I Feel Overwhelmed With Anxiety Every Year When It Comes To Holiday Gift-giving

For most people, the year-end holidays are a season of cheer and giving, but for me, they feel more like a season of anxiety. 

While I have always enjoyed the act of gift-giving, I have gradually been losing interest in the holidays.  

Every year, before Christmas, I plan ahead on what to get my closest friends and family. I always personalise each gift according to their hobbies or interests, so they would receive something they truly appreciate.  

However, in recent years, the stress of gift-giving has started to weigh on me as I struggle to come up with new gift ideas. My friends and family already have everything they want, and buying basic items for them seems excessive. Therefore, some of the presents I got them seem to be lacking, and I feel that they don’t appreciate them as much.  

Not to mention, I also have to prepare gifts for my office’s Secret Santa session, which adds to the pressure of buying “perfect” presents.

This has caused me to feel overwhelmed with anxiety whenever the holidays come around.  To reduce my anxiety, I’ve even tried asking my friends and family what they would like for Christmas, but many of them said, “No need!” or tell me to surprise them instead. I’ve also considered buying each of them a gift card, but it feels too impersonal.   

Sometimes, I wish gift-giving weren’t so consumer-driven, making us feel obligated to exchange presents with our loved ones during this specific time of the year. I will always appreciate my friends and family for their presence in my life, but I feel that the act of gift-giving is slowly losing its sincerity and the true meaning of spreading joy. 

This article is part of TSS Confessions, a weekly column where we delve into personal finance topics that are unscripted and genuine real accounts from people.