又到了交換禮物的時刻 / It’s gift exchange time again

不知道曾幾何時，聖誕節的交換禮物活動，對我來說，已經成為一種帶著儀式感的活動，當然，交換禮物不只是物品的轉移，更是一場情感的交流，禮物們承載著祝福、關心與一點點驚喜，然而，對於有選擇障礙的我，常常為了這個活動傷透了腦筋。

前幾天，到家樂福賣場採購日用品時，發現剛好有寶可夢商品的預售活動，文具店的筆記本，到服飾、生活用品甚至家電外觀，只要印上熟悉的皮卡丘、噴火龍或伊布，商品彷彿立刻被賦予了情感與故事，讓人忍不住多看一眼，還蠻適合做為交換禮物的選項，我可以想像到當人們拆開禮物後的驚喜。

一份平凡的物品，若被細心包裝，彷彿立刻變得特別起來，相反地，再昂貴的禮物，若草率地遞出，也可能讓人少了幾分感動，可見的禮物包裝的重要性，商場的包裝專區，恰恰可以解決這樣的煩惱，手巧的朋友可以買包裝紙，用創意的手法包裹禮物，手笨的朋友，就多花些錢，買的有設計感的紙質手提袋把禮物放到裡面，簡單又省事。

看到賣場內交換禮物專區的各式杯具，我就頭疼，之前交換禮物時，拿到了各式保溫杯或馬克杯，雖然是朋友們的心意，但是家中的杯具已經太多了，真的拿到了也不想使用，不過，有設計感的小夜燈，我覺得新奇又好玩，可以拿來作為交換禮物的選項，雖然交換禮物活動，在挑選禮物上有些壓力，不過，我還蠻期待會交換到怎麼樣的禮物，及與朋友們的見面交流。

At some point, I don’t even know when, Christmas gift exchanges became a kind of ritual for me. Of course, exchanging gifts isn’t just about passing objects around. It’s more like an emotional exchange. Gifts carry blessings, care, and a little bit of surprise. That said, for someone like me who has serious trouble making choices, this activity often gives me a real headache.

A few days ago, when I went to Carrefour to buy daily necessities, I happened to notice a Pokémon merchandise pre-order event. From notebooks you’d usually see in stationery stores, to clothes, daily necessities, and even appliances, as long as they had familiar characters like Pikachu, Charizard, or Eevee printed on them, the products instantly felt more meaningful and full of stories. They actually seemed like great options for gift exchanges. I could already imagine the look of surprise on people’s faces when they opened the gifts.

A simple item can instantly feel special if it’s carefully wrapped. On the other hand, even an expensive gift can feel less touching if it’s handed over carelessly. This really shows how important gift wrapping is. Luckily, the wrapping sections in shopping malls are perfect for solving this problem. If you’re good with your hands, you can buy wrapping paper and get creative. If you’re clumsy like me, you can just spend a bit more and put the gift into a nicely designed paper gift bag. It’s simple and saves a lot of effort.

When I saw all kinds of cups in the gift exchange section of the store, I immediately felt a headache coming on. In past exchanges, I’ve received all sorts of thermos bottles and mugs. While I appreciated my friends’ thoughtfulness, I honestly already have way too many cups at home, and I don’t really feel like using them anymore. On the other hand, I find small, well-designed night lights pretty fun and interesting, and they seem like a much better option for a gift exchange.

Even though choosing a gift for a gift exchange can be a bit stressful, I’m still really looking forward to seeing what kind of gift I’ll get—and, more importantly, meeting up and spending time with my friends.

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