Mastering Christmas Gifts Like a Pro

 

 

It’s the most beautiful time of the year. And also the most tricky and stressful. But with age comes wisdom (or so they say. Still waiting to confirm) and we definitely (should) have learned a couple of lessons about mastering the role of Santa Claus. It all boils down to just a couple of things:

 

 

Early bird gets the worm

 

Start early and never ever give in to the thought “oh, there is still plenty of time… let’s watch another episode of the walking dead this evening, I’ll think about gifts in a month when its time”. This kind of thinking has been scientifically proven to be linked with spending Christmas Eve at a shopping mall with a desperate look in your eye and willingness to pay good money for just about anything that might remotely seem like a gift.

 

 

Don’t get overambitious

 

Yes, we all wish to come up with the most special, practical yet cozy, heartwarming and meaningful gift that defines our beloved in a way that they themselves never realized. You know, like a unicorn. That grants wishes. And flies you to the office avoiding traffic during rush hour. So set goals that are realistic. Better yet, start with underwhelming. That really increases your chances to excel and impress yourself.

 

 

Best gifts come in pretty packages

 

Aesthetics matter. And a big part of the gift unwrapping experience is the packaging itself. You know, when you get that thing from that fancy place and you open the box and find another much prettier box inside and it bursts with crisp, delicate tissue paper that smells like perfume and 19^th century aristocracy and then there is something written in gold in a super ornate font on a piece of parchment paper taken straight from the tomb of Tutankhamun and only after all of these layers you find the item that you bought. And by this time it really doesn’t matter what it is. All that attention and care that went into the packaging makes you believe that this is the most luxurious thing ever and in the process of unpacking this box you somehow became modern royalty.

So use this trick to your advantage and make it feel really special. Sneaky, but effective.