Age Inappropriate gifts

[Anonymous]

What do you do with an age inappropriate gift where there is no gift receipt? My DSes received RC cars for Christmas from a well-intentioned great aunt and uncle, however, the age rec is 8+, my 2 are 2 and 4. How do we approach the aunt and uncle. They never had kids of their own, so I'm not sure they get it that the presents are age inappropriate and by the time my 2 are age 8 (or even 7), they won't want these toys. Thoughts?

[Anonymous]

Thank them and either put the toys away for later or give them away. "Thanks for the cars. They look like a lot of fun, and I'm sure we will all have a great time playing with them when the boys are a little older."

BTW, we gave our children remote control bumper cars for Christmas. They are 2 and 4. The 4-year-old can handle them just fine.

[Anonymous]

There's a few of things you can do:

save it for when they are older
give it away to charity
save it for another kids birthday/regift (if it really fits the occasion)

I would not approach the Aunt and Uncle--really this is what you should do with any gift that is a mismatch. You really can only give suggestions if the gift giver asks.

At least you didn't buy it yourself!

This is also a good way to teach your kids to be polite when they receive gifts no matter what they are or if they like them or not. They should also still write a thank you note (or sign one that you write!).

[Anonymous]

As for the question in general, if I don't get a gift receipt, I just chalk it up to a loss (or, if it is something nice enough--but, for example, a duplicate to something we have, I would regift).

As for this particular gift, do you have a sense as to why the age recommendation is 8? Age recommendations are really just guidelines. I consider them very important for really little kids because it can often be a warning about choking hazards. But beyond that, it is often an ability/interest thing. I'm assuming RC is remote control. Is there a reason your four year old couldn't play with a remote control car? Two might be a little young (although my two year old plays with remote control trains...), but second children tend to figure things out pretty quickly when they have an older sibling to follow. If it isn't a safety thing, I would consider just letting the kids have them.

[Anonymous]

Definitely don't approach the aunt and uncle, that would be tacky. The gift was well-intentioned and therefore should be appreciated. Give them away if you think that you will never use them.

[clarabow]

How often do you and your kids see your great-aunt and uncle? If the answer is not very, then I'd probably not say anything to them (other than a thank you note appreciating their thoughtfulness) and just re-gift the cars to older children that you know. If these are people that are in your childrens' intimate circle and who will be giving gifts often, maybe just chatting more often about what's going on with the kids, what they are into these days, etc to help them get more familiar over time?

[Anonymous]

OP here:

These remote control cars are too advanced for even my 4 year old (multiple knobs, controls, etc.). The 4 year old has 2 other RC cars in which he is not so interested. I think we'll give them away or regift. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Anonymous]

You;re lucky you can just save it- my MIL gave my son a 6 month old coat- when he was born in October.. what do you do with that? LOL! I returned it of course and got store credit at some ridiculously low price since Gap has so many sales and it's now worth $10 versus the $40 or so she may have paid for it..

[Anonymous]

"BTW, we gave our children remote control bumper cars for Christmas. They are 2 and 4. The 4-year-old can handle them just fine."


We have a bunch of remote control cars. The smaller ones are pretty easy to operate and with supervision aren't unsafe. But the bigger ones go so fast that I would never let little ones play with them - too easy to get hurt.

[Anonymous]

Don't say anything other than "thank you." No need to make them feel bad or awkward. They meant well and they tried. Save the gift for later or give it to charity. We save duplicates or gifts we won't use and donate them to toys for tots at the end of the year. There are a lot of good organizations that will take a new toy and give it to a needy child.

[Anonymous]

My husband's grandfather, or my 2 1/2 y.o. son's great grandfather does this all the time--for his 2nd birthday DS received boxing gloves and a boxing bag as a main gift, and a few other things with age recommendations of 5+. When DS was about 18 months, his G.G.Father bought him a tricycle. I just thank him and put the gifts in the basement. It's a bit annoying because we have a VERY small house with a basement full of junk already, but what are you going to do?

In our case we don't regift the items because GGF asks about them. Oh well, I guess it's better to have a relative who thinks about DS than not, and he absolutely ADORES DS.

[Anonymous]

I think this is a common problem with older relatives - but at least they are trying! I agree that there is nothing really you can do other than thank the giver, and then regift or donate.