PastFuturePresent

Having a new baby is often a time when loved ones enjoy choosing meaningful gifts from a baby registry. However, when choosing something for the youngest member of your family, it sometimes is overwhelming or difficult to select what the child will really need in the future. When faced with millions of possibilities - which often includes baby clothing, baby crib, stroller..etc - one wonders if it's better to include a more meaningful gift: the gift of a post-secondary education.

By investing in a Registered Education Savings Plan (RESP) on behalf of a child, you can start them on the path to higher learning and continue the savings for many years to come. Experts say that the cost of education is far out-pacing the rate of inflation and income with the price of a 4-year university education to be upwards of $ 145, 000. An RESP allows parents and caregivers to contribute a maximum of $50,000 towards this cost, while earning a grant of up to $7,200 from the federal government through the Canada Education Savings Grant (CESG). 

With that in mind, many parents should consider the gift of lifelong learning that they would be giving their own child. So, before venturing into the mall and scanning millions of items as part of your baby's registry, consider allocating a portion of your registry to an education savings plan. How memorable would it be that upon graduation or entry into post secondary school, the "baby" can thank everyone that contributed and your family and friends can relish in giving a gift that far outlasts that of the normal baby gift.

But how do you balance the immediate versus future needs of the child and the instant gratifications that aunts and uncles get when contributing to cute baby toys? This is the primary concern we have heard from parents regarding their friends and family and one potential option is to include on your registry an option for them to contribute to both! For example, Auntie Candice can put $25 dollars towards the coolest baby toy and also $25 towards the RESP. Not only will she be contributing to the immediate "needs" of the child, she gave a gift that will last a lifetime.

With the holidays approaching we thought this infographic from 2010 was very interesting and still relevant to how we give gifts.

I’m headed off to a housewarming party tonight and I’ve been struggling with a good gift idea. I did some internet searching and ended up learning about some rather interesting housewarming rituals. I learned that Pineapples are apparently a common housewarming gift because they symbolize hospitality. This tradition started when the Europeans gave pineapples to First Nations people as a symbol of friendship. Somehow I’m not sure sure she’d know what to do with it, unless maybe I brought along some rum and coconut too!

A few years ago I was introduced to the concept of The Five Love Languages, a book by Gary Chapman. Something about this theory has always stuck with me. The quick summary is that people express love to each other in five primary ways - quality time together, words (e.g saying “I love you”), acts of service (e.g. cooking, doing the dishes), physical affection and gifts. The idea is that communication challenges arise when people prioritize these differently and thus end up speaking different languages. Upon learning about this theory, I quickly ranked the languages in the order I thought I prioritized them - and I put gifts dead last. To be honest I was surprised it was even on the list. I viewed gifts as a shallow expression of love that represented our desire for material goods over emotional connections. I thought of the stereotypical shallow girlfriend who judges her boyfriend’s love by the price of the jewelry he buys her. I think my judgement was too harsh though. Any of these languages on its own and taken to an extreme don’t represent real love. Dr Chapman included gifts because they can be incredibly meaningful and rewarding - to both the giver and receiver. An expression of love means not only being able to understand and speak each of the five languages of love, but also to speak them well - it’s about using the right words and being open and honest with them, it’s about performing acts of service that will truly be valued and appreciated, and about giving gifts that are meaningful to the receiver. Which languages of love resonate most with you?

I’m personally a huge sucker for sappy greeting cards (I’ve saved all the cards I’ve ever gotten) and I love a good card with a birthday, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Anniversary, Mother’s Day or Father’s Day gift. But I have to draw the line somewhere. I recently saw both Halloween and Thanksgiving Day cards at the store. Do people really give Thanksgiving Day cards? Or Halloween Cards? Don’t get me wrong, I love both these holidays (Halloween’s an all time favourite), but I was not aware of any major gift giving tradition that went along with these days - nor any corresponding cards. Who am I supposed to give these cards to?

Welcome to the PastFuturePresent blog - a refreshing look at gift giving and receiving. Giving and receiving gifts has been around as long as people have existed. It’s one of those oddities that us humans like to do for each other to show how we feel. Some things have changed a lot over time about how we give gifts and some things have changed very little. This blog will explore the interesting patterns and habits we have around gifting - in the form of musings from the PastFuturePresent team. My name is Seema Lakhani and I’m one of the co-founders of the online registry company, PastFuturePresent. Like everyone, I’ve given and received gifts and felt all the emotions that go along with it - anticipation, awkwardness, surprise, disappointment, pride and true appreciation. I’ve often wondered why sometimes giving or receiving a gift feels so good - filled with meaning and love and other times, it just misses the point. Gifts are the most fundamental symbolic gesture, but a symbol is only as good as what it stands for - whether it's a mix tape or a diamond ring. The PastFuturePresent team is excited to begin this exploration with you! We look forward to hearing your thoughts as well.