{"id":923230,"date":"2017-12-15T01:44:52","date_gmt":"2017-12-14T22:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=923230"},"modified":"2017-12-15T01:44:52","modified_gmt":"2017-12-14T22:44:52","slug":"gift-exchange-etiquette-how-to-avoid-awkwardness-at-your-next-holiday-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=923230","title":{"rendered":"Gift Exchange Etiquette: How to Avoid Awkwardness at Your Next Holiday Party"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Living<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

An Etiquette Expert Explains How to Be Graceful at a Gift Exchange<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Amy Louise Bailey<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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Photographed by John Rawlings, Vogue<\/em>, December 1942<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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It was December 2015, and my husband showed up with a basket of what appeared to be Godiva\u2019s entire chocolate collection. \u201cIt\u2019s from the White Elephant!\u201d he said with a big smile. It turned out he\u2019d done particularly well given the odds. His colleagues had received items that were undoubtedly headed straight for the trash. There were stiletto tape dispensers, calendars of goats standing in trees, and eggnog that had probably been shelved at the corner bodega for decades.<\/p>\n

Along with the parties, the holiday season ushers in a mix of Secret Santas, White Elephants, and, of course, classic gift giving. Columbia Business School professor Peter Meola (who specializes in organizational culture) believes that gift exchanges are a great way to build camaraderie in a work environment. \u201cMechanisms like gift giving show care, mutual respect, and empathy, which is helpful in promoting collaboration and teamwork in any organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

But, as with certain conversation topics, there are boundaries that need to be established. Mutual respect and empathy may not be the general vibe when someone receives an emergency inflatable brain. Likewise, what a bunch of frat bros find hilarious may be deeply offensive to others. And while White Elephants seem to encourage sophomoric American Pie<\/em> humor, giving in to that temptation is unwise, to say the least.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all fun and games, this gift-exchange business, until someone gets hurt. In workplaces especially, it\u2019s important to be attuned to cultural, social, and economic variances. Etiquette expert Myka Meier (of Beaumont Etiquette) advises to \u201cavoid anything political, religious, sexual, or that makes fun of another person.\u201d Essentially, the basics for evading any strained scenarios (or being outright rude).<\/p>\n

Beyond that overarching tenet, there are several must-dos for gift-exchange events\u2014and Meier has some timely insight for us all.<\/p>\n

Set Ground Rules Ahead of Time<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think it\u2019s important to tell guests in the invitation what type of party it will be (e.g., a White Elephant, Secret Santa, et cetera) so they understand what they are expected to contribute up front. Once people RSVP, only then would you send more specific rules; for example, whether gifts should be of a particular theme, have a certain price limit, and so on.<\/p>\n

For gift-exchange parties, I would recommend giving a little bit of direction so guests have a basis to work off and are not embarrassed if they arrive with something that is totally different from what others have brought. And if you send out an invitation, simply write \u201cRSVP to myka@soandso.com\u201d (for instance). Do not say \u201cPlease RSVP,\u201d as RSVP in French stands for r\u00e9pondez s\u2019il vous pla\u00eet, so the additional please<\/em> is redundant.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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As you are already asking guests to tote a gift to the party, I would advise against tasking them with bringing anything else. As the host, you are in charge of activities, decor, food, and drinks.<\/p>\n

Prepare a Consolation Prize<\/strong><\/p>\n

For White Elephants, usually one guest is \u201cstuck\u201d with the most unwanted gift. One idea is to have everyone vote on who ended up with the White Elephant. Then the host would bring out a wonderful gift that would be given to that person. So the surprise in the end is that they really win, too, after all.<\/p>\n

Include Everyone<\/strong><\/p>\n

With colleagues (or even large families), one way to make sure everyone receives a gift is a Secret Santa party (choosing one secret name out of a hat that you can gift anonymously or sign your name to). If you do not have assigned gifting and you\u2019re a part of a small company, or are in a team at work, make sure you have something to give to everyone. It is not recommended to gift only one person on your team; however, if you decide to do so, be sure to do it in private so the rest of your team or company is not hurt.<\/p>\n

But is it okay to gift one boss and not the other? If you have one boss whom you really like and another whom you\u2019re not so close with, you should still gift both bosses, because they are on the same level and it\u2019s a sign of respect to show appreciation for those who manage you.<\/p>\n

Fake It Till You Make It<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even if you don\u2019t like what you have been given, remember to always show gratitude to the person who gave it to you, and be sure to thank the person right away. It could be your third black cashmere sweater, but the person who took the time to pick it out will be hoping that you love it, and there is nothing worse than hurting someone\u2019s feelings when they\u2019ve just given you a gift.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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If you are given a gift that you don\u2019t like, it is not recommended to ask the person who gave it to you for the receipt to return it. The only time that might be acceptable is if it did not fit, at which point you\u2019d want to exchange it for a different size. To simply say that you did not like the earrings and to ask whether you could return them could be very hurtful. On the flip side, however, I always recommend including a gift receipt so people have the option of exchanging without having to let the gift-giver know. A gift receipt is better than a regular receipt because it doesn\u2019t show the amount you spent.<\/p>\n

Avoid Sizing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Stay away from gifts that have sizing involved. One-size-fits-all gifts are ideal, as you will never offend anyone.<\/p>\n

Consider Presentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even a bottle of wine should have a bow or a ribbon on it to signify it is a gift.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n

Source URL: https:\/\/www.vogue.com\/article\/gift-exchange-etiquette<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living An Etiquette Expert Explains How to Be Graceful at a Gift Exchange By Amy Louise Bailey December 14, 2017 Photographed by John Rawlings, Vogue, December 1942 It was December 2015, and my husband showed up with a basket of what appeared to be Godiva\u2019s entire chocolate collection. \u201cIt\u2019s from the White Elephant!\u201d he said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":923284,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-923230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-vogue-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923230","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=923230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/923230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/923284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=923230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=923230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=923230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}