#1
That’s why when my grandfather bought her a very nice shotgun for her birthday she was livid. She knew that he’d really sneakily bought himself a nice gun. Her birthday was near Thanksgiving. When Christmas rolled around, she bought him a VERY nice sewing machine and some things to go with it.
#2
#3
Some say that every single thing in life is a skill. From public speaking, writing, to math, communication – everything can be improved with practice and decline with neglect.
Even gift giving can be considered a skill. So, that means that some people are naturally more “talented” at it, while others struggle with it more.
Sometimes, unfortunately, this struggle of theirs leads to the gift receivers being disappointed in what they get. Before you say that being upset about Christmas presents is not good or normal, let us contradict you. In reality, feeling let down, in this case, is completely normal.
#4
#6
She's getting a goody basket with tea from a Black-owned tea shop, chocolates from a Black-owned candy maker, and a candle from a Black-owned candle maker, and she won't be able to complain about any of it and some good local businesses get paid.
After all, sometimes a thing you get doesn’t suit your taste or needs and you might struggle to see how you can incorporate it into your life. So, you might feel grateful, but also troubled that it wasn’t something you wanted.
If you want some examples of what kind of gifts disappoint people, check out this list. In it, you’ll find people sharing experiences of getting things from vacuum cleaners to divorce papers: a whole spectrum of bad gifts.
At this point, you might wonder how you could improve your gift-giving skill, so the presents you give next Christmas (or any other occasion) will be better. Well, there are many things you can keep in mind and practice here.
#7
So I give her a membership to the Arbor Day Foundation, and they mail her *so many trees.*
I love them. They do great work. Nobody can complain about you being political when the donations are for a charity that's all about trees. But they are *aggressive* about putting trees in your hands for you to plant. It's one one tree. It's 5-10 trees. And you feel bad if you don't plant them. So I give my mother-in-law a sense of panicked responsibility for Christmas.
#9
This year her adult daughter got a puppy, so we are gifting her all sorts of things themed to get being a dog Grandma. A sign, a key chain, a license plate border, and a cling for her car window. All bought cheaply.
For instance, realizing that the gift doesn’t have to be life-changing or extremely expensive. In reality, a gift can be something fun and/or nice that somehow accommodates the person’s interests and needs, but it doesn’t have to grant their deepest wishes.
With the price factor, sometimes you can buy the priciest thing you can find, but it could be way off of what the receiver actually wishes for. In fact, a meaningful gift sometimes can barely cost anything, but be something that sparks communication, deepens your bond or simply means something to the person who's getting it.
#10
Aw, you didn’t have to…. no, seriously.
#11
#12
My husband, Terrance, on our 2nd Christmas together, gave me a vacuum cleaner. I damn near threw it out of the closed window!! When Terrance realized his error, he tried selling it to me. It was self propelled. I had to put it in gear, because it had a transmission. Oh yes, he tried. I looked at him, fuming and said, “ I didn't get you a hammer!!” He's a contractor. Needless to say, he got me a VERY nice gift, the day after Christmas.
Keeping a list of gift ideas is also a good idea. Well, not only keeping it, but updating it every time a person mentions something that later can be turned into a present. So, when the occasion slowly starts to approach, maybe you will already have something to give or at least maybe will be inspired to think of something new.
If these tools don’t help, you can also try to question whether you can check any of these boxes with your gift:
- Introducing them to something they wouldn’t themselves;
- Getting a nice version of something they already want;
- Making them feel seen.
Yes, they might seem a tad obscure, but when you apply these questions to a certain person, they make more sense.
#13
Well, guess who's getting a giant custom mousepad this year...
#14
However, my brother has a very good job, and earns way more than anyone else in the extended family. It wasn't even the cost as we had a agreed limit, it was the effort, and to be frank, my SIL is a cheapskate.
So, while I was buying her kids art sets and Lego, usually quality products brought on sale, she'd buy cheap t-shirts, towels, socks and the like in return.
Eventually, when the kids were in thier late teens, I went all passive-aggressive and just brought the same gift she gave the next time. So, if she brought towels for my kids one year, I'd buy towels for hers the next year.
That lasted 2 years. Suddenly, she no longer wanted to exchange gifts. I still genuinely believe that she has no clue why the quality of presents dropped.
Edited.
#15
Even if this doesn’t help, you can always turn to Google and research what kind of things are trending this year; maybe even ask ChatGPT for help. Then, keep an eye on how people react to the things you give, make mental (or physical) notes of those reactions and use them as a starting point for next time. As we said in the beginning, gift giving is a skill, which requires time and work to be good at it.
What's the worst gift you ever received? Share with us in the comments!
#16
My mom wanted a new mug for Christmas and frankly I was pissed at her.
#17
#18
One year, I gave him an apple core, 11 pennies, and a broken pencil.
#19
I've done this at 2 office holiday parties that did the whole white elephant thing. My boss won it one year and she said the wine was actually pretty good.
#20
Second year in a row, she gave me her old sweat pants, because she forgot about me again, and grabbed some old sweat pants from her drawer and wrapped them up for me. They were too big for me.
I've lived in the same house as my mom my whole life, and she forgot that she didn't get me anything for Christmas. I think I would've rather not gotten anything that year, or even socks would've been better.