What is your gift giving personality?  I never thought about that before, until I read an article, recently.  It seems researchers have identified 5 gift giving personalities.  

1. Procrastinators.  People  who puts off shopping until the last minute, because they are worried buying the wrong gift.

2. Planners.  People who shops all year long with list in hand and gifts stuffed in the closet.  The danger is that they will forget where they hid the gifts!

3. Practical Givers.  These people usually get their checkbooks, because they believe you can’t go wrong with money.  Or they give a gift they want the recipient to have not necessarily one he/she would like.

4.  Do-Gooders.  These people give to the charity of their choice in recipeint’s name.

5.  Perfect Gift-Givers.  They aim to find something the recipient would like, even if they don’t really like it.  Of course one would have to know the recipient really well to find that perfect gift, or ask them for a list.

I would say I have been a mix of all five.  I definitely procrastinate buying for some people I am not sure what to get.  I have been a planner in the past, especially when my children were little and I had very little shopping time without them.  I am a practical giver, when I know $$ would be appreciated.  I have bought soccer balls and bibles in someone’s name, so I guess that would make me a do-gooder.  I would love to be considered a perfect gift-giver, but I won’t lose sleep if you don’t really like my gift and regift it.  It is the thought that matters…right?

How about you which gift giving personality do you have?  Leave a comment to let us know.

In the next post I will discuss lessons I have learned about giving from the Father of Christmas…

for more about this article go to: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/holiday/story/2011-11-27/gift-giving-personalities