The Year of The Gift
Celebrating the Positive Value of Gift Giving in 2025
Stop Press
The Year may have ended but the discussion and interest continues. Two more events are planned in August and November -looking at Toys and Women’s roles and Influence in the Trade. The Giftware Association is marking is 80th shortly, so I may work with them on a History of Gifting the UK. Any stories to share?
Why are we celebrating?
2025 has been declared Year of the Gift, celebrating the huge benefits of gifting – both to the individual giver and receiver and the wider economy. It will be marked with a wide series of events, engaging the public, academia and the industry.
So why 2025? A century ago, the importance of giving gifts was recognised by Marcel Mauss, with the publication of The Gift. A groundbreaking book, it revealed how gift giving builds social cohesion, creativity and enterprise. Today that enterprise is worth £42 billion to the economy, and this year the industry’s leading association and show – the Giftware Association and Spring Fair – will be celebrating their 75th birthday and The Giving and Living Show its 60th.
Mauss’ essay has inspired others to research and build on his ideas and has created debate and discussion. Much of this, only in academic circles but the aim of the Year is to help everyone better understand their involvement. It might be in their gift business or occupation as a teacher or curator, but also in the work they do for love rather than money. Gift giving happens in families and communities.
At trade shows, exhibitions and talks we plan to showcase the anthropology and history of gift giving. Mauss was not the first to appreciate the value to creativity, trade and communication. Gifting underwent a transformation in the Victorian era. 175 years ago, Henry Cole, Prince Albert and the Royal Society of Arts were behind the planning of the Great Exhibition. The profits and many of the exhibits went on to be the founding collections in the Victoria & Albert Museum. South Kensington was developed into an area where Arts, Sciences and Technology could be shared and taught. The Victorians invented new cultural traditions. Henry Cole and Prince Albert understood the importance of gift giving, creating Christmas cards and introducing gift giving tradition like presents under the tree.
40 years ago, it was decided to start a design history course to establish a new link from the Royal College of Art to its roots in the V&A. Vicki Thomas studied anthropology at LSE as an undergraduate. So, when she stood in the Museum, as one of the first postgraduate students, she realised the relevance of Marcel Mauss writings. The Museum was filled with beautiful things, especially designed to be given or presented. Vicki studied the Victorian industry and worked with companies and publishers in the 1980s to tell their contemporary business story. She went on to start, Vicki Thomas Associates based on her research. The course now has 800 Alumni working in the cultural sector and teaching on Art & Design Courses.
The Year of The Gift, is to celebrate our sharing experiences, making things for giving to others, passing on knowledge and expertise, giving ‘without counting the cost’. It is the type of exchange that we do in hard and good times, not just in the UK but communities across the globe. It has different rules and traditions wherever you travel but, as Mauss argued, we all give gifts and pass on messages by doing so, it builds and sustains our communities.
A proposal for one exhibition has grown into a year of celebrations, with different groups and organisations keen to share their role past and present. If you want to join in the festivities, just let us know.
NEW Calendar of Events
Spring 2026 – Trade Shows
People are keen to continue talking, especially those who were unable to find time during 2025. It is not only the gift industries ath are involved in gift exchange but we are discussing the importance of gift exchange to fashion, food, toys and publishing….
Summer – Toys as Gifts at International Toy Research Conference, Augsburg, Germany
The 10th ITRA Conference theme is “The Zeitgeist in Toys & Games”. Playing, Giving and Feeling Good – is one of my contributions and reflects on The Year of ‘The Gift’ to some extent. Toys are designed as gifts as well as playthings.
Why not come? Click here to take you to the registration page.
Autumn 2026 – Celebrating Women’s Roles in the Gift Trade
The Giftware Association have asked me to hold November 19th 2026, for The Women in Gift trades event. Fuller details will be posted herss when they are confirmed.
Record of Events
Brand License Europe
Vicki Thomas Associates was part of the Art and Design area at BLE. There were gift ranges for new home, pet lovers, new babies and gifts between generations. We wanted to focus on the vital role of creativity in celebrating special events. 24-26th September 2024 at Excel Exhibition Centre, London. If you missed it there is a video link here,
Is gift-giving still relevant? Exploring the legacy and value of the gift.
