The Joy of Toys at Christmas

Although adults like to receive gifts, many will readily forego the pleasure by sacrificing, if it means a small member of the family will be totally pleased and delighted with their Christmas gift. Seeing the sparkle of joy in children's eyes when they receive a toy or other Christmas present certainly confirms that Christmas is for children. And after all, Santa brings gifts for all the good little boys and girls, not for moms and dads or other
adults. It was very humorous, as parents once related how on Christmas Day when their child opened a Christmas gift and was pleased, they pretended to be a bit saddened that Santa Claus didn't bring them any Christmas present. The child responded, 'Because you bad mummy and daddy. You make me stand in corner.' Toys are therefore a significant part of Christmas. Parents go all out for children, they make the extra effort to give children something really special such as what the child wishes, desires or longs for. It may be a toy such as a particular type of doll, a dream dollhouse or an item like a bike or train set, or motorized vehicle. The fun of getting a toy at Christmas begins earlier for children as they start to make their wish list and anticipate getting one or more of what they desire. For teenagers, the most desired toy may not be a toy in the real sense of the word. A toy, in today's casual speech, can mean a favorite gadget such as an ultra-stylish cell phone, an iPod, MP3 player, electronic organizer or even a computer. Toy sales at Christmas play a major role in the economics of retailers in the toy industry. Toy makers use the Christmas season to release new and updated products with the hope of capturing a significant slice of the billions of dollars that consumers spend during the holidays. The strategy among toy makers has been to release a new product that hope will be the 'must-have' toy for the season. Consequently, they try to create buzz about the product and have a specific release date, all with the hope that parents and other consumers will clamor for the item and even make it sold-out or hard to obtain as the season progresses. Such driving demand can easily justify a spike in the price of the item. Toys have also evolved beyond dolls, trains and cars to be very interactive and educational. The popularity of educational toys and the presence of increased technology have combined to produce many toys that are highly computerized. Receiving a toy as a gift at Christmas can play an important role in creating a lasting memory. When a child gets the right toy - one that is highly desired or is surprised by a wonderful toy - he or she will remember the feeling it brought for a lifetime and recall it whenever there's talk of which Christmas was a favorite. It also helps to create a tradition as the child becomes an adult and wants to recapture a similar feeling by seeking to do the same for his or her own child. Then, there are the children with a wish list that's basically a hope to get something, any toy at Christmas. Many companies, businesses, churches and social organizations arrange to have members donate new and age appropriate toys that are distributed to children in need. Putting a smile on the faces of those children will create warm memories about Christmas and Santa Claus for them. And by participating in a charitable effort, the donors are themselves Santa Claus and spreaders of goodwill and cheer that embody the meaning of Christmas.

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Gift-giving At Christmas

The real meaning of Christmas is often expressed as being about giving to others during the season. Giving can take many forms, but during the Christmas season the most obvious way in which giving is done is by preparing beautifully wrapped Christmas presents for family, friends, acquaintances, work colleagues, teachers and others such as business clients.The tradition of giving gifts at Christmas is believed to have started with the Three Wise Men who brought gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But the practice of giving gifts as is common today, evolved from a retail strategy that involved Santa Claus and attracting children into stores. For that reason, giving gifts at Christmas and during the holidays has been centered on children.Giving gifts during Christmas started in the early 19th century when the celebration of Christmas was restored after a period when the Protestants in England banned Christmas celebrations. In 1820 to 1840 when Christmas celebrations regained popularity, stores started to advertise special Christmas shopping promotions. At the same time, newspapers also created advertising sections solely for holiday shopping advertisements. These special advertising sections had prominent displays of Santa Claus. In 1841 when a store in Philadelphia had a life-size model of Santa Claus, hundreds of children turned up to get a look at Santa Claus, which had become a new and popular element of revitalized Christmas celebrations. The interest in seeing Santa Claus provided a marketing idea to retailers that they could attract children and parents to stores through offers to have a look at a 'real' or 'live' Santa Claus. Because of that marketing strategy to attract children during Christmas, the focus was therefore to give Christmas presents to children. Today, gift-giving is still focused on children, but adults are as much popular recipients as children. Within families, the focus on children is evident in the fact that an individual child will get more gifts than any other individual adult member of the family. For young children, who are particularly delighted and enchanted by the holidays and Christmas festivities, toys are usually the gift given. Among older children, clothes and electronic gadgets are popular items to give as Christmas gifts. Adults are the ones however, for whom there is the widest range of items that can be given as Christmas presents. An item that will make a good Christmas or holiday present to just about any adult is a decadent box of chocolate or holiday cookies. This is enjoyed even by those who are diet-conscious because, they can be sugar- and, or, fat-free or also low in carbohydrates. At Christmas time also, many people tend to temporarily disregard any strict diet rules that they are following and so they welcome and enjoy any type of Christmas treats heartily. According to a survey done in 2004 by the National Confectioners Association, 90 percent of 1,000 adults who were surveyed responded that giving or receiving a box of chocolates and creating or receiving a stocking filled with goodies were among the top three ways they enjoyed candy during the winter holidays. A third way was having candy that was placed in a dish, which indicates that having sweet treats at Christmas time is generally enjoyed by a broad cross-section of people. Aside from family members and friends, it may also be a nice gesture to give a holiday or Christmas present to colleagues at work, teachers of your children and based on your profession, to business clients. The primary reason to give any of those categories of people holiday or Christmas gifts is likely to express appreciation. For that reason, a holiday present of goodies or treats would indeed be a sweet gift to give.

