Who Actually Gets a New Car for Christmas?

The holiday season is a time of cheer and giving for many people.  It’s also a time of a little bit of suspense, when it comes to the gifts that people are giving one another.

Sometimes we want to give gifts of clothes, tech items, tickets to games/shows, or other traditional things. Other times we may even give a gift card for Christmas.  What about giving a big ticket item? By that, I mean a really big gift – like a new car!

Up front, I can tell you that I couldn’t imagine ever giving such a gift, or getting one either.  Nor would I want to.  With that out of the way, I’ll share that my thoughts about this centered around the TV ads that I’ve seen in recent years where a person gets “surprised” over the holidays by a shiny new car with a big ribbon on it sitting in the driveway.

In these ads, the person getting the gift seems so happy and excited to get the gift.  You can just see the affection in her eyes (or his, if he’s the recipient), and the giver appears to have done a good job.  How romantic, giving such an amazing gift over the holidays!

Or, is it really so romantic?  Or practical?  Or sane?

Yeah, I know that they’re commercials, but come on people! Unless someone is firmly entrenched in that top 1%, how does a person actually go about buying a major gift like that?  There are a number of questions I have:

  • Is this really a gift, or a purchase of something you need (or want, most likely) that is masqeurading as a gift?
  • If it’s a gift, are you giving something that she (or he) really likes, or something that you like?
  • How do you just commandeer that kind of money on your own, and apply a unilateral decision on how money is to be spent?
  • Is the recipient someone that demanding that he (or she) needs that big of a gift to be happy?
  • Just who in the middle class has that kind of money laying around for gifts?

I don’t personally know anyone who has received a car as a holiday gift.  Maybe I’m hanging out in the wrong circles! Or, on second thought, maybe I’m hanging out in the right circles.  🙂

My Questions for You

Have you ever seen these ads where people give/receive new cars as holiday gifts?

Does this concept seem a bit far fetched to you, or do you know folks that have done this?

Just how do you think one would actually pull this off?