Reply to Polite way to say no gifts?

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[quote=Anonymous]DH's brother and sister-in-law and their two kids live about 2 hours from us. We don't see each other except a few times a year. We tend not to usually see each other around gift giving times (birthdays and Christmas). They live in the same town as MIL who we do see more frequently.

Over the years when we give our niece and nephew gifts, I either got in touch with SIL to plan a date to meet around their occasion (a summer birthday, for example), mailed them their gift or gave it to MIL so she could give to them. I try to send them gifts in a timely manner. I don't always receive a thank you note from them.

When it comes to my kids' birthdays, BIL/SIL never make plans to say "hey, we have a little something for Larla and would like to see her around her birthday". They tend to give them their gift (birthday or Christmas) the next time we see them - which is never around the gift giving occasion.

My kids had their birthdays a couple months ago. We saw BIL/SIL/cousins this weekend - we had dinner at a restaurant about 20 minutes from their house. SIL mentioned to me that she forgot their birthday gifts at her house - she remembered when she was halfway to the restaurant. I said it was no big deal and it wasn't like my kids were expecting birthday presents now anyhow.

Niece's birthday is next week and I do plan to send her something since I sent her brother a gift this past summer.

But what is a nice way to say "hey, let's not exchange gifts anymore?" I make the effort to make sure my niece and nephew get their gifts around their birthday/Christmas. BIL/SIL just wait until the next time we see them to give a gift - usually months later. Last Christmas, my kids eventually received their Christmas gifts from them in April (ended up being delivered via my MIL). I just feel like at that point, what's the point? The gift is to acknowledge their birthday/holiday/whatever and months after the fact - well, my kids are just over their birthdays/holidays/looking for the new adventure.[/quote]

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