<p>I saw the thread about the nephew that told his aunt to keep the gift because he doesn’t feel comfortable taking gifts from strangers. Ouch! </p>
<p>It reminded me of my father in law who has never really gotten the point of gift giving (in my mind). I have memories of him opening a present from me, and then passing it back to me, saying something like, “I don’t need this”. I guess I am not good at choosing gifts for him, but I wish he had just pretended to like it during the occasion :)</p>
<p>Anyone else have awkward gift giving moments to share?</p>
<p>Oh, my goodness, starbright, what a story about your father-in-law! I think that would have been the last time I bought him a gift. One awkward moment I had several years ago, was with a friend who showed up at the house with a Christmas gift for me. We had never exchanged gifts and were truly not close enough friends that I would have ever dreamed of getting a gift for her. I still don’t understand it even all these years later! I didn’t have anything for her and even though I invited her in for a cup of coffee and a plate of my Christmas baking, it was still very awkward. So, since that year, I have always bought several small items at the Body Shop and made up a few small gift bags with two or three items in each. I have them handy just in case anyone does this again! I’ve only had to make use of one once since then but I still do it! My girls always joke about the phantom gifts and jokingly fight over the ones left by Christmas morning.</p>
<p>The other awkward moment was when I was in high school. I had one of those boyfriend situations that was sort of semi-official so we were kind of dating but more just hanging out with our group of friends. It was assumed by the group that we were a couple. So shortly before Christmas, I called his mom who was a good friend of my mom, and asked her what size sweater would be good for him. She told me and I got him a beautiful sweater that he really loved but he didn’t get me anything! A few days after Christmas we were all going to a hockey game and he showed up with a gift for me, a beautiful silver charm bracelet with one charm that had particular meaning for me. Needless to say, I loved it but it felt like he only did it because I had bought him the sweater. I always wondered why his mom wouldn’t have hinted to him to get me something on time! :)</p>
<p>^^ Alwaysamom I also have the “extra” gifts “just in case”. Although I have to say that I will often give a gift with absolutely no expectation of getting a gift back in return. When my husbands grandmother was alive (she died about 10 years ago at age 97) we always gave her gifts and one year for Christmas she gave us back all the gifts we had given her over the years, unused. From then on we gave her See’s Candy.</p>
<p>It is funny to read this because just this year, I decided to wrap a few boxes of chocolates all ready to go as a gift in case they are needed!</p>
<p>Yeah I should have stopped with the f-in-law gifts years ago but it feels more awkward for me to give everyone but him something. He is socially awkward in other ways so I try not to take it personally. Actually this just reminded me of an episode of Big Bang, evolving around Sheldon’s unusual response to receiving gifts.</p>
<p>This is a colleague’s story: She was handling an intense deal near the holidays. She knew she would be seeing the company president every day until Christmas. She brought in a tin of Mrs. Fields cookies. She gave then to the client and he said “I don’t eat this stuff” and handed them back to her.</p>
<p>Another work story: Secretary doesn’t celebrate holidays but got us each a Sprinkles cupcake in a cute little box for Boss’s Day. Another guy she works for left early that day and threw the entire little gift in the trash before he left.</p>
<p>A couple of years ago, we brought home a sampler of Tortuga Rum Cakes from a cruise for my BIL’s family as part of a Chanukah casual gift exchange. We wrapped it for the SIL - when she opened it, she said they would be perfect to take to her office and leave out for her coworkers. Uh - I know one can’t direct the disposition of a gift but I was tempted to say we hadn’t bought them for a group of strangers and give them back.</p>
<p>My sister and I live in different states. One year her husband and I bought her the same sweater from the same department store chain, luckily in different colors. I guess we both know what she likes pretty well.</p>
<p>Until I started calling him on it regularly, someone I know well has been known to open a gift, say ‘Pfff…what do I need this for?’ and toss it aside. The thing is he has wonderful manners at the table, in daily life, etc. But his filter has a big, present-sized hole in it.</p>
<p>Awkward…the group of people I work with decided we would not exchange gifts this year.
