第1516期:Christmas gift alternatives

It's that time of year when many of us spend money buying gifts for family and friends. We spend hours, even days, searching the shops and websites trying to find the right present for someone - a pair of socks, perfume, a new gadget – only to find the recipient already has it or they've been given it already. Or worse, they just don't like it, which makes me think, "Are we wasting our time and money?"

每年的那个时候，我们中的许多人都会花钱为家人和朋友购买礼物。我们花费数小时，甚至数天，在商店和网站上搜索，试图为某人找到合适的礼物——一双袜子、香水、一个新的小玩意——却发现收件人已经拥有或已经收到了。或者更糟糕的是，他们只是不喜欢它，这让我想，“我们是在浪费时间和金钱吗？”

There is so much stuff in the world already and so much waste that maybe when it comes to Christmas giving, we need to think outside the box – use our imagination and be more creative with our generosity. This is particularly true for children, who tend to receive mountains of toys some of which end up not even being looked at. One idea is to implement a 'one-gift' rule so that children don't grow up spoiled. Getting too many gifts can also send out the wrong message. Speaking to BBC online, clinical psychologist Linda Blair says, "When we are given a lot, we expect to receive a lot… even if it's only at Christmas and on birthdays, it will impact on children's attitudes." She also suggests, "If you want to give a gift, give your time". 

世界上已经有太多的东西和太多的浪费，也许在圣诞节捐赠方面，我们需要跳出框框思考——发挥我们的想象力，用我们的慷慨更有创意。对于孩子来说尤其如此，他们往往会收到堆积如山的玩具，其中一些最终甚至没有被看。一个想法是实施“一份礼物”规则，这样孩子们就不会被宠坏了。收到太多礼物也会发出错误的信息。临床心理学家琳达·布莱尔在接受 BBC 在线采访时说：“当我们得到很多时，我们期望得到很多……即使只是在圣诞节和生日，它也会影响孩子们的态度。”她还建议，“如果你想送礼物，那就给你时间”。

She makes a good point - for children and adults alike, when it comes to giving, think about offering something other than a material object that may get forgotten, discarded or re-gifted.  Buying an experience is one alternative - a chance for someone to try something out and do something different. It will cost you money, but for the recipient it could be an opportunity to try something they could not normally afford or would not have thought about doing. It would therefore be memorable and, hopefully, much appreciated.

她提出了一个很好的观点——对于儿童和成人来说，在给予时，考虑提供一些可能会被遗忘、丢弃或重新给予的物质对象以外的东西。购买体验是一种选择——让人们有机会尝试一些事情并做一些不同的事情。这将花费你的钱，但对于接受者来说，这可能是一个尝试他们通常负担不起或不会考虑做的事情的机会。因此，这将是令人难忘的，并希望受到高度赞赏。

Another practical gift could be to buy someone lessons, giving them a chance to learn new skills such as horse riding or learning English. And there are what are called 'favours' – money-can't-buy offerings to do jobs for someone like babysitting, cleaning or giving someone a massage. And there is always the fallback of giving vouchers to spend in a shop.

另一个实用的礼物可能是给某人买课，让他们有机会学习新技能，例如骑马或学习英语。还有所谓的“恩惠”——用钱买不到的东西来为保姆、清洁或给别人按摩等工作提供服务。并且总是有提供代金券在商店消费的后备。

Of course, if you can't think of an original way to give a gift, the alternative is to not buy anything at all. You may be accused of being a 'Scrooge' but at least you're not wasting money on pointless gifts and you could give the money to charity instead – a more worthy cause. But if this year, you receive a present that's not to your liking don't be ungrateful and remember the age-old saying that 'it's the thought that counts'.

当然，如果你想不出一种独创的送礼方式，那另一种选择是什么都不买。你可能会被指责为“贪财鬼”，但至少你不会在毫无意义的礼物上浪费钱，你可以把钱捐给慈善机构——这是一个更有价值的事业。但是，如果今年你收到了一份不合你意的礼物，不要忘恩负义，记住那句古老的谚语“重要的是思想”。

词汇表

recipient 收礼人
to think outside the box 跳出传统的思维框架
generosity 慷慨，大方
implement 实施，实行
spoiled 宠坏了的
material object 实质的物品
re-gift 将收到的礼物转赠给他人
experience 体验型礼品
memorable 难忘的
appreciated 受喜爱的
practical 实用的
favour 帮助，善意行为
money-can't-buy 金钱买不到的（东西）
fallback 应变的，退一补的
voucher 代金券，票券
original 独创的，新颖的
Scrooge 吝啬鬼
pointless 空洞、无意义的
worthy cause 有价值的事情               
it's the thought that counts 情意更重要