Forget about how much people plan to spend on gifts, this Christmas, think about how much time people spend shopping for them. With ads for holiday shopping shown earlier than before, we get around 6 weeks of holiday shopping. Women spend on average 20 hours shopping for gifts, while men spend 10. As I see the Christmas gift guides rolling in, I’m wondering if there’s a way give gifts that require less time shopping and more time building human connection.
If you want to wean your Christmas from less stuff and instead work on building meaningful relationships, you can use the time spent shopping to do things with loved ones. This approach also means that Christmas is not just a day, but a season-long celebration.
I guess this is a reminder that we shouldn’t pressure ourselves to buy stuff to show that we care.
The Human Connection Gift Guide
This is lifdb’s edition to the quintessential holiday gift guide. You don’t actually buy stuff, but do things so you can connect with yourself, a loved one, or a stranger. It’s an opportunity to do something you love, or try something new.
12 Gifts
- Gift of mind and body connection: Try this 45 minute yoga class with Patrick Beach or for a more mellow workout, Lifdb’s 15 minute Core and Full Body Stretch, all on YouTube. You can practice at home or invite friends and family.
- Gift of nutrition: Cook yourself a healthy meal, maybe invite friends over and make good food together. Here’s one of my favorite easy recipes to make, tomato basil pasta.
- Gift of play: Throw around a frisbee, play cards, or boardgames. As we get older, there’s a tendency for hanging out to sit and drink, but moving and playing can really open us up. I know it relaxes me and the interaction with people around me feels more natural.
- Gift of the magic of romance: Watch Christmas movies with loved ones. There’s something comforting watching Christmas romantic movies. Some of my favorites are the California-themed movies on Netflix, like this one: Holiday in the Vineyards. I love that we can watch movies together at the same time without being together physically. You can do this through apps such as FaceTime Apple Share Play.
- Gift of movement. Go for a nice long relaxing walk or hike without your phones. It’s amazing what walking next to someone does for connection.
- Gift of learning. Learn a dance routine. If you’re into Bollywood dance numbers like me, here are two dance routines to learn. Here’s a challenging dance step and a simpler one, both from @uragc128 on Instagram.
- Gift of attention. Make the call you’ve been putting off for a while and actually spend time talking to the person. I’m guilty of this sometimes, calling my mom when I’m cooking, so I can squeeze in two things at once. But I find it the most meaningful when we decide to have a coffee and chat date over video calls.
- Gift of gratitude: Write a note or record a video telling someone how they made a difference in your life in 2024 and send it to them. This includes yourself. How have you made a difference in your own life?
- Gift of time: Limit social media time. Try cutting back your social media time in half and do something that makes you happy aside from social media, during your time gained.
- Gift of focus: Go to dinner with a loved one and keep your phone away from the table. Silence notifications on your smart watch. Dinner for two, is really dinner for two. Maybe you’ll find that without the phone, you’ll look more into each other’s eyes.
- Gift of peace of mind: if there’s something that’s been bothering you, a heavy feeling for someone, maybe even for yourself, that has been weight you down, let it go. This is not about forgetting or turning a blind eye, but figuring out a way to deal with an issue that best serves you.
- Gift of listening: Find opportunities to have a deep conversation with someone even a stranger. Deep conversations don’t have to be serious or profound about someone’s life. It can be about sports or pop culture. But find a way to get to know someone in the process of the conversation without forcing the issue. I find that deep conversations happen when topics are fun for all. You’ll be amazed just how these talks about trivial topics can end up becoming meaningful.
Did You Know?
Deep conversations, even with strangers, have the profound effect of making us, and the person we are talking to.
The findings, along with earlier studies, suggest that moving outside our comfort zone in social interactions may ultimately make us and those around us happier.
