Meaningful Gift-Giving

• Give Time, Not Material Objects. Researchers from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania reassure that children build memories, express, and imitate love with the gift of time.

• Gift the Gift of Giving. A report from Harvard Business School notes that the actual act of giving makes people who give happier and more connected to their communities.

• Gift Handmade Goodies. A 2015 study published by the Journal of Marketing found that crafty homemade preserves, cookies, art, crochet scarves and mitts, candles and soaps to your loved ones may be consider more loving and worth more than money.

• Give Something Practical. Sociologists at the University of Virginia recommended giving gifts that the recipient will actually use.

• Cherished Hand-Me-Downs. A report from a 2009 Journal of Consumer Research noted that family heirlooms and gifts handed down from generation to generation are often accepted with great symbolic value.

• Most of All…Make it Personal. Personalized, according to psychologist at San Francisco State University, taking the time to find a truly meaningful gift shows that you took the time and effort to track down something unique.