We’ve all heard the expression, “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” Well, I actually tested this adage at a holiday party. I took a shabbily wrapped package to a friend’s gift exchange to see what would happen. You might be surprised…but probably not. (Full disclosure: I posted this blog for the first time 10 years ago, in 2015.)

First, I took pains to wrap my gift perfectly. I even tied an ornament to the bow for added panache.

Then I placed my exquisitely-wrapped gift inside a brown paper bag and added crumpled tissue.  Pretty tacky, huh?

When I got to my girlfriend’s house I put my gift under her impeccably-decorated tree, beside all the others.

A dazzling tree with fabulous gifts. Notice mine–front, left.

What happened next?

We began with lots of presents.

One got chosen…

Then another…

and another. Until only two were left.

As you might have guessed, the gift I brought was chosen last.

The gal who ended up with my brown paper bag was happily surprised (and relieved) to find a beautifully wrapped box with four Lenox Christmas plates inside.

(I knew the gift would have to be spectacular for this experiment to work.)

So, you see, while we have been taught that “we shouldn’t judge a book by its cover“… we usually do.

After the gift exchange was over, I explained the experiment to my friends. We all shared a good laugh, and I thanked them for being my test audience.

P.S. In an impromptu vote at several gift exchanges, 1/4 of voters say they choose a gift by size, while 3/4 say they choose a gift by the way it is packaged.

How do you choose a gift among all the rest? Please comment below–just for fun!