We met for a holiday luncheon on Friday - 2 of the 4 attendees brought gifts for all of us and I had nothing to give them. I was the one to feel awkward. WHY didn’t they abide by the agreement. Their reasoning was…“It’s just a little something.” Yes, it was but it still made me feel bad…I felt like giving them back or leaving them behind but I didn’t.</p>
<p>In college I dated a guy very casually for just a few weeks. Then after coming back from Thanksgiving break, I was honest about not liking him that much… and broke it off not even realizing he was that interested. </p>
<p>At the end of the year while packing, he dropped by to give me a gift. It turns out that he had purchased a Christmas gift for me while home at Thanksgiving. It was a bracelet with my name engraved, so it was not a gift he could recycle to another girl down the road. Oh, I did feel bad about that one. .</p>
<p>The first gift my husband gave me was a Christmas present. We had been dating for over 7 months. I was so excited to open this beautifully wrapped gift…to discover a very unattractive, regular size MUG that one buys at a drugstore! I thought it was a joke at first, then realized it was really my gift! What the heck!? </p>
<p>Thank god I didn’t extrapolate this to ‘mean something’ because in actuality he has been an amazing gift giver since then (including clothes from Ann Taylor, and beautiful jewelry he’s made himself). Hmmm…maybe that mug was part of a test, to see how I’d react, lol.</p>
<p>Nope, I was careful to return it so she wouldn’t know. She lives far away, so did not notice from seeing me, either. I told her the second year, “Oh, same sweater you gave me last year!”, and she had not realized it. I guess she thinks it is my style… and I don’t.</p>
<p>Receiving a recycled gift which you had given in the first place is awkward.</p>
<p>I had given a person a very nice one of a kind piece of Japanese pottery that I had bought from the potter. She gave it to me the following Christmas, and had the nerve to say she had found this in an expensive Japanese store. (I knew this potter duplicated his work, nor sold his stuff to that store)
My mouth was politely saying one thing, but my head was saying quite something else.
Oh well…tastes differ I guess. Actually I was glad to get it back.</p>
<p>colo_mom reminded me of the most awkward of moments. I broke up with my longtime HS/college boyfriend of 4ish years. The next day, he shows up with the engagement ring he’d had in layaway for months. Uh, no, that didn’t change my mind, but, wow, I did feel for him.</p>
<p>Another awkward moment: My FIL gave me a giant bottle of nutmeg. I really couldn’t figure out to act truly excited by it.</p>
<p>My mother gave us the worst presents ever… she bought them at thrift stores. Bad thrift stores. Often they smelled moldy. Oh well. (However, I am still finding $5 bills in the books. I expect a few used-book store patrons were happy to find them, too.)</p>
<p>My MIL was a terrible receiver of gifts. Whatever I gave her was never the right size or the right color or the right anything, and she always gave it back and told me to exchange it. In the end, I started giving her hand-knitted items in ugly colors and told her I’d knitted them “just for her.” It was very satisfying to see her wearing them.</p>
<p>My sisters, however, are excellent on the present department; it’s always something small, attractive and not expensive. This year one sent me a rhinocerous tree ornament, very cute, and the other sent exotic jams in pretty jars.</p>
<p>Let’s see: I got $250 for B & N this year, but no Kindle.</p>
<p>Ex-b/f: Red roses for V Day after I said multiple times that I don’t appreciate the cliches. In years past, I bought him cranberry robe, underwear, etc. He got me spa gift certificate,after I said I disliked them (only OK if going with group of friends). His response, “The other woman would have loved it”.</p>
<p>Office gifts: I do best with favorite drink (wine, coffee), food, or gift certificate to their favorite store. Sometimes I’ve received something so awful, e.g. as plastic pocketbook, that I know I’ve been insulted. It takes training to say “t U” with a straight face.</p>
<p>My ex-H was the same way with the red roses. I hinted for ANY kind of flower except that, and finally asked him to give other kinds. He stubbornly stuck with red roses until the end… Just one example of dozens (literally) where he was SO sure that his tastes were superior, and that any preference of mine should be discounted.</p>
).</p>
I guess she thinks it is my style… and I don’t.</p>