Much of New Jersey is guilty of doing this during the holiday season

Something that I think about often but feel isn’t properly represented in media is the pressure of opening presents in front of the gift giver and others.

For those who don’t necessarily know how to react when opening gifts, did you know that there’s a name for our reactions?

Resting Gift Face

The phenomenon of “resting gift face” is the expression someone gives — intended or otherwise — when receiving a gift that poses confusion or questions (was this meant for me?) and misses the mark.

If I had known Talker Research was going to be doing a study on this, I would have helped fund it myself. It’s a phenomenon near and dear to my heart as someone who has RGF.

While many can pull off a poker face while unwrapping gifts, we can’t all be so lucky. I’ve been accused many times throughout my life that I’m not a good gift receiver.

Can you blame me, though? There’s far too much pressure to perform when you open gifts.

How can you tell if your friend doesn’t like the gift you got them?

The study done by Talker Research found that avoiding eye contact is the clearest sign of gift dissatisfaction (24%). This is followed by putting on a fake smile (20%), changing the tone of their voice (16%), and talking too much about how great the gift looks (16%).

TOP 10 RESPONSES FOR DISLIKED GIFTS

🎁 “Thank you for thinking of me” — 27%
🎁 “I love it” — 23%
🎁 “I really appreciate this” — 21%

🎁 “You shouldn’t have!” — 14%
🎁 “What a thoughtful present” — 13%
🎁 “What a great present” — 12%
🎁 “You’re too kind” — 11%

🎁 “It’s the thought that counts” — 10%
🎁 “It’s so unique!” — 9%
🎁 “Where did you get this?” — 8%

Best of luck to you this holiday season, fellow RGF-ers!

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5's Kylie Moore. Any opinions expressed are Kylie's own. You can follow Kylie on Instagram.
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