Are you, like most of us, “soaked in the existential dread that comes from trying to find gifts our loved ones might appreciate” at this time of year?

If so, don’t despair. Scientists around the world have been researching what it is that makes for the perfect gift, and how to find it.

We share three websites to help you improve your gift giving, choose the best relationship-building gift, and “make your gift count extra” with a simple win/win tip that will leave you as happy as the recipient of your thoughtfulness.

“Every holiday season, as we drive ourselves crazy at the mall or shopping online, soaked in the existential dread that comes from trying to find gifts our loved ones might appreciate, I think of the great writer and social critic James Baldwin, who wrote: ‘If the hope of giving/is to love the living,/the giver risks madness/in the act of giving’” (from the New York Times article below)

Are you struggling to find that perfect gift – Festive Season or otherwise – for someone special in your life (or business)?

Read these for some research-based help –

• A list of 3 ways to improve your gift giving in “Gift-Giving Tips From Scientists” on the New York Times website.
• Tips on choosing a relationship-building gift in the Daily Mirror’s “The science of gift giving: What people REALLY want for Christmas” here.
• And last but not least a win-win idea to make your gift count extra in “To pick a great gift, it’s better to give AND receive” on ScienceDaily.