'Tis the season to be jolly, that is unless wrapping gifts is basically your least favorite thing to do. It used to be commonly accepted that you could put all your holiday gifts into a gift bag, add a bit of tissue and you were done, however, thanks to Martha Stewart, Pinterest and a bevy of very craft bloggers, gift wrapping has become basically an art form. It really is a treat to receive a gift that's wrapped so beautifully and adorned with a myriad of bows, twine and sometimes even live greenery, but let's face it, not everyone can pull that off. Thankfully a new study is proving that being not so great at gift wrapping may be a good thing.

The University of Nevada conducted a study to find out if how a gift is presented to them affects how they actually feel about the gift itself. As it turns out, it seems that those gifts that are wrapped more sloppily than those that look like they came right out of a Martha Stewart Living catalog just may be more appreciated, because people aren't expecting as much!

"Based on participants' answers to various questions, it suggested that the reason why this happens is because the neat wrapping sets higher expectations for the gift inside, which makes it harder for the gifts to live up to those expectations. When the gifts are unwrapped, the recipient is a bit disappointed whereas when it's wrapped sloppily, expectations are lower so the gift is more of a pleasant surprise," study co-author Jessica Rixom, Ph.D. told TODAY Home.

Rixom went on to explain that she had the idea for the study based on her own personal experience of working in a chocolate shop when she was younger. "They offered a gift-wrapping service so I learned how to wrap very neatly with crisp edges, just the right amount of paper, etc. I started wrapping my own gifts that way and many years later, when wrapping presents with a friend, I noticed that all of the gifts in my pile were neat while all of theirs were messy, even though they were trying. This made us wonder whether the way the gift was wrapped would have any influence on how the gifts themselves were perceived and that’s how it started," Rixom stated.

While the study found that people actually appreciate receiving a gift from a friend that is wrapped messily, they prefer a nicer wrapping job when receiving a gift from an acquaintance.

"This occurs because of expectations. But the opposite actually happens when gifts come from acquaintances," Rixom said. "In other words, if you get a gift with really fancy wrapping from an acquaintance, it can signal that the gift giver values the relationship and can lead you to enjoy the gift more."

Basically the study proves that it really is the thought that counts and people really shouldn't be stressing out about meticulously wrapping those gifts they put so much time and effort into choosing.

"I think the big takeaway is that the gift giver should think about who they’re giving the gift to when they’re getting ready to start wrapping. If it is a friend, then it might not be necessary to put in the extra effort needed to wrap the gift perfectly but with an acquaintance, it’s worth putting in the time to wrap the gift neatly so the recipient will know that you value the relationship."

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