Democratic Sentinel, Volume 21, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 December 1897 — Don'ts About Gifts. [ARTICLE]

Don'ts About Gifts.

Don't above nil tilings ask the giver whether you may exchange her gift. Don’t forget that it is tho inward spirit that makes the real value of the offering. Don’t above all things lie guilty of making a list of article* you desire. This is a species of polite blackmail. Don’t, even in your innermost self, speculate as to whether your gift will bring a return, and above all a return in monetary value. Don’t forget that the chief charm of a gift is essentially the surprise. Don’t, therefore, barter with a friend as to reciprocal gifts. Don’t express dissatisfaction with a gift, no matter how great your disappointment. Don’t, if you linvo neglected to remember a friend, wound her pride by sending a New Year’s gift in exchange for her Christmas present. The motive is too apparent. Don't give gifts because you feel compelled to do so from a sense of social obligation. There nre other ways to acknowledge indebtedness than by making the holiest of holidays a matter of trade and barter.' Don’t consider the intrinsic value of a gift when you nre the * recipient. And when you nre the giver let the gift be costly as thy purse can buy—don't be skimpy!