A few days ago I heard some people listing reasons why they didn't like the Secret Santa game or gift exchange. These are practices that have been around for quite some time, they are carried out in educational and work environments when Christmas comes, but also in large families, as a way to have fun or add more excitement to these dates.

post, with alternatives for those who don't know what to give.What is the reason for the rejection of this practice? There are several reasons: but the main ones are: not knowing what to give or the dissatisfaction of the person receiving it. Our friend @emiliorios has created an interactive

I want to focus on the other part, how to receive a gift. From the moment we open our eyes, at the beginning of the day, we receive gifts, we don't always see them and we rarely thank them. We have life and the possibility of making the day good. A new page to write. Sky, sun or rain, birds, breeze, coffee, garden, loved ones, plans and more. Daily gifts will arrive as they do every day, we just need to learn to observe them and receive them.

I think that's the key to the matter, how we look at the gift we receive. Behind a gift there is the intention to please, there is an investment of time, effort and yes, an economic expense, when we are referring to a tangible item; but the value of what is received will never exceed the feeling with which it was delivered.

Perhaps this is also one of the causes of the rejection of this game. Sometimes the invitation to play is forced in order to provoke socialization, it happens a lot in the workplace. People react with a certain suspicion or discomfort when they take the paper with the name of the person who is going to receive it and if they do not have prior knowledge or some degree of affection, it is more difficult to know what is going to be given.

But let's suppose that we are the ones who are going to receive it and we are surprised with a present that is contrary to our tastes or lifestyle, reacting in an unpleasant way does not remedy the bad moment, on the contrary, it leaves us in a bad position.

It is important not to take the matter too seriously, it is assumed that if we do not know ourselves well, the other person does not have to know about our tastes. Unless it is an act of bad intention and offends our sensitivity, in which case, in a polite manner, we can refuse to receive.

Generally, whoever gives a gift expects the recipient to like it. It has its load of stress included in the expectations that are made about whether the gift will be well received. There is already an element here that could make the game heavy. There are people who classify the other according to what they receive: snobby, ordinary, unobservant and more.

I remember that in the games of yesteryear, people were offended if they received a soap, deodorant, or any beauty item. "Why did he give me this?" was the question they asked themselves and from there they drew their conclusions, with the consequence that the friendship was fractured. Today there are toiletries so expensive and beautifully presented that they would be a nice and well-received detail.

My mother kept with special affection the memories of special moments that were given to her, she saw them as a kindness; But there are those who consider these things trinkets and get rid of them without giving them any importance. A friend received three ceramic dogs with bandages on their heads or one of their paws, and ended up throwing them away because she did not understand why they had given her three sick dogs.

I think that the first response should be to give thanks with genuine enthusiasm. When you know how to appreciate the emotional value of things, what you receive is imbued with that affection. My grandchildren draw me pictures and I accept them with pleasure, because I imagine them drawing for me and that energy is wonderful.

At this time, when the economic situation is so difficult, the gesture is magnified and that should be taken into account to thank and give true value to the detail received.