It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas…
Can you believe Christmas is almost upon us again…?? This year has just flown by for me… Are you the person that has every last detail of the festivities planned to a tee or is it a mad rush to get everything organised in time…?? I’m somewhere between the two but more often the latter…!! Planning food no problem, not with thermie to hand now…!! But it’s the presents I find tricky…I love giving home-made gifts for people but that takes me a lot of time which I don’t seem to have.
Picking the ideal present for friends and family can be a laborious job and finding something you know they’ll love can be tricky. It’s often a big risk that invariably we get wrong…!! I find it more difficult each year which is why I’ve started to gift my loved ones with experiences rather than ‘Things’. It’s much less stressful and it’s such a joy to feel the anticipation of looking forward to doing something special together.
Experiences Bring People More Happiness
Over the past decade, an abundance of psychology research has shown that experiences bring people more happiness than possessions. Spending on doing promotes more moment-to-moment happiness than spending on having and it appears that it’s healthier for our minds to anticipate something exciting or to fondly treasure the memory of an event. Giving someone, or receiving, the gift of an experience is so personal and shows that thought and effort have gone into it. You can tailor an experience that creates real meaning to the person receiving it and you know that they’re highly likely to get a lot of pleasure and fun from it.
Not only that but the anticipation of an experience can be as exciting as the experience itself, the time look forward to our experience is a positive and pleasant one, and unlike the more negative feeling of impatience attributed to waiting for a material object, we feel joy from an experience before it has even begun.
Longer-lasting Happiness
Whilst a new necklace or outfit can bring us pleasure, it’s often short lived once the next fashionable item or upgrade is on the market. Research indicates that experiences lead to longer-lasting happiness, the memories of an adventure or experience allow us to reminisce and relive the pleasure and meaningfulness of it.
And whats’ more, although experiential gifts still require thought and consideration, there’s no shopping, no delivery time scale delays, and no need to bother with extensive wrapping and packaging and a whole lot less waste, which is better for the environment too.
Thank you for reading – It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. I hope you enjoyed it, if you would like more please follow me on Facebook and Instagram. Or if you would like to get in touch please Contact Me.
See you soon,
Sally