Sir Henry Cole seemed to see the value of gift exchange decades before Marcel Mauss wrote his essay. Others see the commercialisation of gift exchange as generating poor design. Should we follow Cole’s example? An afternoon of discussion took place on The Steps of the RSA , from 1.30 on Thursday 3rd October 2024.
Sir Henry Cole – from Mummified Rat to the creation of South Kesnsington
Sir Henry Cole’s life achievements are impressive and very varied – Instigator of the Great Exhibition of 1851, Founder of the Royal Albert Hall, First Director of the V&A, Reformer of the National Archives, Campaigner for the penny black, Inventor of the Christmas card, to name a few. His Great (x4) granddaughter leads the discusson 1-2pm on 5th December 2024 on the Steps at the RSA.
Vicki Thomas Associates’ 40th
The Consultancy was started in New Year’s Eve 1984, with the encouragment of retail buyers like Anita Ruddick, the organisers of Top Drawer, manufacturers like Royal Doulton. The then board on The British Jewellery and Giftware Association invited us to join because we had seen “the wood for the trees”. So we plan to toast that support and encouragement and forty years of being a Gift Design Consultancy on January 1st 2025.
Celebrating 60 Years of Giving & Living
The West Country has had its own dedicated trade show since 1965. Hale Events, the organisers, have invited us to join in their celebrations alongside the GA. So yes, we will be celebrating the Year of The Gift, with our pop-up display. We contacted organisations we work with regularly on sustainability to join with us to celebrate and post images in Instagram. The natural world was very evident through images and materails drawn from the coast. January 12-24th 2025
Toy Fair, London
In 2024 Vick iinititated a new Sustainability Hub for the Toy & Play Industry. The Hub has over 60 members across the industry. All collborating on research to move to more circular and susttainable practices internationally. Their meeting January will concide with the major toy trade fairs. Toys are gifts bought at Christmas and Birthdays. We expect discussions in January to be around how toy can be are sustainable in 2025. The London Toy Fair is held at Olympia 21st -23th January 2025.
Cotesbach Educational Trust
Alumni from the V&A\RCA course gathered with others at Cotesbach. The Cotesbach Educational Trust had started to explore the relevance of The Gift to their work. We launched the Year with the age-old tradition of Wassailing: blessing the apple trees, in procession, poetry,and song to encourage Nature’s Gift of a good crop at harvest time – 25th January 2025
Celebrating 75 Years of the Spring Fair
We were given a stand by Hyve at Spring Fair in Hall 3 surrounded by the companies selling ballon-s just as you see above. The Fair is UK’s largest and most diverse marketplace for Home, Gift, Fashion, and Everyday products. For 75 years, it has been the retail industry’s most attended trade show, featuring 1200 makers, creators, and brands, alongside 3,500+ retailer buyers, from major high street brands to the widest selection of the UK’s independent shops. 2-5th February 2025
Gifts & Books – The Next Chapter
Building on the stories from the Bodleian Library, Oxford’s exhibition ( June-Oct 2023) we planned to celebrate Gift books at the London Book Fair in March 2025. But despite my best efforts I did not speak to the right person, to allow us to fill an empty wall or space. Individual publishers were very supportive and gave us samples, that we have included in later display, professionally proof read the display panels and suggested Literary Festivals might be another option. So thank you.
Social Anthropology – LSE
Marcel Mauss’ essay drew on the research in the Trobriand islands by Bronislaw Malinowski. His research papers are held at the London School of Economics Library. An invitation only round table discussion was held on 28 April 2025 entitled Women & “The Gift”. A review is posted in the link below.
Gifts Role in Cultural Histories
We are returning to the Museum and Heritage Show at Olympia 14-15th May. There may be an opportunity to give a talk about the importance of The Gift to the heritage sector.
The importance of volunteering – giving time and skills was vital to the sector, so we hope to continue these discussions at the show.
