gift giving

Giving and getting gifts can be a joyful occasion or an incredibly awkward one. Whether you hate a present but have to pretend to love it or you left someone off your list, you can handle almost any situation by remembering these tips — and what the holidays are all about.

• Be honest: If someone gives you a present and you don't have one for them, you could always tell them you left it at home. But they'll probably be able to sense the truth, and if you didn't get them anything because you don't have the money or don't know them that well, there's nothing wrong with that. It might feel uncomfortable, but it's best to be as honest as possible. Say you really appreciate it and you're embarrassed you didn't have the time to get them something. Chances are, they'll understand.
• Don't think of it as a competition: Should you feel awkward if you get someone a mug and she gives you a pricey pair of earrings? While that's not ideal, it's important to remember that gift giving isn't a competition and the point of the holidays is to show that you care. It's clichéd but true: it's the thought that counts.
• Give a gift receipt: Whenever you can, always include a gift receipt. Even if it's your sister, you don't know if she'll like the shade of lipstick or if the sweater will fit her, so don't be offended if the person exchanges the gift for something else. The same goes both ways: don't feel bad about trading your gift in for something else that better suits your taste.
• Think small: There are certain people we're not sure if we should buy something for or not — the new person you started dating? The friendly neighbor who recently moved in? Even if you just bring them some homemade treats, they'll be sure to appreciate your kindness. And for these situations, it's great to pick up a few extra small gifts while you're shopping; you never know when they will come in handy.
• Write thank-yous: When everyone is giving and getting, it's normal to wonder whether it's appropriate to write thank-you notes or not. While a handwritten card is always a nice gesture, an email saying how much you love the gift is just as thoughtful and fitting.

Have an unwanted gift item? You're not alone; each holiday season thousands upon thousands of unwanted gifts are returned to stores or exchanged for wanted items. In the UK, shoppers dropped the equivalent of $2.6 million on unwanted gifts. Luckily, Amazon brings us hope for the gift-giving future with a new patent for an unwanted gift-prevention system that helps you exchange unwanted items before they're shipped to you!

The service will allow a user to elect to "convert all gifts" from certain people automatically into something else — like a gift certificate or store credit that you'll actually use. An additional sort-of tricky but arguably helpful feature would even allow the recipient to send a thank-you note for the intended gift, not the one that was slyly substituted. In its patent application, Amazon notes the potential sensitivity of this feature, but acknowledges that unsure gift-givers often encourage recipients to exchange them for items they do want.

Amazon filed for the patent in 2006, but it wasn't awarded until last month; there's no timeline on when to expect this potential new feature.

If you've ever wondered who really comes first in your boyfriend's book, you or his mom, Maxim has the answer. In a co-branded survey with Hornitas tequila, the magazine found that although most men's New Year's resolutions are surprisingly practical (save more money, watch less Jersey Shore), their gift-giving tendencies are not. Almost half of the men surveyed said they planned to spend more than $350 on their girlfriends for Christmas (I guess New Year's resolutions don't start until the new year!), compared to $100 on their mothers' gifts. Maybe because girlfriends still need to be wooed, but moms have that whole unconditional love thing going on?

But don't worry, your boyfriend isn't expecting much in return: not surprisingly, the tequila-sponsored survey found that men want — you guessed it! — tequila for Christmas.

How much do you and your significant other typically spend on each other's Christmas gifts?

With all the excess that comes along with the holidays, it can be a good time to teach kids valuable lessons about giving back and reigning it in. There are many ways to give a practical gift while still having something to show for it when it's time to unwrap the presents. If you donate in your child's name to Oxfam, for example, the charity will send you a card and a plush toy of the animal you've purchased for a family living in poverty. If you want to share the importance of saving, buy your child a share or two in his favorite company, like Disney or Build-A-Bear, and receive a plaque. You can also buy a cute piggy bank so the tot can collect her coins. Do you buy practical presents for your kids during the holidays? What are you planning to gift this year?

We're thrilled to present this smart Learnvest story here on Savvy!

Black Friday, often a free-for-all shopping day of madness, doesn’t have to be. Aside from the crowds and the money being spent, we’re also just not fans of the stress that goes with the whole to-do. We’re not saying you should necessarily participate in Buy Nothing Day, an anti-consumerism countermovement, but we do have a special challenge for you: This year, buy only for others rather than for yourself. As much as we’d like people to think that we’re taking this challenge because we’re selfless, the truth is that we plan to reap some real gains from it, too.

Here’s how we’ll benefit from skipping that shimmery lip gloss for ourselves while waiting in line to buy that cute turtleneck sweater for our significant other:

We’ll Avoid The Hidden Costs Lurking In Every Item.

Every item we could possibly own has a carrying cost—the expense of time, money, and anxiety when the lip gloss needs to be replaced or bursts and makes our purse all sticky—and we never want to be a slave to our stuff. Every pair of shoes has the secret cost of repairs down the line, in time or money (or both).

Keep reading for more helpful tips.