Gifting the Past in the Present: An Exploration of Evoking Nostalgia through Hybrid Gifts

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This study focuses on the hybrid gifting model, where both physical and digital objects combine to create a single gift. For this in-the-world study, we turn to nostalgic emotions. We aimed to uncover if hybrid gifting can facilitate nostalgic experiences through repurposed digital media. In this case, we used a physical chocolate box and a QR code, that when scanned presented nostalgic images and text. Findings from gift exchanges and eighteen semi-structured interviews with givers and receivers are presented through thematic analysis. We reveal the impact on exchanges when nostalgia is evoked, and outline the roles of people, emotions, and objects. The contribution of this work is an understanding of re-purposing our growing digital archives to frame nostalgic memories as gifts.