The list of unwanted gifts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A sponge.

Not a white elephant gift and the only present I got. The giver gave the rest of my family things like fancy pocketknives and books.

That's me! (Not the sponge thing, but the disfavored person thing.) My parents and siblings shower each other in gifts, and I work hard at picking thoughtful presents for them. My SIL has "forgotten to to pack the present she got for me," multiple times. And then never mailed it... hmmm... My MIL has given me discount trash from Marshalls that has nothing to do with me. Kinda like the "craft" snowman. She knows my house. My own mother gave me crumpled, stained, old tablecloths in the wrong size the year I asked for new table linens. (She is well off, so it wasn't a poverty thing. And if it were, she could have at least washed/ ironed/ wrapped them.) I felt like Harry Potter and his toothpick that year.

But hey, I'm good enough to deal with cleaning out their house and finding them caregivers and being on-call for tech support! So I've got that going for me.

And this year, BOTH of the gifts I received were relatively useful and thoughtful. It's still a fraction of what everyone else had to open on Christmas morning, but two is a banner year for me. Good thing I have an amazing partner and kids who love to make me feel loved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband gave me a custom family name sign. The problem is its grammatically incorrect. Our last name ends in s and he didn't make it plural. So the sign says (for example) "The Jones" instead of "The Joneses" or "The Jones Family" I don't honestly know what to do with it.

Oof, that's hard.
If you otherwise like it, this might be one where you quietly buy a replacement and he won't notice.

What kind of relationship do y’all have with your spouses that you can’t mention it’s grammatically incorrect, and to ask for a new one to be ordered?

A kind, respectful one?

My partner is a little weird about gifts. I don't love it, but he is who he is. He'll ask half a dozen times if I really like something. If I don't use it right away, he'll become convinced that I hate it and beat himself up. He's not like this about other stuff, but he has very low self-gift-esteem. (I, on the other hand, am the master of gift giving. )

He would not notice if I replaced his sign with a corrected one. And everyone's happy. Isn't that the point?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My extended family has a big gathering and we really did not any unwanted gifts this year. Instead we concentrated on hanging out, eating good takeouts and taking group photos. We had a blast.
- We did a secret Santa for our extended family using an online app and we had modest dollar amount limits.
- We chose our own gifts under the agreed upon price point. I had nothing special I wanted so I listed every single thing that I normally use and would not mind getting extras of - my lotions, serums, makeup brushes, creams, shampoo, clothing, food items etc. on my list.
- Wanting cash only gift was an acceptable option.
- All gifts were from Amazon and we had to include a link to the product on our wishlist.
- No wrapping paper or gift bags. We had to cover the Amazon packaging the gifts came in with our own creative art work. People were gluing and tying all kinds of leaves, twigs, feathers, beads, toys, cartoon strips, collage and scraps of wrapping paper on the Amazon boxes and it was really a lot of fun.

Our Kids - Generous cash gifts.

Teachers - Gift cards from Amazon.

Cleaning lady - Generous cash tip and a chocolate box that someone gifted us.

Hostess gifts - Wine bottles.

$ is King!

My own family did this Secret Santa thing using Elfster and it sounds similar. But I actually hated it and felt it was pointless. We were literally just clicking on an amazon link that was provided and ordering it. Everyone knew what they were going to open. Yes, it absolutely minimized unwanted gifts but I'm ready to do away with the whole thing altogether.

Growing up, we asked for things like CDs or DVDs or books. Now it is so easy to use streaming services that the only thing my kids want are super expensive things like electronics and it's so easy to order from amazon that my college kids are getting deliveries every other week. They don't have the wishlists like I used to!

[Anonymous]

It wasn't for me, but 7 yo was a witch for Halloween so our au pair got her a Wiccan bible so she can learn to be a real witch. That got recycled quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I didn’t get any presents, so nothing.

Thanks for sharing. Really helps.

[Anonymous]

Old Spice gift set. I was hoping for an Aqua Velva gift set.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Old Spice gift set. I was hoping for an Aqua Velva gift set.

Or, ooh, Drakkar Noir to make you feel young again!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Old Spice gift set. I was hoping for an Aqua Velva gift set.

Or, ooh, Drakkar Noir to make you feel young again!

Or Hai Karate.

[Anonymous]

I don't like most of the gifts people give me but the problem is me: I know exactly the few things I want and don't want anything else. I asked for gift certificate to garden center but everybody ignores me LOL

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t understand not liking candles. I wouldn’t give one because I think they’re generic but if I received one I would use it.

I hate candles. I'm picky about scents, but also just don't like the fear that I will forget about them and leave them burning and somehow accidentally burn down the house

Same. I have 2 candles that I bought 10 years ago and that I light up after I fry fish or seafood. At the rate they’re burning, theg could last me easily 50 years. I really don’t have use for more candles.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you think candles and salt and socks are useless, and will throw them away, I'm really worried about you people.

Not throwing them away, but regifting or donating. Sorry you are worried about me.

[Anonymous]

The unifying characteristic of this post is things most people wouldn’t buy men.

“Decorative items”, candles, fuzzy socks. It’s all the junk people give women to check them off their lists.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The unifying characteristic of this post is things most people wouldn’t buy men.

“Decorative items”, candles, fuzzy socks. It’s all the junk people give women to check them off their lists.

Great insight

[Anonymous]

This stuff is responsible for so much landfill waste. Talk about “one time use plastic.”

One time use socks or tchotchkes are not good either.

[Anonymous]

A close friend likes to shop at rummage sales. She got me a used designer bag in a color and style I would never wear. She meant well but I don't buy used items as gifts for myself or others. Now it's one more thing to donate. I prefer food gifts (but not mixes or kits that require additional ingredients), Amazon gift cards from most people.