The Art of Gift Giving

By Georgia Mergler, Community Relations Manager 

According to a poll conducted this November by the American Research Group, the average shopper will spend about $650 this holiday season on gifts. Those who have already started their shopping (versus procrastinators like me) will spend slightly more ($714 to be exact). I wish I could say I was simply being budget conscious by waiting until the last minute to start my shopping, but the truth is that my hesitation is more likely the result of not knowing what to get the people on my shopping list.

Each October my parents and in-laws start sending in their requests for ideas of what to get my husband, myself and our kids for Christmas. As good, obedient children (who also loathe post-holiday returns), we comply. There is no reciprocity however. We are left to wrestle with finding the perfect gift for four individuals who insist “Oh, you don’t need to get me anything.” And while I appreciate the “out”, something doesn’t seem quite right about giving your mailman a token present but leaving your own mother high and dry.

I read somewhere you can significantly reduce your holiday shopping stress by getting everyone the same gift. It’s a strategy I might try this year. In fact, Washington-Centerville Public Library has a really nice way to give a gift that lasts, to anyone (or everyone) on your list. On your next library visit, simply take an ornament tag off our Giving Tree, fill it out, and return it with a $25 donation. Kids can also participate with a smaller donation of $1 or $5. Giving Tree tags are also available on the website at www.wclibrary.info. The donation is used to purchase an adult, teen or children’s book for the library’s collection. We will even include a nice name plate for you so each person who checks out this particular book, will know it was purchased in honor of a special someone. Sure, it’s not a present you can wrap and put under the tree, but unlike traditional gifts, this one will serve as a lasting gift that can be enjoyed by not only the one for which you intended, but for an entire community of readers. And that my friend, is gift that keeps on giving long after the holiday hustle and bustle has past.