{"id":946900,"date":"2014-12-18T18:15:53","date_gmt":"2014-12-18T15:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=946900"},"modified":"2014-12-18T18:15:53","modified_gmt":"2014-12-18T15:15:53","slug":"holiday-gift-etiquette-the-dos-and-donts-of-exchanging-presents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=946900","title":{"rendered":"Holiday Gift Etiquette: The Dos and Don\u2019ts of Exchanging Presents"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Culture<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Holiday Gift Etiquette: The Dos and Don\u2019ts of Exchanging Presents<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n
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For our last anonymous etiquette column of the year, our editors weigh in on the dos and don\u2019ts of holiday gift-giving.<\/div>\n
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By <\/span>Patricia Garcia<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n

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UNITED STATES – CIRCA 1950s: Couple looking at Christmas tree. (Photo by George Marks\/Retrofile\/Getty Images)<\/span>Photo: George Marks\/Retrofile\/Getty Images<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n
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You would think giving someone a simple present wouldn\u2019t be a complicated affair. But during the holidays, the gesture of gifting can be tricky. Who gets one? What do you buy your boss? How much should you spend? In an effort to make your holiday shopping a little easier, our editors share their personal dos and don\u2019ts of holiday gift-giving.<\/p>\n

Which family members get gifts?<\/strong><\/div>\n

Aside from the obvious musts\u2014mom, dad, siblings\u2014how do you determine what family members get a gift over the holidays? \u201cMy family is so big, we usually limit gifts to immediate members, and then do a Secret Santa exchange with our extended family,\u201d shares one writer. \u201cWe even set it all up online on a site called Elfster, which makes everyone\u2019s life easier.\u201d It seems many are turning to the Internet to organize their gift-giving these days. One editor admitted everyone in her family made online wish lists and then emailed them out to each other, taking the guessing out of the equation. If you\u2019re spending Christmas with your in-laws, it\u2019s okay to limit your giving to only your mother-in-law and father-in-law. \u201cI used to only get presents for my boyfriend\u2019s parents, until one year I branched out to his aunts, so then they felt obligated to get me something from then on,\u201d says one editor. \u201cI think in the end, skipping presents is almost appreciated on the other side. It takes the pressure off the table.\u201d<\/p>\n

What about your friends?<\/strong><\/div>\n

Most of the staff said they no longer exchange gifts with friends. \u201cIt was something I used to do back when I was in college,\u201d says one editor. Instead, most of them now choose to do something together as a mutual present. \u201cMy girlfriends and I always decide on something fun like going to see a play or having a spa day or a very nice dinner,\u201d says one writer. If you do exchange gifts with friends, make sure you open the gifts at home and not in front of each other, says one editor. \u201cIt\u2019s better this way. There\u2019s no awkwardness or comparisons among them.\u201d<\/p>\n

In new relationships<\/strong><\/div>\n

There was a bit of disagreement among our staff regarding gift-giving during an early courtship. \u201cIf you\u2019ve just started dating someone, even if it\u2019s only been a few weeks, a little token is always thoughtful,\u201d says one writer. But one of our editors was strongly opposed: \u201cI think you have to be seeing each other for at least six months before you start buying them anything!\u201d The jury is still out on this one.<\/p>\n

Office guidelines<\/strong><\/div>\n

As for who in the office gets a gift, the general feeling is you should give something to either your assistant or someone you work with very closely to show them how much you appreciate their effort throughout the year. As for your bosses, while it\u2019s not obligatory, a little something never hurts. \u201cThey\u2019re aware of your pay grade, so there\u2019s really no need to impress them,\u201d adds one fashion editor. Finally, if you love giving your office mates presents, make sure to bring a gift along for everyone\u2014and keep it under $25. \u201cYou don\u2019t want everyone to start speculating how much money you actually make,\u201d says one writer.<\/p>\n

What not to give<\/strong><\/div>\n

Even though we work in the fashion industry, all of us agreed that clothing is usually a bad idea\u2014unless it\u2019s something the other person has specifically mentioned they wanted in the past. \u201cThe holidays are really not the time of year to force your personal style on others,\u201d said one fashion editor. Other faux pas? \u201cI hate it when people give me a funny gift,\u201d says one beauty editor. \u201cHonestly, who has ever liked a gag gift?\u201d Finally, the general consensus in the office is, unless you\u2019re an actual chef, artist, or designer, stay away from anything homemade. \u201cMy friend always gives me this jar of some nonsense she makes in the kitchen,\u201d says one writer. \u201cJust give me a card next time.\u201d<\/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\/holiday-gift-giving-etiquette<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Culture Holiday Gift Etiquette: The Dos and Don\u2019ts of Exchanging Presents For our last anonymous etiquette column of the year, our editors weigh in on the dos and don\u2019ts of holiday gift-giving. By Patricia Garcia December 18, 2014 UNITED STATES – CIRCA 1950s: Couple looking at Christmas tree. (Photo by George Marks\/Retrofile\/Getty Images)Photo: George Marks\/Retrofile\/Getty […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":946901,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[50],"class_list":["post-946900","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\/946900","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=946900"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/946900\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/946901"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=946900"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=946900"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=946900"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}