‘Tis The Season Of Gift Giving

It’s officially holiday time and that means we have entered the great season of giving! Giving gifts can be hard, sometimes we don’t know what the other person wants or may like and we want to make sure that whatever we give them will put a big smile on their face! When you think of something thoughtful it will make the person you are giving the gift to feel great! Believe it or not the more thought and effort you put into the gift the happier it will make the recipient…yes there is a whole science behind this!

Let’s break it down! Gifts make people feel good both when you give and receive. Gifts make people happy and happy people give more. This is known as the feedback loop. To see how it works you have to take a look at the specific part of the brain known as the mesolimbic pathway. When people give gifts with a genuine intention the mesolimbic pathway will be working hard and it will produce oxytocin, which makes people feel generous and empathetic and leaves them more likely to go out and perform another selfless act.

So when it comes to buying gifts this holiday season make sure to put some thought into the gifts that you are giving. It’s not only the happiness you give it’s the happiness you get! Best of all, they might very well pay it forward passing that giving glow to others!