Christmas gifts

Post Reply New Topic

I don't know how I should feel about this. Every year I receive Christmas gifts from my Aunt Ruth & Uncle Gary. I enjoy being around them because they have a way of making you feel good about yourself. They live in Louisiana and I live in Wisconsin so I don't seem them often.

However, every Christmas I see my name on the package they send and a dreadful feeling imparts over me. I feel guilty because the item they are about to send me will not be wanted/liked. I have received a Chicago Cubs shirt (I hate the Cubs), a Wrigley Field baseball, a Milwaukee Bucks pennant (I don't watch the NBA), a navy blue golf shirt with a white collar (not my style) and a baseball with various New Orleans landmarks from them over the past 3 years. I don't plan to use or wear any of the items. I have given away all of the Cubs gear, and will take the final three items I received this year to Goodwill. I don't want to sound ungrateful to them but I don't know if I should give a subtle hint during the year, say nothing about the presents and allow them to buy items that I will not use next year or what. I do not plan to tell them about my feelings regarding their presents. I just don't want them to waste money on items I will not use.

Last edited by chelischili7 on 25 Dec 2010, 2:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.

This is where I think that a cheque for a certain amount would be a good idea. That way, you can do whatever you want with the money.

Agreed! Or better, money. I absolutely hate going to the bank!

chelischili7 negotiate with your Aunt and Uncle exactly what you would want, if that's possible. You need to, if they keep buying you things that you might not like every year .

I got crappy gifts for years. I always just gave them away or "regifted" them. I remember getting horrible gifts I utterly hated as a child and my parents just told me to give them away to my cousin or the daughter or little sister of my brother's girlfriend. I felt left out eventhough I hated what I was giving away and was glad for it to be gone. People who knew me quite well often got me crappy gifts and eventuly they just started giving me money. I wish people would have asked my parents what kind of things I would have liked. The "thought" can only count so many times.

I just do the bare minimum with Xmas gifts these days. There's no children in my life any more.....I could usually think of something for them and they'd generally like it, and if not then they didn't think it strange if I just asked them what they wanted.

I dislike the Xmas gifting thing more every year. They don't know what I want, I don't know what they want, so why can't they just let me go? It would be great to have some friends who just accepted it if I were to opt out....it'd be even better if they could reassure me that they didn't think any less of me for it.

I got a gift card to Walmart. *shudder*

Not only did my grandparents misspell my name and my brother's name. My mom and dad are the ones who got their gift in cash.

And I have to suffer...Walmart.

I just cannot support their business. I cannot support how they fund their workers. Walmart is a good idea, but in practice has some bad business.

There are sites online where you can sell the gift card or exchange it for a gift card from somewhere you would want to go.

Or if you know someone who is already going to Wal-Mart you could ask them if they want to buy the card for the value of the card.

That sets up my paranoid and suspicious anxieties.

I don't buy or sell online because I have paranoia about online services.

Next year, around Thanksgiving, make a list of what you would like to have for Christmas and distribute it to all your relatives

As my parents think I'm the only one who is to old for Christmas.

My Grandparents live in a time scape vacuum, where they believe I haven't aged. My Christmas Card, not the gift card, looked like it was written for a 12 year old.

It had blue and sparkles. It had things boys would like, ya know like toy robots.

I stared at it and was like...um...did they forget people age?

I'll deal with it. I have to be grateful. Its just hard to feel grateful...when they didn't spell my name properly and preceded to give me a card for a 12 year old boy.

Next November when my mum asks what I want for Christmas, I'll ask for a gift card to Value Village. There's lots of vintage clothes on the racks, there.

I'm ordering a Kindle...