01 November 2007

The differences between Gifts & Presents

First, my apologies for the lack of posts recently. It is amazing how quickly time passes sometimes.

The passing of the Thanksgiving Holiday brings about one of my favorite times of year, the holidays. In my case Christmas. I’ve never been able to fully explain why I like this time of year as much as a I do. To be honest it’s quite irrational really. Perhaps it is truly the optimist in me that sees hope that all is not lost and that there is a spirit of compassion and humanity amongst us all.

As the holiday season is nearing I though it appropriate to write about gifts and presents. I had hoped to write today about the difference between a gift and a present. However, after conferring with The New Oxford American Dictionary second edition there appears to be no difference at all. Entries for both words point back to each other. However I maintain that there is a difference, terminology not withstanding, between an item given to someone because you want them to have that item, and an item given because they asked for it.

When I graduated from high school my grandfather gave me a watch. The timepiece itself is nothing spectacular. What makes that watch so special is my grandfather made the watch band. He melted the silver and poured it, tooled it and then inlayed pieces of turquoise. It’s not at all my style, never has been, but I’ve always respected the amount of work and effort he put into it. He also fashioned a silver and turquoise belt buckle for me as a child, which I still have as well. These I term “gifts”. They are items he wanted me to have. I tend to look at them as symbols that he cared enough about me to take the time to create something unique with his own hands.

“Gifts” do not necessarily have to be hand made, they do usually require some thought on the part of the giver as to the receiver. What might they like, what might they need, etc. A gift should enable the giver to display that the receiver is important to them. It should demonstrate that you’ve paid attention to them over the past year, that you understand their likes and dislikes.

“Presents” on the other hand are generally items which a person might already want. A child may have created a Christmas List and therefore there is little though required on the part of the giver.

What should the Gentleman do this holiday season? That should be obvious. If the recipient is a child, by all means give a “present”. If the recipient is an adult, try to give a “gift” if at all possible.