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Making Gift Selections at Christmas

Many people adore Santa Claus because he brings them the perfect that often produces squeals of joy. Individuals, especially children, are often thrilled to get what they want and need from Santa. To bring joy to others, you also need to not only give a Christmas gift but to also try to get an item that will be a good match for the individual by selecting a gift that suits the person. It is possible to find the right Christmas gift without having to fall for the easy way out by giving a 'sweater.' To find the right gift for Christmas for anyone means a gift has to capture one or both of the following qualities - something that you know the person will like or desire, or something with useful purpose that will captivate the person. A Christmas gift that captivates the receiver will produce a 'wow' reaction or comments of 'that's cool' from others, who will be wishing silently that they had gotten such a gift. The key to selecting a wonderful Christmas gift that will produce a 'wow' reaction is to make sure the item is one that will appear interesting to others. The gift itself may have limits to its use. That means it may not be something that will be used frequently, such as a sweater or other clothing. The 'wow' factor or coolness of the gift must however overshadow it's possible limited usefulness. Selecting a Christmas gift that is desired can prove to be difficult if you think you don't know what the person wants or needs. But when we think that we don't really know what someone wants for a Christmas gift, our real thought is that we haven't really heard the person specifically say they want or desire a particular item. That however is not an obstacle to truly knowing what someone may desire for a Christmas gift. To help to identify an item that will make a perfect Christmas gift, you need to focus on what you know about the person - various qualities, what leisure activity the person likes, what type of books, art and music for example, do they like. To focus on what you know about the person, think about conversations you have engaged in with the individual. Conversations in general can often give splendid ideas of good gifts to give for Christmas because oftentimes people will say 'I wish for .....' when talking with someone else. The character of the person is also a good indicator of items that will make wonderful Christmas gifts. Remember, a gift for Christmas is a token to show love, fondness or appreciation or some combination of those qualities. An item that captures a quality of a person is therefore likely to be much appreciated. So, for example, books make good gifts for someone who likes to read. But if the person also has a humorous persona, a book on jokes would be a desirable Christmas gift. For someone who likes to drive, a travel book on scenic routes is likely to create a large amount of interest. A Christmas gift like that also could stir some 'wow' remarks as it could easily cause others to want become engrossed in browsing it. A Christmas gift like that also is an example of something that is very useful but which may not get a lot of frequent use. Another strategy for selecting a perfect Christmas gift is to think of how something will fit into someone's lifestyle. A friend once recalled that wish another friend often expressed in conversation was for a playstation. But knowing that the friend also didn't have much leisure time to actually sit and use a playstation, a hand-held game gadget was given instead that could be used during commute on public transportation or in 10-15 minutes of short downtime. Selecting Christmas gifts for friends, acquaintances and loved ones that will be remembered and treasured is therefore not too much of a difficult task if the strategies previously mentioned are kept in mind.