What's the fun of giving gifts?

The Judaeo-Christians of the world have just spent an inordinate amount of time and money giving each other gifts. I mean, inordinate. As in "an awful lot."

And a lot of it was awful: Too many choices, too many shoppers, too little money. And then there were the gifts we got that weren't what we wanted - some of them, not even what we asked for.

On the other hand, it's all about fun. Certainly, getting gifts can be great fun - especially when it's a surprise and it's something you really wanted, and maybe even more especially if it's something you wanted so much that you didn't even dare ask for it.

As for giving gifts, gift-giving and gifting, oddly enough, they all can be fun, too. In fact, gift-wise, the giving, purportedly, can be even more fun than the getting.

Which makes me want to ask: can it, really? Can giving be more fun than getting? In general? Even, in particular, for you?

"So what really is the fun of it?" I find myself honestly asking you, personally, "this gift-giving thing we just did. Really. What's the fun?"



from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith