Making Christmas presents at the last minute says a lot about yourself

There may be people around you who have already completed the Christmas gifting process. Until the end of the first half of December, therefore. These people are part of the current Marie Kondo team, who defy the laws of efficiency and make their first purchases during the summer sales. And then there are the others, those who embark on a frenzied race the week before New Years, or worse, sweat it out in the shops on the big day. In addition to classic disorganization and procrastination kings, the repetition of this pattern may reflect the exact characteristics of “suggestions”; all more or less consciously.

A gift (also) full of meaning.

To understand the profiles of these exceptional latecomers, clinical psychologist Samuel Dock (1) first looks at our times. According to the expert, the behavior of these buyers says something about the society in which we operate. Understand “the cult of urgency, where it is difficult to take time for pleasure, to choose a gift.” Thus, many of us postpone the end-of-year mission “as if it were an obligation, a task that we cannot avoid anyway,” explains the psychologist.

Behind the street lights and Christmas carols is also a commitment to having a good time and putting family conflicts on the table on D-Day. Therefore, less magical. “Christmas is extremely anxiety-inducing. So giving your gifts at the last minute also allows you to delay the fateful moment,” says Samuel Dock. Not forgetting the end-of-year fatigue. “Some people just don’t have the energy for gifts,” comments Saverio Tomasella, MD and psychoanalyst.

Christmas is extremely anxiety-inducing

Samuel Dock, Clinical Psychologist

If the purpose of a Christmas gift is to please its recipient (except in an exclusive family context), in reality the gift is never more than a simple gift, and it may be that Goncourt is given to our sister. symbolizes much more than we think. “Sometimes there are emotional, diplomatic problems behind the gift. The whole family bond, the relationship with others is played out through the object,” explains psychologist Samuel Dock. It’s enough to block some when it comes to choosing said gift.

Unconscious resistance

Some may also be hostile to the party. “Besides buying delayed gifts, we are also delaying the celebration itself. After all, “as long as I don’t buy anything, Christmas hasn’t started,” explains the intern. Among others, we can find tiredness, a feeling of wear and tear associated with December 25th. In practice, going into stores too late can be seen as a demand, “a form of unconscious resistance, a way of saying, ‘I don’t like this party,'” notes psychoanalyst Saverio Tomasella. The specialist even reveals in individual cases retaliation against the mental load suffered during the rest of the year. “It’s too unconscious to say that, but sometimes there can be behavioral compensation.”

Late shopping can be seen as a form of unconscious resistance, a way of saying “I don’t like this holiday”.

Saverio Tomasella, Doctor of Humanities and Psychoanalyst

Injury and costs

By putting off buying gifts for as long as possible, some people, “victims of period trauma, may unconsciously push back the traumatic memory,” emphasizes Samuel Dock. Finally, on a lighter note and outside of everyone’s December 24th and 25th commitments, psychoanalyst Saverio Tomasella identifies profiles among latecomers that are less creative, thrifty, or even less generous. He details. “Unconsciously, the more we procrastinate, the more our wallets give the impression of being kept.”