新年將至 5招教你讓新年禮物變得有意義

Holiday gift buying can feel a little empty， when all of those endless lists， long lines at the mall and dollars spent lead to a 5-minute frenzy of flying wrapping paper and ribbon. But it doesn't have to be that way. The following tips can help make gift giving more meaningful for both the giver and the recipient.

一想到自己列好巨長(zhǎng)的購物清單、去商場(chǎng)排長(zhǎng)隊(duì)再掏錢買禮物，換來的大抵不過是對(duì)方用5分鐘拆開禮物絲帶與包裝紙，買節(jié)日禮物便讓人略微感到空虛。但送禮不必都得這樣。以下的幾個(gè)小竅門能使送禮對(duì)雙方都感到更有意義。

1. Know the person

1. 了解收禮物的人

The most important thing in the exchanging of gifts is it shows that you really know the person well， and you really care about them. That generally means tailoring the gift to the recipient.

在交換禮物時(shí)最重要的是要讓其顯露出你真的對(duì)此人非常了解，以及你很關(guān)心他們。這通常意味著專門為Ta挑選禮物。

It's also important to consider practicality. A 2014 study found that gift-giving participants focus too much on the desirability of potential gifts. Actually the recipient participants preferred the more practical option.

考慮到禮物的實(shí)用性也很重要。一項(xiàng)2014年的研究調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，在受訪者中，送禮物的一方更關(guān)注送對(duì)方想要得到的禮物。而實(shí)際上，受訪者中收禮物的一方更偏向于較實(shí)用的禮物。

Gift giving \"is an expression of truly seeing the other person and knowing what they want，\" said Allison Pugh， a sociologist at the University of Virginia who studies consumption.

弗吉尼亞大學(xué)的社會(huì)學(xué)家阿利森·普女士主要研究消費(fèi)行為，她表示送禮這一行為“表現(xiàn)出你真正地看到了對(duì)方并且了解他們心中所想”。

2. Donate in their name

2. 以他們的名義捐贈(zèng)

Giving gifts to friends or to charity is linked to happiness. Research suggests that happier people give more to charity， and that giving more makes people happier， creating a positive feedback loop， according to a 2009 paper from Harvard Business School.

送禮給朋友或是做慈善與快樂相連。2009年哈佛商學(xué)院的一篇論文說到，研究表明心情更愉悅的人會(huì)做更多的慈善，而給予更多則能讓人們感到更開心，從而形成了積極的循環(huán)反饋。

Moreover， charity-related happiness is highest when people give in a way that fosters social connection. So， try giving to the less fortunate in someone's name this holiday season — it might give you both a holiday glow.

而且，當(dāng)人們采用的給予方式能加強(qiáng)其社交關(guān)系時(shí)，與慈善相關(guān)的歡樂能達(dá)到最高值。因此，試著在這個(gè)節(jié)日季以他人的名義向需要援助的人贈(zèng)予財(cái)富，這也許會(huì)給你們雙方都帶來節(jié)日喜悅。

3. Give handmade goods or hand-me-downs

3. 贈(zèng)予手工品或傳家寶

New and store-bought is not always best. A study published in March 2015 in the Journal of Marketing found that people prefer buying homemade items for loved ones and were even willing to pay as much as 17 percent more for homemade things versus mass-produced items. The findings suggest that people feel that homemade items show more love， and love is what they want to express to the gift recipient.

在超市新買的禮物并不總是最好的。2015年3月在《營(yíng)銷雜志》上刊載的一則調(diào)查發(fā)現(xiàn)，人們更喜歡給喜愛的人購買手工品。并且對(duì)比于大批量生產(chǎn)的物品，他們甚至愿意多花17%的價(jià)格來買手工物品。諸多調(diào)查表明，人們認(rèn)為手工品能展現(xiàn)出更多的愛，而愛不正是他們想向收禮人傳達(dá)的感情么？

Family heirlooms may be another good gift option. A 2009 study in the Journal of Consumer Research found that when families hand down even a very depersonalized asset — money — through the generations， the symbolic value of the cash is greater than the numerical value alone.

家族代代相傳的物品也許也能成為好的禮物?！断M(fèi)者調(diào)查雜志》2009年刊載的一項(xiàng)調(diào)查表明，即使家族把極不具有個(gè)人特色的資產(chǎn)，即錢，一代又一代地傳下去，鈔票標(biāo)準(zhǔn)性的價(jià)值比其單獨(dú)的數(shù)量?jī)r(jià)值更大。

4. Don't go overboard with anti-consumerism

4. 別在反對(duì)消費(fèi)主義上太走極端

Don't panic if your kid's holiday season list looks like the entire index of the Toys R Us catalog. A little bit of commercialism can help kids make connections with their peers.

如果你孩子的假日季禮物列表看上去像玩具反斗城（全球最大的玩具及嬰幼兒用品零售商）的商品目錄，別恐慌。一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的商業(yè)主義能幫助孩子們與同類人間建立聯(lián)系。

\"Children's stuff has a really intense social component， and by that， I mean it's almost a language that they speak with each other，\" said Pugh， who has studied how kids navigate consumerism.

普女士研究了兒童是怎么對(duì)待消費(fèi)主義的，她表示：“孩子們的物件有著濃郁的社交構(gòu)成。我這么說是指，那些玩具幾乎是他們彼此溝通的一種語言?！?/p>

5Give experiences， not objects

5. 贈(zèng)予經(jīng)歷，而非物件

If there's a golden rule of gifts， though， it's this： Give experiences rather than items. People who receive experiential gifts， such as concert tickets or a zoo membership， feel more connected to the gift giver than people who received material items， according to researchers from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

如果送禮有黃金準(zhǔn)則，那便是：贈(zèng)予他人經(jīng)歷，而非物件。當(dāng)你贈(zèng)予他人的禮物是讓他擁有一份經(jīng)歷，像是音樂會(huì)門票或是動(dòng)物園的會(huì)員，那么相比起送實(shí)質(zhì)性禮物，對(duì)方會(huì)感覺送這樣禮物的你與之建立起了更親近的聯(lián)系，這是賓夕法尼亞大學(xué)沃頓商學(xué)院的研究員發(fā)現(xiàn)的。

\"If gifts are about expressing and forging love， one of the best ways to do that is with your own time，\" Pugh said. \"That will always be a really powerful gift.\"

普女士表示：“如果禮物是要表達(dá)并加深愛意，那么最好的方式之一便是你親自陪伴。這總能成為真正有力的禮物?！?/p>

（來源：滬江英語）