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How to Shop for Presents

Roaming the aisles aimlessly, staring at brightly colored toys in shiny packages, I plead for inspiration from the Gods. It seems the only thing harder than surviving an eight-year-old’s birthday is buying a gift for an eight-year-olds birthday. It’s been a long time since the second grade, and I (rarely) find myself playing with Barbie’s or coloring with chalk on a Friday night. So knowing what toy to buy can be a bit of a daunting task. Apparently Cabbage Patch Kids are out, and Bratz dolls are in. Who knew?

But, just as I’m about to hang my head and end this futile search, I spot it. A toy, nestled at the end of the aisle and covered in lime green packaging with cheetah print accents. The font makes an impression in jet black, and the typeface is girly, but not too girly. It’s quirky, innovative and unique. In a word: perfect. I greedily grab the product and march to the nearest checkout counter, proud of my detective work. I’m practically Carmen San Diego.

I carefully wrap the gift, adding a sparkly silver bow as the finishing touch and add it to the mountain of presents as I enter the party. Twenty minutes later, the room is covered in shreds of paper and pink ribbon. It looks like a festive bomb went off. Kylie is ecstatic with her gift and her Mom comes over to thank me. I ask her what exactly I bought. She explains the product to me, and while I’m still not sure what the thing does, I do know the marketers behind it are geniuses.

Shopping for presents is hard enough but the people behind the lime green packaging certainly knew what they were doing. By capturing the vibe and essence of their target market the company was able to convince me that Kylie would love it, even if I didn’t know what it was.

For companies, selecting the right packaging is key. Not only does it help attract a target audience, but it also gives a product identity and personality, something that can be easily associated with a group. When I saw the colors, patterns and overall “vibe” of the product I knew it had Kylie’s name written all over it, even though I didn’t know what it was. Dummies like me can use all the help we can get, and proper packaging is one way to really help us out!

Learn more at www.pearsonpkg.com.

How Important Are Gifts In A Relationship?

Do you know anyone who doesn’t like receiving gifts, especially from that special one? Gifts are not just an expression of love but of intent as well. A gift says many things without using words. A relationship is defined by many aspects, gifts being one of them. How important exactly are gifts in a relationship? Can a relationship thrive without the gift exchanging custom?

Why Gifts Are Important and Beneficial

If we put this one to the vote, you’ll find many who’ll say gifts can solidify a tenuous relationship.

1. Gifts Remind One of Happy Times

When two people share happy times, a gift commemorates the feeling and the experience. It encapsulates shared joys and becomes a lasting memory of a beautiful moment in a relationship. The gift becomes a keepsake of a significant relationship milestone.

2. Gifts Bind People to Each Other

A gift tells your partner just how important they are to you. By gifting something to your man, you seal a bond that is unspoken. Words cannot convey the intent or the thoughts adequately, but gifts can. It’s not gifts they’re exchanging, but trust. The gift alone cannot create depth within a relationship. It only cements the relationship which is already built on mutual trust, love and giving.

3. Gifts Bring Out Mutual Generosity

No one likes spending money unnecessarily on others; most of us are materialistic and would rather spend on ourselves. However, when two people are in a relationship and love is flourishing, both partners feel like giving gifts.

4. Gifts Make People Feel Special

Both the giver and the receiver feel special, as though the world holds only joys for them (sigh!). Exchanging gifts and gift ideas excites the joy center of the brain, flooding it with dopamine and endorphins. All these feel-good hormones cause couple to feel insanely happy, comforted and secure in their love.

Why Gifts Are Not That Big A Deal

Well, there are always two sides to a coin, or rather a gift, as we can see here:

5. Gifts Become Unwanted Reminders

Ask anyone about what’s the first thing they did after a bad breakup. They broke those cute ‘you and me’ music CDs, right? And what about that necklace, pure silver and all that? Maybe she didn’t have the heart to throw that one, but I can bet you it’s tarnishing in a neglected corner. That’s what happens to gifts when things go sour. They become unwanted reminders of mistakes we wish we never had made.

6. Gifts Remind You Of The Idiot You’ve Been

No one likes to be reminded of times past when we were a tad more trusting, perhaps more innocent, idealistic and believing. One of the reasons we take out our fury on gifts when shit hits the fan is that we remember that moment too well. Oh my, that racing heartbeat and that wonderful feeling of togetherness. Nothing could probably go wrong right? Wrong. So every time you look at a reminder, it hits you in the solar plexus again. Those gifts sit in that drawer, mocking our trusting nature, our idealism, calling out ‘here, idiot, idiot, fetch!’ The fewer the reminders the better, huh?

So What Do The Experts Say?

Let’s give them the floor for a bit, by all means. Every expert, ranging from anthropologists, psychologists, marketers and economists all weigh in on the subject of gift giving. Apparently gift exchanging is a rather important and complex aspect of human interaction, especially between couples. Exchanging gifts defines a couple’s relationship, making their bond stronger. And get this – lovely as it is to get expensive gifts from someone, it’s the Giver and not the Receiver that reaps huge psychological gains from a gift! Yup, I knew something like this would be out there.

So here it is, ladies and gentlemen. If your significant other doesn’t let you gift them, it’s not as though they’re keeping you from thinking about them and what they like. By refusing to let you give them a gift, they’re actually depriving you of the hard core psychological satisfaction you get from engaging in gift giving. So by not allowing someone to give us a gift, we’re doing them a direct disservice.

So Can A Relationship Thrive Without Gifting?

This one can also be put out to the vote. All I can say is this; when you’re in love, you want to please your partner, want to see that smile break through and you want those big hugs. It’s just an inescapable part of being in love. Gifts are your way to attain that absolute pleasure. But if you are savvy, you won’t be buying things that can sit there and mock them later. Be smart – cook a nice meal, that’s a gift. Or do something nice – that can be a gift too!