Sharing Nature’s Gifts
June 7-8 is the weekend of The Big Lunch, it was also inspired by Mauss’ essay. He argued that he the orgins of gift exchange are in the earliest human communities, where excess of food were shared and generating an obligation to share your bounty at a later date. Today, we still feast and share with in our communities especially in hard times. Second, how giving sustainability is important. Yet, some see gift exchange as wasteful producing clutter, they use valuable resources and carbon to distribute them.
Giftware Association – Birmingham
The GA is also celebrating their history. Birmingham has been the centre of the jewellery and metal “toy trades” since before the industrial revolution. At the AGM in June The GA have encouraged me to write a set of blog postings for their website. So I will take up the offer!
July is the time for graduations from design degrees and MAs. Two visits to New Designers Shows made me realise that students ought to know more about “the gift economy” and how it effects design. Only one illustrator had designed – a gift collection. I saw wonderful jewellery, ilustrated books, ceramics and personal accessories but they had not thought of them in a wide context.
Making & Rites of Passage
Handmade is important in the world of gifts. The plan for August was to look at craft and tourism. Both these I think will now be picked up at Dovecot on November 13th. It is also being explored in an article I am writing for the William Morris Society. Of course my daughter’s wedding celebration took precedence. There were few gifts on display. Money was given through the bespoke website. More personal items were given vintage jewellery, personalised photographs and sweets to each guest and this photograph from the venue – the Docklands Museum – to the couple.
The Spirit – Adding Hau
The September Design History Conference will be held on the theme of the Creative Arts’ Economic Contribution, in Ankara Turkey. The home country of St Nicholas! We plan to to pick up on themes of about gift design and production in “The Levant”at other events.
Top Drawer Gift Show in London supports emerging gift designers. They gave Vicki space between 1984-6 specifically to bring new gift designers to the attention of the retail buyers. We’ve opted to exhibt at Brand License Europe and focus on the importance of the spirit Hau….to licensed ranges.
Does Licensed Property contain a Hau?
We were at Brand License Europe in the Design and Discovery section. Our stand had an interior focus this year. There was an opportunity to fill a wall with the pop-up exhibion, We discussed my observation that the industry would be just selling plain mugs and t-shirts, without the magic that a good creative property brings.They have a spirit and story. October 7-9 Excel London
In parallel I researched and wrote an artcle for the William MorrIs Society.It will be published in The William Morris Society Journal about focusing on his creative gift.
Scottish Stories
We are working witb Dovecot Studios to organise an event on initially on October 3rd (link to book) but now being rearranged for 13th November instead. It has grown from Alumni discussions and a visit to Edinburgh in the rain. The discussion will pick up on issues raised with ACE Vistors to Spring Far and the Museum and Heritage Show.
Giving Time & Knowledge
The Royal Society of Arts for the Encouragment of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce – to give it is full title, is key to the history of the gift and it role in the British economy. Learned societies continue today to bring people and organisation together to share knowledge. We are planning a discussion on giving time and knowledge is exchanged as a gift as Lewis Hyde argued? November 19th
Gifts & Trading
Exchanging gifts are part of the establishing business relationships. In the past, it may have been beads but today we still have companies using “freebies’ to open a sales conversation. Creating, producing and selling things as gifts has been key to all kinds of business success globally. November 25th, we’ll showcase the gift trade globally. Click here or below for details.
Christmas Ahoy
We were planning a creative and sustainability event for children, where they could explore “Why we give gifts? But Father Christmas will show us how it is done at the invitation of the crew of the Golden Hinde, Southwark, London. Saturday 6th, 13th and 20th December 2025.
Extending Conversations into 2026
2026 – The discussion continues. We are in talking to the Giftware Association about collaborating on three events in 2026 – with her suggestion of a Women’s Enterprise Day in Birmingham on International Women’s Day in Spring 2026 But this has now been booked for November 19th 2026.
Do you want to play a part?
Three months out, individuals and organisations are giving of their time and skills. We are in the process of registering as social enterprise. If you want to be involved, then we would be delighted to hear from you.
Thank you
to everyone
involved