WEDNESDAY, Dec. 11, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- It can feel like a shameful moment, bracing yourself to hand over a Christmas or birthday gift that’s days or months overdue for one reason or another.

But slackers take heart -- a new study has found that your friend or loved one likely won’t be as upset about getting that late gift as you suspect.

“Go ahead and send that late gift, because it doesn’t seem to bother most people as much as givers fear,” said lead researcher Cory Haltman, a doctoral student in marketing at Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business.

A series of six studies showed that people receiving late gifts generally tend to be patient and appreciative, rather than annoyed or hurt, according to results published Dec. 5 in the Journal of Consumer Psychology.

That runs counter to what most folks think. About 65% of Americans believe a gift should arrive on time for a holiday, birthday or other occasion, according to a survey performed by the research team.

“A majority of U.S. consumers seem to think that gifts should be given on time -- but our study shows that there’s more to the story,” said researcher Rebecca Walker Reczek, a professor of marketing at Ohio State University.

In one study, participants were asked to imagine giving or receiving a birthday gift that would arrive either on time or two weeks late, and assess how the late gift would affect their relationship.

Those who imagined giving a gift late thought it was more likely to harm a relationship than those who imagined receiving the tardy present, results show.

“One of the key social functions of gift giving is to communicate care for the gift recipient, so it is not surprising that people fear a negative impact on their relationship if they are late with their present,” Reczek said in a news release issued by the university.

But recipients “didn’t see a late gift as signaling a lack of care,” Haltman said. “They were more forgiving than those giving late gifts thought they would be.”

The fear of giving a late gift is so great it actually can make some go all-out to make apparently unnecessary amends, another study found.

Participants said they wouldn’t worry as much about giving a late gift basket to a friend if they hand-crafted the basket of goodies themselves rather than buying a pre-made basket containing the same items, study results showed.

“People felt that if they put extra effort into the gift, made it more personalized, that can make up for it being late,” Reczek said.

But is there such a thing as being too late?

Maybe, according to the results of another study in the series.

Participants were asked to imagine giving or receiving a birthday present that was late by two days, two weeks or two months.

Both gift givers and receivers thought that the later the gift, the more harm the delay would do to their relationship.

However, gift recipients never thought the relationship harm would be as bad as did the gift givers -- no matter how late the gift arrived.

There’s one line folks shouldn’t cross, researchers said -- not giving a gift at all.

Both givers and receivers said not giving a gift would harm a relationship even more than being severely late.

“Late is definitely better than never when it comes to giving a gift,” Haltman said.

All in all, give that gift, but also don’t be too hard on yourself for handing it over a tad late.

“If you’re late giving a gift, put yourself in the role of receiving a late gift,” Reczek said. “Based on our results, we believe that should reduce your worry that the lateness is going to be harmful to your relationship.”

More information

The University of Arizona has more on the psychology of gift giving.

SOURCE: Ohio State University, news release, Dec. 10, 2024