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.
一想到自己列好巨长的购物清单、去商场排长队再掏钱买礼物，换来的大抵不过是对方用5分钟拆开礼物丝带与包装纸，买节日礼物便让人略微感到空虚。但送礼不必都得这样。以下的几个小窍门能使送礼对双方都感到更有意义。
1. Know the person
1. 了解收礼物的人
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.
在交换礼物时最重要的是要让其显露出你真的对此人非常了解，以及你很关心他们。这通常意味着专门为Ta挑选礼物。
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.
考虑到礼物的实用性也很重要。一项2014年的研究调查发现，在受访者中，送礼物的一方更关注送对方想要得到的礼物。而实际上，受访者中收礼物的一方更偏向于较实用的礼物。
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.
弗吉尼亚大学的社会学家阿利森·普女士主要研究消费行为，她表示送礼这一行为“表现出你真正地看到了对方并且了解他们心中所想”。
2. Donate in their name
2. 以他们的名义捐赠
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.
送礼给朋友或是做慈善与快乐相连。2009年哈佛商学院的一篇论文说到，研究表明心情更愉悦的人会做更多的慈善，而给予更多则能让人们感到更开心，从而形成了积极的循环反馈。
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，当人们采用的给予方式能加强其社交关系时，与慈善相关的欢乐能达到最高值。因此，试着在这个节日季以他人的名义向需要援助的人赠予财富，这也许会给你们双方都带来节日喜悦。
3. Give handmade goods or hand-me-downs
3. 赠予手工品或传家宝
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.
在超市新买的礼物并不总是最好的。2015年3月在《营销杂志》上刊载的一则调查发现，人们更喜欢给喜爱的人购买手工品。并且对比于大批量生产的物品，他们甚至愿意多花17%的价格来买手工物品。诸多调查表明，人们认为手工品能展现出更多的爱，而爱不正是他们想向收礼人传达的感情么？
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.
家族代代相传的物品也许也能成为好的礼物。《消费者调查杂志》2009年刊载的一项调查表明，即使家族把极不具有个人特色的资产，即钱，一代又一代地传下去，钞票标准性的价值比其单独的数量价值更大。
4. Don't go overboard with anti-consumerism
4. 别在反对消费主义上太走极端
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礼物列表看上去像玩具反斗城（全球最大的玩具及婴幼儿用品零售商）的商品目录，别恐慌。一点点的商业主义能帮助孩子们与同类人间建立联系。
"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.
普女士研究了儿童是怎么对待消费主义的，她表示：“孩子们的物件有着浓郁的社交构成。我这么说是指，那些玩具几乎是他们彼此沟通的一种语言。”
5. Give experiences, not objects
5. 赠予经历，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.
如果送礼有黄金准则，那便是：赠予他人经历，而非物件。当你赠予他人的礼物是让他拥有一份经历，像是音乐会门票或是动物园的会员，那么相比起送实质性礼物，对方会感觉送这样礼物的你与之建立起了更亲近的联系，这是宾夕法尼亚大学沃顿商学院的研究员发现的。
"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：“如果礼物是要表达并加深爱意，那么最好的方式之一便是你亲自陪伴。这总能成为真正有力的礼物。”
(来源：沪江英语)
