​In Korean, there’s a word for the youngest person in a family, group of friends, etc. It’s 막내, pronounced something like “mang-neh.” While my family is definitely not that in touch with our heritage, I am considered and treated like the 막내. Younger than my two sisters by six and eight years respectively, I’ve been babied and taken care of most of my life.

​That same treatment spread into gift-giving.

​When I was younger I never had to buy gifts for my parents or siblings, I just signed my name on the card of a gift from someone else, gave them a hug on the day of and then attended to my own gifts. My family just never expected presents from me. While my sisters were in high school with jobs and had their lives together I was in elementary school, with no income and an allowance that didn’t leave room for generous spending on gifts.

​But recently that’s changed.

​Yes, my sisters are still much older than me (and now have real jobs and still make more money than me), but for the past few years I’ve had to spend my own money to buy birthday presents and Christmas gifts and chip in for whatever my sisters planned for my parent’s anniversary.

And to be honest, I love it. I love shopping for gifts for my sisters and being able to wrap them afterwards and, around Christmastime, arranging them all neat and pretty under the tree. I find myself feeling less guilty when I buy for others, spending more on gifts for friends and family, and just in general being in a better mood after shopping for others opposed to myself.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m a huge fan of shopping for myself. Clothes, shoes, accessories, new purchases always put me in a good mood. But somehow, giving those purchases away puts me in an even better mood.

Especially when it comes to Christmastime, a season that’s so much about giving with holiday cheer everywhere, spending my money on the people that are close to me is such a great way to get in the spirit.