How gifts go wrong

I'm not the first person to suggest that we shouldn't give gifts to adults (they just result in stress and waste) but I can give you an example of why.

The mid-way birth-day

Midway between my wife's birthday and mine, my sister gives us a combined gift. That's a good idea - to cut present stress by half.

So what was it?

As gifts go it was a reasonable thought. My wife and I enjoy board games and the TV series Doctor Who, so the Doctor Who version of Monopoly seemed like a good gift idea. Except that another friend had the exact same idea. Now we have two of the same game.

What to do with the extra gift?

A gift is meant to be an enjoyable experience for the receiver, but here's what happened:

• We thought of re-gifting it, but can't think of anyone who's a big fan of both Doctor Who and Monopoly.
• We decided to sell it online. At least that way my sister won't have completely wasted her money.
• So far three people have contacted us but none have followed through.
• So the saga continues...

[Update: We have now sold the game for a fraction of its retail price]

It's not meant to be like this

This is not what my sister had in mind. It's not like she set out to find a burdensome gift that would never be played and take months to sell - but that's a risk with store-bought gifts. Even a reasonable idea can result in disappointment (I had to explain why we weren't ripping open the plastic wrap and getting into the game).

The personal touch

My sister is also a pretty good cook. If she'd baked us up a couple of batches of her Anzac biscuits - or a chocolate slice - that would have been a great gift.

It would be appreciated. It would be unique as each person cooks them in their own way. It would be special because she makes it herself.

And if someone else gets me the exact same thing - that's no problem at all :)

Let's not be tricked by all the advertising telling us we have to spend a lot of time and money at the shops to give a great gift.

Let's give them something they really want - even if it's something we make ourselves.

PS. The SoKind Registry is a great help in making sure you get and give presents that are appreciated.

Other reading

On gift giving between adults, see Baby steps to reducing adult gift giving at Christmas and Holiday gift-giving between adults is a needless, consumerist chore. Both have interesting perspectives.