In Defence of Christmas Presents

As weary Christmas shoppers bustle frantically across packed high streets, they may be tempted by a set of articles that seem to re-emerge at this time of year, without fail. With the constancy of an eggnog hangover, they pop up in late December to proclaim: Christmas presents are inefficient. Do not be taken in by the grinch’s latest trickery.

Their argument is simple enough: we buy presents for others, with imperfect information of their preferences, in exchange, they buy presents for us with the same lack of perfect information. Assuming gifts that have quantifiable monetary value, the argument holds that an inefficient allocation of resources results. The giftee, knowing his own preferences, would gain greater utility if they were just given the cash value of the gift and exchanged that cash with a shopkeeper, rather than swapping gifts with their step-sister’s husband.

The gift-sceptic argument is humbug, spread by professional pedants (and economists) who fundamentally misunderstand the gift giving process. However badly targeted and ridiculous the outcomes may occasionally be (think moose-shaped golf club covers gifted by an aunt who doesn’t realise you couldn’t name a golf course to save an actual moose), there is greater ritual, emotional, and sometimes comedic value.

I personally find myself excited for days, or weeks even, in advance of Christmas at the prospect of a carefully selected gift reaching its recipient. It presents a unique opportunity to demonstrate how well we observe each others' idiosyncrasies, how well we listen to each others’ most inane blabber. A less alien description might be: it presents an opportunity to express love.

Some years ago my younger sister observed my increasingly formal dress and extrapolated from it a gift. The result of her observations was the gift of a hideous neon green and purple bow tie, with a matching pocket square to boot. Naturally, I have worn the gauche accessory no more than once. Nonetheless, I cannot bring myself to get rid of it. The observation and thoughtfulness on her part, especially after months of her teasing over my choice to abandon the (at the time) stylish Abercrombie hoody is about as clear a sign of sibling love as anyone could hope for at that age. The joker-esque obscenity has in the end brought me far greater joy than she might have known when she chose it.

Respondents of a recent YouGov survey answered with an overwhelming majority (61% vs 23%) that they preferred to receive a surprise present, rather than one that they had asked for. This preference is proof of what gift-grinches fail to realise — we love gifts because they come from people we love. So this Christmas, feel free to give a loved one an exceptionally ugly bowtie, or an otherwise thoughtful but useless gift, and watch their facial expression when you do.