Ideas
The history of the Christmas gift dates back to 4th century
A.D. – the time of Saint Nicholas (later called Santa
Claus). Even after so many years, people still find it difficult
to find the perfect Christmas gifts for the special persons
in their lives. But it doesn’t have to be so hard. One
just has to anticipate the coming of Christmas and write down
good ideas as they occur. For instance, if your dad is frustrated
that his old fishing rod broke during summer vacation, he
might forget about it after a while, but it is your job to
write it down and remember to buy him a replacement when Xmas
comes.
Another good tip when looking for good Christmas gifts is
to think of alternatives to the common presents. Here are
a few ideas for alternative Christmas gifts:
1. Subscriptions (monthly magazine, journals
etc.)
2. Food (gift voucher for restaurants, gourmet
food basket, and others)
3. Holiday (gift voucher for short vacation
breaks)
4. Personal care (facial treatment, health
resort holiday, etc.)
5. Entertainment (cinema tickets, trip to
a go-cart track, etc.)
6. Gift voucher for a donation (Check out
our Christmas
charity list.)
Get more ideas in our Christmas Shopping
zone.
Large picture: Christmas
gifts
History
Gift giving was common during the Roman Saturnalia. In the
13th century, nuns in France started giving gifts to the poor
on the eve of St. Nicholas' Day. Gift giving was soon repressed
by the medieval church.
In the beginning, people did not buy expensive Christmas gifts
for each other. Gifts could be pieces of fruit or simple toys.
The gifts were not wrapped and were just given to each other
or hung on the tree since the Christmas tree tradition also
became popular.
Gift giving in colonial America was based on class differences,
the poor accosting the rich and demanding food, drink, and
money. In the 1820's, borrowing from the New York Dutch, the
idea of gift giving was transformed to that of parents giving
christmas gifts to their children. Moore's poem may have been
a contributing factor to the beginning of the commercialization
of Christmas. Christmas shopping was encouraged to overcome
the depression during the period, 1839-40.
Today, the sales due to the buying of Christmas gifts break
records every year. However, some families have started to
curb spending, because they think that Christmas due to the
unwise spending for Christmas gifts has become too commercialized.
The concern about the increasingly expensive tradition of
giving Christmas gifts has existed for a long time. As early
as 100 years ago, poets and social critics began warning people
that Christmas was becoming too commercialized.
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In Brazil, Christmas presents are hidden outdoors
(it is warm and they do not have to worry about snow)
and children have to search for them. 