Birthday Present

Buying a birthday present is one big headache.

What should I buy? If I buy this, will she like it? Perhaps not. How about that? But she may not use it after all. What is his favourite colour? Blue, green or red? I like this, but will he like this too? What should I buy?

To save the hassle and the trouble of brainstorming for a birthday present, some people simply resort to asking the birthday boy or girl, “Just tell us what you want.”

Although I agree that this truly helps to save time and reduce the possibility of buying something that the birthday boy or girl may not like, I feel that in a way, the element of surprise is diminished.

Furthermore, not knowing what to get for a friend just goes to show you have not paid enough attention to what your friend wants and needs.

When I was a student, when a classmate’s birthday is coming, some of us would pool our money and go shop for a present together. Those were the fun times. It was fun because everyone goes to hunt for the present together, while considering what the birthday boy or girl likes, and perhaps a surprise is planned for him or her later on.

As we got older, there are still times when we would chip in money to get a birthday present. The difference is, usually only one or two would be in charge of getting the present, because there is no common time for everyone to come together to shop for a present. Most of the time, we only end up paying the “treasurer” of the group for the gift. At times, we do not even get to see the present.

In some cases, the birthday boy or girl will simply buy something he or she likes, and then everyone gives him money for it later.

Is this the way modern people like to have their birthday presents?

Frankly speaking, I do not like such arrangements at all. I find that it seems more like a TRANSACTION (because there appears to be only money involved) than a nice gesture for our friends on their birthdays.

There are a lot of things we can simply settle or dismiss with money, but before we succumb to that level, let’s try to preserve the very essence of human touch.

I am sure there are things that we can buy for a friend, other than giving him money for a birthday present. This is definitely different from an elder giving us an hongbao for a birthday.

Sometimes, the very effort of going down to a shop and searching for a gift is enough, regardless of whether the gift is what the person on the receiving end likes.

But of course, practicality seems to be always highest on most people’s priority list, so even though we may appreciate what a person gives us for a birthday present, deep down inside, we may still exclaim, “Why on earth did he give me this? He should have given me that instead!”

Which is why I say, if we really cannot think of something to buy for a friend, perhaps it might be better just to get a card and pen down some genuine sincere greetings. To write down your sincere well wishes for the birthday boy or girl needs pretty much effort too. It may not be as easy as you think!

Anyone's birthday coming up? What should I get for you?

*ponder ponder*