A major aspect of the holiday season is gift giving. Whether you look forward to receiving a heartfelt gift on the morning of Christmas or seeing the look on the face of someone when they unwrap the gift you carefully selected for them, gifts are a heartfelt way to say “I love you.”

I have always loved giving gifts to my friends and family members. My love for this holiday tradition started back in elementary school.
Every holiday season during elementary school, my school would hold a small craft fair where all of the students were able to purchase cheap gifts for their family members to open on Christmas Day.

On the day of the craft fair, my excitement was always radiant. I ran around the school from table to table selecting gifts that reminded me of my family members. As soon as I got home, I started counting the days until I could see the looks on their faces when they unwrapped them.
A misconception of gift giving is that a gift won’t be appreciated unless it is expensive. Some people feel anxious around the holidays or on birthdays if they feel like they can’t afford expensive presents.

However, when you think of gift giving, destroy the mentality that only expensive gifts are worth it and adopt the attitude of the classic phrase “it’s the thought that counts.” No matter if you can afford expensive concert tickets or a small candy bar from the Dollar Tree, the most joyful aspect of gift giving is letting someone know they were important enough for you to think of them.

Last Christmas, I spent $20 total on a gift for three of my closest friends. However, despite the low cost of these gifts, they were some of my favorite gifts I have ever given.

I spent months carefully crafting the gifts by picking out memorable photographs of my friends and recounting my favorite memories to incorporate them into the gifts, and I enjoyed every second of it.

Seeing my friends’ faces light up and smiles form filled me with a joy that warms my heart to this day. I felt so happy to make my friends feel special and loved, and my inexpensive gift meant more than if I spent hundreds of dollars.

Gift giving is one of my favorite ways to tell someone they mean a lot to me. With Christmas being the main holiday that allows me to come up with and create meaningful gifts, it is one of the holidays I look forward to the most.

Sometimes, someone is so loved that you are unable to tell them how much they mean to you with just words. The outlet that gifts give allows these feelings to be shared with your loved ones and show them the positive effect they have on people.