Holiday Gift Bags-America's Disgrace

     When I was a child I would wake up at the crack of dawn on Christmas morning to find a tree that had several gifts wrapped in traditional wrapping paper beneath it. My sister and I would wait anxiously for my parents to drag themselves out of bed before we could begin the unwrapping process. As we sat there waiting, our minds would wander trying to divulge the contents of each package. We would shake them, weigh them, measure them, and even smell them to try and determine what lie within. As I reflect upon what was I now know that all that anticipation was a part of the joy and wonder of Christmas morning, and it was all made possible because of wrapping paper.
     Sadly, as with almost every other facet of American life, we have adopted a mentality of instant gratification and laziness when it comes to gift giving and receiving and the gift bag is the "poster child" of this. Let's find out what the problem is:

Sending the wrong message:

     When you give someone a gift in a gift bag (as opposed to it being wrapped traditionally) you are basically conveying a message that is as follows: "I had to give you a gift to save face, not because I actually like you, therefore I have put forth as little effort as possible in concealing the identity of the gift. I also want the bag back when you are finished so I can save it for the next person I do not care about. Thank you." Yes, this does sound harsh and is not the message I want to send my friends or family on Christmas. When you hand-wrap a gift in just the right paper that was carefully chosen and pick out a coordinating bow to finish off the decorating you are sending a message that is quite the opposite of the gift bag: "I care about you enough to take extra time, energy, brain power, and financial resources to make this gift worthy of you, the recipient. In fact, I love you."

Bad for the economy:

     It is estimated that gift bags have replaced as much as 73% of wrapped gifts here in America. This has resulted in the wrapping paper industry losing approximately 3 million jobs since the late 90's. While it is true that the gift bag industry has grown, it takes far less man power to make a bag (in addition to bag retention, which is a huge problem) creating only 25,000 in that sector, which obviously creates a huge job deficit in the gifting industry. So not only would replacing all your gift bags with wrapping paper improve your relationships, it could create a job for a loved one.

Instant gratification:

     I would like you to think about your childhood for a moment. Can you relate to the very personal story I shared earlier about mine, with the anticipation on Christmas morning and the magic of having to wait to open my gifts? I believe that experience helped mold and shape me as a man, instilling in me patience and an appreciation of the journey (that is the waiting) and not just the destination (the opening). Now imagine if my parents had been slothful and careless enough to place my gifts in gift bags. My sister and I would have had the temptation to prematurely open our presents before my parents awoke, which would have promoted a very different set of qualities in each of us such as an entitlement mentality and a total lack of patience and appreciation for what we received. I believe this ultimately would have led to our incarceration as well as a socially and morally unproductive lifestyle. This scenario makes me quake with fear for the next generation as the gift bag to wrapping paper ratio continues to get more and more unbalanced at an alarming rate.

Conclusion:

     While I understand some presents are so awkwardly shaped the gifter has no choice but to utilize a gift bag we must recognize that it would behoove us as parents, friends, spouses, and as a society to keep the gift bagging to a minimum. Also, when you receive a gift bag, please remember to discard it as opposed to keeping it and using it for someone else. That is just as distasteful as re-gifting. Thank you for your time and remember, if you are a gift bagger or know someone who is it's not too late to turn things around and make the future a better place. Good day!