated with the religious belief that the infant Jesus was offered gifts on the day of his birth.
Many claim that the giving of Christmas gifts has become such an expectation that the true meaning of the holiday has been lost. With retailers establishing separate shops with their departments geared towards different age groups and hobbies, it is nearly impossible to visit a store and not be reminded that it is time to think about buying Christmas gifts for someone. Traditionally, the giving of gifts was limited to loved ones, but today there are gift exchanges conducted in many work places as well as businesses giving gifts to their employees and customers.
While the thought of giving Christmas gifts may have begun as offerings to families, many people feel pressured to expand their gift list to include close friends and business associates. The gift-giving tradition also results in increased stress levels due to the self-induced dilemma of not having enough money to buy presents for everyone.
Juggling Expenses To Buy Presents
For many families it can be exceptionally stressful as they juggle available finances in order to have money to buy Christmas gifts for a variety of people. Fulfilling wishes of their children is becoming more difficult, especially as the children grow older and their wishes become more expensive. For most families, there is expectation of spending more money on Christmas gifts while their income level has not been adjusted to accommodate this self-imposed mandate.
Credit companies are some of the biggest winners in the practice of exchanging Christmas gifts who, along with retailers make most of their money during the holiday gift-giving season. The first months of the new year are often filled with credit card debt as well as unwanted gifts from people that will be returned to stores.
While starting to buy Christmas gifts early in the year has enabled many people to avoid the last-minute crush of shoppers in the stores, as well as saving money in the long run. Many simply procrastinate until the last minute and may be forced to pay higher prices to buy Christmas gifts they would not normally choose, but are left with little alternative.
