Digging into this year’s definitive Christmas gift lists, we round up the latest in gifting and unpick the influences and motivations at play this shopping season.

As the countdown to Christmas begins in earnest, nothing strikes fear in the heart quite like the realisation that it’s time to shop for Christmas presents.

Part of the pressure is how heightened and emotional a purchase occasion Christmas gifting is. Make no mistake – the gifts we give at Christmas are only expected to be the ultimate expression of love in material form, and will make or break the most wonderful time of the year.

There’s no way around it: gift-giving is laden with expectation. But it’s also loaded with meaning.

How we gift is telling – an insight into how the giver wants to be seen, as well as how we view Christmas itself. It’s a peek into the value and symbolism we ascribe to gifts, not to mention the influences that have shaped our values during the year.

So how will we gift this Christmas? And what does it tell us about ourselves?

Big Ticket Tech

For some, Christmas is Grand Gesture season, and only the presence of the new Nespresso Vertuo, Meta Quest 2 or CurrentBody LED Light Therapy Face Mask under the Christmas tree will suffice. Expense is rendered irrelevant by Christmas’ proximity to the Time of Renewal, where the New Year’s resolutions that pave the path to a more productive, fulfilled and healthier you demand only the best tools for the job.

Sweet Bougie Nothings

With every year that passes, it becomes easier to affect living flagrantly beyond your means with things that mimic all the right luxury cues. Sharing the bouge at Christmas through an avant-garde salt pig, artistic cold-pressed olive oil, monogrammed playing cards or anything Aesop is an invitation to do please judge a book by its cover, and while you’re at it please judge me. The ooh ahh moment and inevitable praise for the giver’s exquisite taste make this an inclusive gift-giving experience both parties can enjoy.

I Got You a Toy

It’s 2024 and now well and truly socially acceptable to be a kidult. And as a kidult, naturally, Christmas morning is second only to Birthday morning in terms of your right to be spoiled like it’s 1995. That Lego Succulent set or customised Funko Pop lets your best friend or significant other enjoy Christmas as it’s meant to be – through their inner child’s eyes. But if they’re the child…well, just don’t think too deeply about who you’re meant to represent for the day. 

TikTok Tchotchkes

Gimmicks have always been the gift of last resort. Have a point for surprise value, and at least there’ll always be the flashy promise of DIY cool or Mexican home soirées even as the wearable fan and Kmart Margarita Machine begin their migration to the back of the cupboard. It was only ever going to be a matter of time before TikTok, fad factory for the eyes and ears, got in on the gimmick gift game. At least this year’s tchotchkes now come with cachet and social proof.

Cold, Hard Cash

If the gift lists are sending you spare, you could always give cash – according to McCrindle it’s up there between Nothing At All (lies) and Time With Loved Ones as the gift Aussies want most. The gift of the indecisive to the indecisive, cash says I’m starting to be slightly uncomfortable with all this consumerism while acquiescing to the pressure to keep the peace by respecting the tradition of the Christmas Exchange. Unlike when you were twelve, however, the sight of a fifty sandwiched in a card like a meagre, festive paycheck just doesn’t have the same sheen.  

—

Fast-forward to Christmas morning. As you rip into the present you’ve just been handed, you recall a silly blog post you read and your mind starts to go into overdrive. Your family’s awaiting your enthusiastic response; you’re somewhere between avowing you’ll use this gift every day until you’re a better person and wondering if they even know you at all. Are you overthinking it? Maybe. But maybe not…