How Does Gift Giving Change Over the Years?

With the holidays coming up, kids, husbands, wives, and parents are all going to have to make the big decision of what to get the rest of their family and friends.

And although Christmas is a time for giving and receiving presents, it seems that as people get older, the number and value of gifts they get changes from when they were children.

Parents have the pressure of keeping the Santa Claus spirit in their kids, so when this time of the year comes around, most parents make sure to buy everything they can.

However, once the children are older and understand that the meaning of Christmas is more than just the newest Barbies, Nerf toys, or wads of cash, presents under the tree may turn into fewer gifts with more value, such as iPhones or Kate Spade wallets.

Throughout life, it appears this trend continues as those wallets eventually morph into candles or hand-made cards from kids.

PVHS principal, Allan Tyner, comments on this topic from his personal experience, saying that even though he did receive more as a child, Christmas now is still a holiday he enjoys for other reasons.

“It’s kind of transferred to my kids now, and it’s nice to see how happy they are and how excited they are when Santa comes,” he said.

Not to say presents under the tree have lost value to him, but Dr. Tyner enjoys being able to make his kids happy and doesn’t mind receiving only a couple presents because as an adult he can buy whatever he wants whenever he wants.

To see a high school student’s point of view on this topic as well, freshman Grace Bonvechio, also shared her thoughts on how she believes she has changed as a gift-giver growing up.

“I think that during Christmas time now, I think more about the gifts I am giving people so I can give something that they will really appreciate,” she said.

When she was younger, Grace agrees that she was more interested in what she was going to be getting rather than the looks on people’s faces from whatever presents she bought for them, which is of course expected from a child.

Yet, it is interesting to see the differences in what Christmas means throughout the years.

The older people get, the more selfless they become since they want to be able to make others happy through the things they gift them.