During one of my festive phases last week when I was casually devouring any and all Christmas items that I could get my hands on, I opened an article titled, ‘People Prefer Badly Wrapped Gifts’. Honestly, as someone who likes their gifts to look homemade chic, it was a bit of an affront. Apparently the hours I had spent putting beautiful white spots on brown paper with a paint pen were all for nothing.
As I began to read however, it became clear that people did not in fact prefer ugly wrapping paper to my homemade goodness. Rather the way a gift was presented had a strangely large impact on how the recipient saw the gift inside.
When a present was beautifully wrapped, it raised expectations of what was inside. Sadly, high expectations often leads to lower satisfaction and in many cases the recipient was disappointed in what they had received. Yet when a gift was carelessly presented, expectations stayed low and the gift was liked better.
It seems strange doesn’t it, that a gift can be received so differently based purely on how it is wrapped! Perception really does seem to be everything.
Perception
This Christmas season my church’s advent theme is ‘Behold’. It’s a bit of a thing at the moment isn’t it, for large churches to have a one word theme for events or seasons. If I’m honest I usually find them a little clichéd, but there’s something about ‘Behold’ that has really made me stop and think.
On Sunday we discussed how ‘Behold’ means to open our eyes and to see things again as if it was the first time. It was a great challenge to me to look at how I see Christmas. Like a gift that can be presented with love and care or hastily wrapped any old way, Christmas can be looked at in different ways.
Often, like those of my ugly gift receiving friends, my expectations of Christmas are low. Coming from a family that likes to stick to routine, I think I know exactly what I’m getting! Church is always nice, but it is their main gig for the year, so it has to be. Family lunch is eating cold seafood and a pav while swatting flies and thinking of cooler weather. It’s a wonderful day, but things are usually pretty standard.
It can be easy to write this time of year off as just a big exercise in consumerism and busyness. When I remember yet another person that I wonder if I need to find a gift for and think about the numerous Christmas events I’ll either have to host or attend, it’s no wonder the ‘wonder’ of the season dims.
Raising my expectations
My hope for the rest of December is that I truly will be able to ‘Behold’.
I want to meditate on and find a new wonder in the Christmas story. The tale of how God, (God!) come to be with us. How can I not be amazed again at that?
I hope that this Christmas season becomes a time where I can slow down. How can I behold if I don’t first stop?
As I take time to be with family and friends I want to see them anew and appreciate who they are and who they were made to be.
I’m not going to be more blasé about my gift wrapping this year, but I am raising my expectations this Christmas. I can’t wait to see what I will discover when I stop and ‘behold’.
Anna hails from Australia but lives and works in South East Asia. She enjoys travel, good coffee and getting to hang out with awesome people from around the world.