Receiving gifts

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Has anyone here ever gotten a present they hated on their birthday, Christmas or any other gift-giving occasions and broken down in front of the gift giver, much to both their and the gift giver's embarrassment? I'm interested to hear other people's stories of bad gifts and how they dealt with them, as I surely can't be the only one.

The main two incidents I remember are:

- My seventh birthday party, when there was a pass-the-parcel game and one of my friends got the thing I wanted, and I got something I ended up hating. When said friend refused to swap, I went ballistic.
- A Christmas present from my mother's best friend when I was about twelve. All she knew was that I was really into Japanese things, and got me one of those Kimmidoll things (no idea if you can get them outside of Australia or not, but they're these little dolls that look like geisha and they all have names, but the meanings are SO WRONG it's unbelievable) and I immediately started to cry because it wasn't the type of Japanese thing I liked and smashed it on the table. In front of my mother's best friend.

No, not in that way. So I am pretty used not to get the stuff I liked, as a child my father refused, because the stuff I liked was not girlish enough for him. (So I played lots of Lego and Duplo, mechanic stuff, or created buildings out of my domino bricks, also He-man and console games at our neighbors house (they had a boy my age), but this wasnt ok for him. At least around 12 or so, I got my first own Lego. ^^ (Yeah!! !! !) For many people it seems to be a problem, that I am deep into some SI´s that other people dont know about, so they know I like xyz, but dont know what I could use specific. Gifting people with coupons is not very aprreciated in my area, so sadly only my sister has given into it and simply gifts me with coupons of shops I can use for my SI.

So I never acted that rude, that I would have rejected someones present, normally I knew they meant it in a good way, and its not their fault that gifting coupons is seen as unpolite around my area. I only had problems with, that people always expect you as a child to be actively cheering about everything and show your exitement about it through body- and eyelanguage. I was a rather silent kid, and payed attention to thank everyone that gifted me as example to christmas, but as I was informed some of my relatives were disappointed because of me taking the present, saying soft "thank you" and turning away from them, because they thought I wouldnt aprreciate it. On one side I am sorry about it, because I dont want them to think I dont aprreciate their gift. On the other side I dont want to play a role every hour, every day, every minute... Nowadays I do so, but I think at least as a kid you should be allowed to be happy about christmas instead turning it into a working day for your kid, forcing it to ignore his feelings, so he starts to hate christmas because its now simply exhausting from morning until evening, until when I am late night finally at home with my partner, where I am allowed to be truly the person I am, that has no interest in big family parties and celebrations and exitement about glowing rendeers and all that, and that is simply the happiest person in the world with me and my partner, silently enjoying christmas evening, talking a bit, giving us our presents.

I never acted rude about a gift in front of the giver, but I've gotten some doozies from my MIL. My in laws have a lot of money and at Christmas they would give my husband a check and some new clothes and maybe a movie, get something for our kids (after we had them) and they would get each other an expensive gift and my MIL would get me a little something. Now, I did not expect them to spend a lot of money on me for Christmas. There was no need for that, but I was shocked into silence and a frozen plastic grin when Christmas of 89, after our first child was born, I opened my Christmas gift in front of everybody. It was in a clothing box and had tissue paper around it and when I took the tissue paper off, it was a bright orange polyester double knit wrap around skirt with a matching vest. Exactly what I would wear if I were Marcia Brady. This was before retro styles from then were in. My MIL smiled her fake smile at me and said "Isn't that cuuuuuuute? I got it at a yard sale. The whole outfit was a dollar! You don't need to go to stores for your clothes, go to yard sales!" I really didn't know what to say except "Thank you". My husband and FIL were both shocked and then my husband started laughing because he thought it was funny and that my MIL had done it by mistake. She did not. She did it on purpose because she's a b*tch. That was the year she got the diamond tennis bracelet for Christmas. It wasn't the fact that it was cheap and tacky it was the fact that she bought me and only me the cheap and tacky gift and rubbed my nose in it. I accepted it with grace though and didn't let her get to me and show me up.

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My dad's friend got my brother and I gifts one time when he came over to visit when I was 10 or 11. I opened mine and it was a toy soccer ball and it was a puzzle. You had to get all the patches lit by pressing them and I complained about it not being a Barbie or something or a better toy. I realize now that was rude of me.

