Winter is here, and with it eventually comes Christmas, the most wonderful day of the entire year if you believe in that sort of thing. The thrill of waking up on Christmas morning to the joyous feeling of presents under the tree cannot be rivaled, at least for those under the age of 10.

For us college students, Christmas day may not hold the same special significance that it did when we were younger. In the good old days, we got to wake up on Christmas wondering what wonderful gifts Santa had brought us, but as we get older we are taught not to get caught up in such materialistic pursuits because of the ridiculous expression “it’s better to give than to receive.” This is just not true. Don’t these people understand that anytime someone gives, someone else has to receive what they gave. If nobody received, nobody would be able to give, so receiving seems pretty important too if you ask me.

We need to teach children that the holiday season is just as much about getting presents than it is about giving them. When Christmas comes around, we should be asking ourselves questions like how can we maximize the amount of presents we receive this holiday season, rather than asking something dumb like how can we help out the needy or how can we make sure to give to others more than to ourselves? The holidays are more about you than anyone else, and this is something that people need to remember.

So, as the holidays start to roll around, make sure to think of as many ways as you can to have the biggest net gain in terms of presents and suffer the smallest loss in terms of giving to others.

Be as nice to as many people as you can during the holidays. People may tell you to do this because it is simply a nice thing to do this time of year, but the real reason you should do it is that the nicer you are to people, the more likely they are to buy you something, and this is a far greater reward than the supposedly warm feeling you get inside when you do something nice for someone else.

Another way to maximize the gifts you receive this season is to celebrate more than one holiday. You may already celebrate Christmas, but look into expanding your cultural awareness and go celebrate some other holidays as well. You should most certainly celebrate Hanukkah because that will give you eight days of presents to take advantage of. If you feel especially bold, try your hand at another celebration such as Kwanzaa. You will get the chance to learn about different cultures and take home as many presents as you possibly can. You will truly be getting the best of both worlds if you take this advice.

With all this talk about getting presents, we can’t forget to talk about giving. There is a time and place for giving, and that time and place is when giving a gift will make it more likely that you receive one later. Only give presents to those who you believe will be more likely to give you something if you get them something first. For people like friends and family members, you already know they will get you a gift, so there is really no need to get anything for them. Always remember, it is only better to give than to receive when giving now will result in receiving later. This is what today’s children should be learning.

Remember to always value your own happiness over that of others and you are almost guaranteed to have a great holiday season. Don’t be afraid to make your Christmas list as long as you can imagine, even if it goes on for pages and pages and pages. There is no maximum length, and always remember that.

If you give people more presents than you get in return, then you have done the holidays completely wrong. Make sure to remember that it is all about you and the presents you get. Nobody else is anywhere near as important.