poll about gifts + insecurity
when you give someone a gift, how much do you worry about whether it's "good enough" or whether they'll actually like or want it?
poll about gifts + insecurity
@twistylittlepassages on the one hand, there’s so much stuff in the world that i don’t really want to add to it by giving someone something they’ll never use or appreciate—like that’s not a gift, that’s just creating work for them since now they have to figure out what to do with this thing thats creating clutter in their living space
on the other hand, there’s a pleasure in giving someone a little luxury they wouldn’t necessarily justify buying for themselves—a really nice knit hat or an expensive brand of olive oil. Though those can in turn be fraught if you say, try to buy tea for someone whose normal tea budget is higher than your gift budget or whatever.
So it’s definitely a bit complicated! My family does a shared wishlist (literally just a shared page in the notes app) which imo has improved both the gift buying and gift receiving experience. And also it turns out we all just want nice socks 😆
poll about gifts + insecurity
@twistylittlepassages yeah we have a lot of dietary restrictions and other food complications as well (also clothing complications—like half my family can’t do synthetic fibers, and one person has a wool allergy) which is one of the things that drove the lists actually!
the froughtness around money is tricky, and i think can maybe only be solved by addressing the cultural issues re:money outside of a gifting context first? idk
poll about gifts + insecurity
@Satsuma yeah I think you're right, and good luck with that 
poll about gifts + insecurity
@twistylittlepassages for sure 
poll about gifts + insecurity
@Satsuma yeah I hear what you're saying about these complexities! for my family there are additional things to consider like complicated food issues, plus widely differing levels of access to money.
but shared wishlist is a really good idea!