I believe that there is a such thing as a free gift- but maybe that's just because I'm cheap. Sure, when I was younger I would always expect gifts at special events like my birthday or Christmas, and I'd reciprocate the gifting because it was polite- but more so because it was not coming out of my own money but instead my parents'. Back then, I never had to worry about what to get someone for their birthday or bar/bat mitzvah or wedding or whatever because money was not an issue. Times have changed, however, for now I am as broke as college students come, and in the rare occasion that I do get someone a gift it must be for a really good reason. This might sound selfish, but then again, when did giving gifts become so mandatory?

Not all gifts are free. Of course, if a friend gets you something really, really nice for your birthday then you are morally obligated to get them something equally nice for their birthday. If you don't get them anything, that's probably really rude of you and you should feel bad about the fact that your friend wasted lots of money on a friendship that they believed to be worth more than you. But wait a minute... friendship can't be measured in gifts. If it is, you're in a pretty shallow relationship for all the money you're spending on gifts. Then again, if you have the money, heck, go for it. You might get something really special in return.

I'm biased because I literally have no money to buy anyone any gifts these days. I'll make someone a gift if they really mean a lot to me. Otherwise, fuhgeddaboudit. Call me rude, call me inconsiderate, whatever. I would do just fine without receiving another tangible gift as long as I live if it meant I didn't have to worry about the stressful obligations of gift giving. Take Christmas for example. Who actually enjoys Christmas shopping? Maybe some people do but that is the last thing I would want to look forward to on a freezing cold day in December in a whirlwind of crazy holiday shoppers and their obscene materialist appetites.

We shouldn't give gifts because we are obligated to. We should give gifts because we want to, not because we expect something in return.