by Lorelei Cohen

Created on: September 14, 2009   Last Updated: April 30, 2010

There are many occasions in life when we are forced to deal with people that we may not get along with all that well, and every now and then, we may be forced into a display of acceptance toward them that goes well beyond where we might like it to be. This is all part of being a member of modern society, and accepting, and respecting each other becomes all the more important when we are presented with one of these occasions. So if at your next company Christmas party you draw the name of the one person in the office who literally makes your skin crawl, handle it with grace, and with honor. Treat them as you would want to be treated if the circumstances were reversed.

I will never forget the look on my friends face, when at a social group function, she opened her Secret Santa gift to find a plain bar of soap within the wrappings. She tried to accept the gift with humor, and grace, but it was easy to see that she was very hurt by the gift. We were members of a private club and we had been instructed to purchase a gift for around twenty dollars for the person who's name we drew. My friends gift was an obvious snub, and as our eyes met, I knew exactly how upset she was made to feel by that uncaring personal gesture.

My friend had recently joined the club and I couldn't help but think of how excited she had been earlier when she selected the perfect gift for the name that she had drawn. Now her eyes just looked so hurt. Her personality may have been a little different from others, but she was also raised in a very different background from most people, and she certainly did not deserve to be treated in such a demeaning manner. This was an unkindness that my friend would never have considered passing along to anyone and it was terrible that someone could snub her in this manner. Just because you do not particularly care for someone, that is not a good enough reason to direct rudeness in their direction, others should always be treated just as you would want them to treat you.

If you do not know much about the person that you are elected to purchase a gift for, then there are a number of universal gifts that are available, and these are items that are almost always received with excitement. Give a trinket, jewelery, or crafted wooden box with a small surprise within it. You can place lottery tickets within the box, a good luck charm, specialty chocolates, a small bottle of ice wine or fine whiskey, or any other item that you think might be well received by the person

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>