Imperfectly wrapped gifts actually make some people happier, says new study

There are so many things to do this time of year and for most of us, gift wrapping is one of them. Some people love doing it and devote whole rooms in their homes to the art of wrapping and others just wrap as fast as they can and move onto the next box.

If you’re in the second category you may have worried about how your presents are perceived by their receivers, but we have good news: No one cares if you are a sloppy wrapper, in fact, they kind of love it. This is according to a new study from the University of Nevada which found imperfectly wrapped gifts are more pleasing to receive than flawlessly wrapped presents.

Sloppy gift wrapping makes people happy so stop making yourself feel guilty about it.

“When we receive a gift from a friend, we use the wrapping as a cue about the gift inside and form expectations,” says Jessica Rixom, an assistant professor of marketing at the University of Nevada, Reno. “If it’s wrapped neatly, we set high expectations, and it’s hard for the gift to live up to those expectations.”

According to Rixom and her colleagues, giving a friend or family member a sloppily wrapped gift is a good idea and will actually make them like the present more…but if you’re giving a gift to someone you don’t know well the wrapping should be neater. When we get gifts from acquaintances we perceive the wrap job as an indication of how important the giver thinks of relationship is. The researchers say we should take relationship closeness into account when deciding how much time to spend wrapping a gift. The more time you spend with someone, the less time you have to spend on the present.

“It may be wise to go the extra mile with wrapping when giving a gift to an acquaintance,” says Rixom.

So if you’re giving a gift to the new mom you just met at the playgroup, do a good job on the wrapping this year and by next year she may be your BFF (and then you can wrap her present in a hurry and she’ll love it).