Ask me what I Want for Christmas

We agonise every Christmas over what to give our loved ones. Why not just ask them?

- Lee Siew Hua

I know exactly what gift my sister is getting me for Christmas. Not only that, I have been carrying the casual Bimba Y Lola handbag since the Black Friday sales, when we both spied it at Ion Orchard and decided it was the right look for me.

Her second Christmas gift arrived via WhatsApp several days ago. It is a gift card for novel, nutritious meals delivered to my doorstep. I am now toggling among a bunch of Asian-inspired calorie-controlled choices from Yummy Bros to assuage the Christmas binge: Oat-encrusted chicken? Thai pesto fish? Truffle doufu in Cajun sauce?

I suppose my sister half-knows what I am getting her for Christmas. The gift has already arrived at her place, the contents still a secret, but the brand emblazoned on the box. For expediency, I used her delivery address because I was travelling.

Asking our nearest and dearest what they really want for Christmas is fine and still very joyful. The recipient takes delight in the gift, instead of looking on in polite puzzlement, or worse, plotting what to do with a dud.

Targeted gift-giving reduces the substantial stress and squander of seasonal gift-buying, which is widely documented.

In 2023, the American Psychiatric Association reported that affording gifts (58 per cent) was the top stressor for American adults during the year-end holiday season.

Finding the right gifts, a conundrum for many buyers, and my Christmassy topic here, is the second-biggest stressor (40 per cent).

This is followed by missing family or loved ones (38 per cent). It is rather surprising that this ranks lower than our collective anxiety about gift gaffes.

WHY WE WORRY

Why is gift-giving so fraught, and does it have to be?

While Googling, I found a Time magazine story, published in December 2023 and titled Why Gift-Giving Makes You Anxious. Uncertainty is the primary culprit, in essence.