When I was 15, I opened a Christmas present from my brother and it was the same Kelly outfits I had and I started crying saying I already have it and my mom said "We can exchange it." I have pretty much done the same thing with my other gifts when they were duplicates.

When I was little I'd strongly object. When I got older I'd say something derogatory.
Good ol' brutal tactless honesty. These days I'm happy to get any kind of gift.

I've had so many issues with presents. It's not that I'm not grateful for the presents because I am. I just don't get the whole point of it if people are going to get stuff that you don't want or can't use, especially if a lot of money is being spent and I'm expected to reciprocate. I try to keep it together, but I've had some bad reactions to presents, especially when they're from my parents. My mom actually enjoys pointing out my disappointment when my dad picks out my presents (she has some problems). My husband has recently taught me how and when to lie when receiving presents. So far I have lied once when a friend of mine got me a book for my birthday that I already had. We knew that she was giving me a book because she'd told me what the present was, and my husband seriously coached me on what to say. When I received the book and realized I already had it, I just told her that I didn't. She didn't quite believe me the first time, but I kept with it. I felt really uncomfortable, but my husband told me that I was doing the right thing, and she was happy. On a side note, I actually felt bad for owning the book because I knew that she'd tried really hard to get me something I'd like. The book was on a subject that I'm kind of obsessed with.

yes i have got gifts that i didnt like, sometimes its not just the gift that is unwanted, but the comment to follow opening,

gerat examnple, my 27'th birthday, dad's friend and her daughter (10 at the time)

gives me a pair of skinny jeans that are hipster type pants, (like i really want to show off to any boys..) a shirt and a tube of hand cream (vanilla flavor) when i was unwrapping the box and finally got into it (USPS priority mail box and a amazon (the smiley swoosh on box) was inside the USPS box, the comment i heard, " now you have something to wear that is not filthy Jess (in a snotty attitude) then she tried to prank me with those candles you cant blow out easily (her kid's hinting was a dead giveaway that she was using trick candles)

i may be female but that don't mean them hip high pants fit or i would acutally use vanilla flavored skin cream, im a tomboy,

i hate when i get girly like things or clothes and someone's nonsense comments about my appearance,


im glad she forgot when my 28th birthday came round, that year, went ALOT BETTER no clothes or crude comments or pranksters to mess with me, just a few door repairers/architectural hardware consultants/locksmiths saying happy #28 and one sent me a door closer (Rixson floor closer ironically, a #28 series )


now to worry about #29 will the problems return??

I don't like receiving gifts, period. Even if its something that I really like. I feel obligated to reciprocate and often do no know what the appropriate return gift should be. Also, I don't celebrate holidays (they just don't make sense to me) and feel very awkward/guilty when people buy me things when I ask them not to.

When I was a child, I was more tolerant of receiving gifts, but only the ones I liked. My family failed to accept that I was not interested in girlish things (jewelry, makeup, 'pretty' clothes, etc.) and forced them upon me at any given chance. I can't begin to describe how many birthday presents got hidden away in my closet so I didn't have to bother with them.

One Christmas in particular, when I was eleven or twelve I believe, I opened a present from my mother that held both Luke Skywalker and Han Solo in their Hoth gear - this is still the best gift I've ever gotten from her. I was so enthralled with them that I opened the next gift with great anticipation, only to find a dress. I mumbled, "thanks, I guess," shoved the box aside, and went back to inspecting the new additions to my Star Wars collection. I don't even remember who gave me that dress or if I ever wore it. Needless to say, I was instructed on proper etiquette after that event.

That same occasion, my older sister began her tradition of "prank gifts" by giving me a matching bra and underwear set, which sent me out of the room so wholly shocked and mortified that I was suspicious of every package he handed to me from that day on.

My mum once got me a bike . It was not the one I wanted but I didn't make a fuss . I just put it to the side , never used it and built my own out of scrap parts. After that she always asked me exactly what I wanted .

I don't usually end up hating gifts because my family came up with a system where I basically chose what I got every time. This was because I was pretty vocal when I didn't like the gift. "WHHHAAAT, THIS IS MARIO PART 4, NOT 3! I HATE IT!!" That particular incident went on for a good few months at least. And I'm still pretty upset about it now, even though it was like 10 years ago.