THE XMAS SEASON.

Auckland Star, Volume XLIII, Issue 306, 23 December 1912, Page 5 (Supplement)

THE XMAS SEASON.

(By CLARENCE ROOK.)

It is the season of peace and goodwill towards men, women and children, and there are few people who are not worrying themselves as to what they shall give to a friend, or to a friend's wife, or a friend's child, or — God bless us!—what those people shall give to the giver. The shops aie full of useful presents, the columns of new-papers are full of invitations to come and liny, the houses and streets are full of people with lists of friends and bits of notepaper jotted with names, suggestions of what can he given and accepted. And the world of givers plunges into the shop, takes what the shopkeeper suggests as the useful present, packs it up and sends it off. You know the process. Thousands of almanacs, cigarette cases, pincushions, matchboxes, hat-pins, cigars, lountain pens, handkerchiefs—the list would fill columns—pass from giver to receiver and back again, to the great gain of the Parcel post. And when the whole ceremony is over, and we sit down to contemplate the result, there will certainly be a wastage in the efforts of good will. The effort, you will note, is admirable. But the knowledge is inadequate. Xo one knows exactly what another person wants. And when all have given and all have received, there will be a splendid hull! for the dustman who collects the residuum of failures. The match-box of the man who has enough of them, the innumerable absurdities of the wellwisher who does not know what the receiver wants The dustbin will be full enough of mistaken kindness when the present season is over. For the art of present-giving is rare—and means sympathy, insight, the quick perception of the other's taste. Few people have that faculty. The terrible position at the present season is that most people give what they themselves would like to have and keep, and get what they do not want. Now you will foresee that before long, after much anxious consideration, the givers will have exchanged presents at some expense, and will have chucked them into the outer void as simple wastage, because the giver gave what he wanted himself, and the recipient got what he did not want. It is an absurd situation; but it needs only to be stood the other way up to come out as a seasonable proposition.. To put it quite plainly, you don't know what anyone else wants; but it is your duty to know what you want for yourself. Thus, perhaps, we may even out the matter, ror it is really dreadful to contemplate the wasi - of kindness when it comes to the exchange of presents, when everybody finds he has given away what he wanted and received what c did not want. A sort of Clearing House for Presents should be organised. The suggestion came with the practice of three maiden aunts of mine, who lived together, and observed the anniversaries with, care. Birthdays. Christmas, Easter. and other more intimate recurrences of dates demanded the present. But even in that close association the three ladies found that none of the others really knew what the third wanted for herself. They would go out secretly to buy the present for the recipient, and of course the recipient was outwaruly grateful. But it once occurred to the eldest and most experienced that they were all wasting their mone}' and their kindness. Each of the three ladies was always g?tting what two other ladies really wanted. Then those maiden ladies solved the present problem. The mere discomfort and absurdity of the process gave the solution. They organised a (tearing House for presents. It was agreed that as each wished to give pleasure to the others, they should each buy her own present. On the approach of a bin inlay the s'-ter would say pleasantly at the breakfast table that she was going out to buy her own present. And she named the sum to be oxi pended. The other sisters nodded, and made j v mental note. The compact was observed ! when the other anniversaries came round, end I each sister got what she really wanted. For it was a point of honour among those sisters I that so many times in the year each should |go out and spend the definite sum (duly not d down) on the little thing she really waV.tei'.. And now perhaps you -cc the light that comes from that quiet and successful home which should illuminate the darkness of a country that is exchanging presents and docs ' not know what to give, and usually pets the 1 gifts it does not want. It is the suggestion ' of a sort of exchange on the lines of the j Bankers' Clearing House, which does not handle money, but looks after good wishes— promises—paper, and does not worry in the ieast about wjiat the people are going to do with the gloating wealth. V«u will exchange, ' not presents, but promises. Those maiden sisters have suggested the solution of the problem. We are all going to send presents round. But we all make the mistake. Let ? us avoid it. Let us institute the Clearing 1 House for presents. 1 want to give Smith a ' present, and Smith wants to give mc one. 1 Well! I sit down and write a postcard to 1 Smith in these terms: — 5 "My dear Smith. — I like you. and you like : mc. You are worrying about your present to 1 mc, and I am concerned about my present to you. As a business proposition 1 lik,. you ' up to halt" a crown, which is about what you 1 are going to spend on mc. But you don't ' know what 1 want, and 1 don't know what you want. I'll swear to spend half a crown t "on myself and the thing 1 want if you'll unt dertake to spend that on what you want."' 7 Then Smith and I would go out and hotiuur- - ably achieve half a crown's worth of what we want. > This is merely the crude suggestion of the 2 Clearing House in presents that should he established. But I can foresee a happy tie 5 when the Christmas and Ne*' Year card : 'l revive, and be put to a new use. The\ ! i spin round in halfpenny envelope? and 1 be marked in plain figures, from a pen: i anything you please, indicating what t sender proposes to spend. Then all the n i will collect their cards, pack them up reticule or stow them in a pocket, and g f according to agreement to get what 3 want, Just the things they want. And i the General Post of presents is over, aa all settle down l- consider gams and I t we shall certait'.K find that we havei all g . s by the system of choosing our presen - 1 ourselve/ (Doesn't even a ch.ld res,