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Another year has almost passed. New Year is not only about endless partying, it’s also the time we all prepare to put some thought (and money) into choosing the perfect gift for our friends, and hope that they will appreciate it.
又值歲末。新年不僅僅是個無休止的派對時間，也是一個禮物選購季——我們花費思、掏腰包為朋友們挑選完美禮物，并希望他們喜歡。
Giving gifts can be risky. Not everyone likes everything, and some people are very vocal about expressing their dislike. Relationships, especially new ones, are particularly fraught with gift-giving difficulties because you haven’t reached a point of mutual directness in terms of what you dislike about each other.
送禮可能是件冒險的事。并非每個人都不挑剔，有些人會喋喋不休地表達自己的不滿。情侶們，尤其是那些剛剛牽手的情侶，挑選禮物對他們而言尤為棘手，因為你們的關系還沒有熟到可以直接表達不滿。
So, how do you give gifts the right way? There’s some science to it, Sumathi Reddy wrote in The Wall Street Journal, and it may help you be a more successful giver of gifts. Here are some relevant points to consider:
那么你如何才能選對禮物呢？這里面大有學問。蘇馬蒂•雷迪在《華爾街日報》的文章中道出了一些送禮的學問，可能有助于你變身為“送禮達人”。下面是一些送禮時可供參考的要點：
Re-gift without guilt
轉送禮物，無需內疚
According to a recent study published in Psychological Science, the original gift giver is less likely to be offended by your thankless re-gifting than you might think. If you have a pile of gifts you hate, go ahead and get rid of them.
《心理科學》最新刊登的一項研究顯示，最初的送禮人并不會像你想的那樣，因為你這種看似辜負他人心意的轉送行為而生氣。如果你想借機“處理”掉那些你不喜歡的禮物，大膽去送吧。
The original gift giver might not be angry, or at least less than you’d think. “The reason people weren’t overly bothered when their gifts were later re-gifted was because they generally believed the recipient was free to decide what to do with an item,” Reddy wrote.
最初送禮物的人可能并不生氣，或者至少不像你想的那般生氣。雷迪寫道：“人們并不會特別介意自己送出的禮物被轉送，因為他們普遍認為收禮者有權決定如何利用這些禮物。”
The thought doesn’t count
關鍵不在心意
It’s actually the gift that counts, and not the thought behind it, according to the study. “The benefit of a thoughtful gift actually accrues mainly to the giver, who derives a feeling of closeness to the other person,” columnist Jen Doll wrote in the Atlantic Wire.
該項研究顯示，關鍵不在于送禮者的心意，而在于禮物本身。《大西洋線報》的專欄作家珍•多爾寫道：“一份花盡心思的禮物，主要受益者則是送禮者，他們因此覺得和他人之間更加親密。”
Doesn’t that turn the tables nicely? Those people adamant about giving thoughtful gifts are just selfish jerks, while the rest of us materialists are gift-giving the right way. “In fact, thoughtfulness only seemed to count when a friend gives a gift that is disliked,” Reddy explained. The thought and the gift both being bad seems the key scenario to avoid here.
是否感覺局面巧妙地出現扭轉？那些執著于送心意的人是自私的傻瓜，而其他實用享樂主義者卻送對了禮物。雷迪解釋說，“實際上，只有在朋友給你一件你不喜歡的禮物時，你才會體諒他的心意。”禮物不周同時心意又不到似乎是送禮的頭號禁忌。
Money can’t buy happiness
金錢買不來快樂
Well, this is obvious, especially for a New Year’s gift. If you overspend on a New Year’s gift, close friends and family members will say: “Why not wait until my birthday for such a big gift?” And if you buy an expensive gift for a new friend, they might just feel pressured.
好吧，這一點顯而易見，尤其對于新年禮物而言。如果你在新年禮物上砸下血本，好友和家人可能會說：“這種大禮，應該等到我過生日時再送嘛。”如果你給一個新朋友買了件大禮，他們可能只是會覺得很有壓力。
What’s more, just because you spend a lot of money on a gift doesn’t mean people are going to like it more, or like it at all. So don’t bother spending a lot of money–unless someone explicitly asks you to.
此外，你在禮物上花了許多錢，這并不意味著人們就會更喜歡它，或者完全買你的賬。因此，不要花大價錢來買禮物，除非有人明確要求你這樣做。
Give people what they actually ask for
投其所好
One might think there is no need for scientists to prove this, but they have, and so we thank them. “People are more appreciative when they receive a gift they have explicitly requested”, said a study published last year in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.
你可能以為科學家沒必要去驗證這一點，但是他們的確這樣做了，我們應當感謝他們。去年刊登在《實驗社會心理學期刊》的一份研究報告顯示：“人們收到之前明確表示過想要的禮物時，會更感動”。
Well, what’d you know? When your best friend asked for an iPod you should have given them the Apple product and not the cheap copy that broke immediately.
好吧，你現在知道了？當你最好的朋友想要iPod時，你就應該給他們買蘋果的iPod，而不是易壞的山寨貨。
