Buying gifts for Christmas is always a tough job. What to buy for all those people? Children always want more toys, so that’s easy, but what do you buy for an adult. Some nicely decorated scented candles, a bottle of wine, bathrobe, slippers, socks, a gift basket or some flowers. Research shows that flowers are your best option. Candles are much appreciated, especially during these dark days, gift baskets are desired gifts too because a lot of people snack themselves out of a winter depression. Flowers however, give the recipient long-lasting sincere joy. This was the conclusion of a research team.

A group of women (from different age groups) volunteered for an experiment about moods and feelings. At the end of the experiment they would receive a free gift. They didn’t know that the receiving of the gift was the actual experiment. So after completing the bogus tests, a large box would be delivered at their homes and the researchers watched how the women reacted to the gifts. Of course everyone was delighted, but there was a notable difference. All of the women who received flowers reacted with a sincere smile, complete with laugh lines around the eyes. According to psychologists this is a real sign of sincere joy. Ten percent of the women who received a gift basket and twenty-three percent of the women, who received candles, didn’t show a sincere smile.

The researchers however were not satisfied with their results, so they did some other experiments too. They offered students a flower or a pen while they were standing in an elevator. Both gifts turned out to be mood improving. The students started chatting in the elevator, a thing they normally wouldn’t do. Students who received a flower became friendlier and even more talkative.

In a third experiment elderly people were included. Bouquets were delivered at their homes. In the following days not only their moods improved but also their memory. This last result was quite amazing but certainly not illogical. If you are depressed your memory gets worse, so when your mood improves so does your memory.

But why are people so sensitive towards flowers? There is no real answer to this question but the researchers think it all has to do with our genes. During the hunter-gatherer era a vast knowledge of plants signified survival. If you discovered flowers on a bramble bush you knew that you could return later to pick the blackberries. Flowers improve people’s moods considerately and that’s why people have been cultivating flowers for 5000 years or more.

So when you give a bouquet, you are not only giving beauty, you are also giving sincere pleasure and joy. There is only one downside though, flowers are a bit hard to wrap for Christmas and you can't leave them under the tree. Hmmmz… maybe in a Christmas stocking ;)