Seriously?

[Anonymous]

I know it's not about how much you spend on the gift and it's the thought that counts and I shouldn't complain but seriously. How does my SIL send my DD a maybe $12 Target outfit for her FIRST birthday after I sent her son a $40+ basketball hoop and ball set for her DS first birthday. This is as she sends me pictures of the new 5000+ sq foot McMansion of a house that she and her DH just bought. She tells us that it has so many rooms and she can't figure out what one of the rooms is even for. Really.

I know I sound b*tchy but come on.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like she may be house poor. BTW, it really is the thought that counts no matter how much money you think the other person has. No comparing too; only serves to make you ungrateful for what you received.

[Anonymous]

OP, I imagine there's more to this than I know so if I knew more about the context of this I might agree with you. But really, an outfit from Target for a 1-year-old is fine. Your kid has no idea how much auntie spent on that. One-year-olds just don't care about that stuff.

But if SIL is extravagant and living beyond her means I can understand being annoyed by her choices generally.

[Anonymous]

This happened frequently with my aunt and uncles gifts to me when I was a child. Same thing, huge house etc. They had 4 sons who my parents bought more expensive gifts for and I was an only child. Most memorable shitty gift was a Where's Waldo book when I was 12.
The thought that counts only goes so far sometimes...

[Anonymous]

You guys are ridiculous. You set yourself up to be disappointed so the onus is on you. For what it's worth, you do sound ungrateful. Whatever happened to appreciating your family for being in your life? Only if they're extravagant enough, I guess.

But who knows? Maybe she thought your $40 gift was piddling for a FIRST birthday and that was her way of letting you know.

[Anonymous]

I would have thought your gift was a bit over the top for a first birthday. I would probably feel compelled to reciprocate, but I would be resentful. It's just unnecessary to spend that much, or be expected to spend that much, on a 1 year old.

SO I say kudos to your SIL for not caving into the pressure.

[Anonymous]

The same reason my MIL buys gifts for my kids that are completely age-inappropriate (and might I add thoughtless) and cheap because she uses her credit card rewards points, and then hosts an 80 person fall party with butlers at her golf club. AND...doesn't invite us. Selfishness.

[Anonymous]

Are you kidding? You're this worked up over a difference of $30? Glad you're not my SIL. That said, if you're going to keep score, you might as well spend less in the future and save yourself the heartache.

[Anonymous]

"a maybe $12 gift"

So you really have no idea how much this cost. You just want to whine. You feel underprivileged. Because you received a present.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, OP, you sound like a pill.

[Anonymous]

Gross, OP. Be grateful and gracious and stop the nasty comparisons. You'll live a much happier life if you just appreciate things instead of always trying to measure them.

[Anonymous]

OP, I tend to generally agree with 17:42. Is there more to this?

Personally, there are some folks I have a history with where this type of thing would annoy me. But it really has more to do with the relationship and almost nothing to do with the gift. (And I don't say this like it is a good thing. In those cases, I probably just need to grow up and deal. A gift is a gift and be thankful.) But, if that's the case, I get it.

If you really are comparing gifts and amounts and labels, I think you are setting yourself up for unhappiness, and it does sound a little shallow and ungrateful. Also, you never really know what peoples' situations are. I have a BIL who talks BIG and lives in a McMansion, but his family's finances are a mess.

[Anonymous]

Over-privileged, entitlement mentality at its finest!

[Anonymous]

Small potatoes. And this is your SIL, not your blood, so why do u give a shit?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Are you kidding? You're this worked up over a difference of $30? Glad you're not my SIL. That said, if you're going to keep score, you might as well spend less in the future and save yourself the heartache.

THIS