Skip to main content

How gifts go wrong

Image
By
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.
Read more about:

Comments

  1. Laura18 December 2017 at 01:51

    One of my favourite gifts is the gift of someone's time. When they make (or bake!) you something, or invite you to spend time with them. I feel that in today's world there is an unlimited supply of 'things', but time is always in limited supply.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Less Clutter More Cash - now available

By
Do you feel like you have too much stuff? Is your home full of things you never use? Would you like to swap them for cash? We did My wife and I have sold more than 550 items online as we downsize and we've learnt a bit along the way. I've put some of our best tips into this handy ebook. I hope you can use these tips so you too can have less clutter and more cash. Enter your email address below to receive the book for free. Less Clutter More Cash Get my new ebook for free. PS. This will subscribe to the But Wait There's Less email list, so you'll know when the new updated version of the book is available. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Post a Comment
Read more

Big motivator for small living

By
It's been a while between posts here - mainly because we've been moving house. It's been a real motivator for downsizing. Packing each and every item we owned, really makes me wish there were fewer of them. Moving everything from the old apartment to the new one made me envious of those people who live in a "tiny house on wheels". For them moving house simply means towing it to a new location. No packing required. The whole process has reaffirmed our commitment to owning less stuff. So we're going to be intentional about downsizing. It will be an ongoing activity. My environmental heart couldn't stomach a spontaneous dumping of things into the garbage, but it's also more fun this way. Selling things online brings in some handy pocket money. Giving items away is also a great community activity, whether it is to friends and family, to charity or to people in the neighbourhood. I'm looking forward to it as a lifestyle rather than a task to do....
Post a Comment
Read more

Motivated money - book review

By
This book is often recommended. The author sees shares as safer than term deposits, prefers low dividends and isn't keen on property. I was keen to read it. Here are my highlights: Two tips Spend less than you earn. Borrow less than you can afford. Those two tips alone would help so many people. Assets and liabilities What we often call assets are really liabilities (they cost us to maintain). Houses, cars, boats can be liabilities - useful for "status or position in the pecking order" . He uses the example of a retiree with $3 million in assets. A million dollar house, a million dollar boat and two $500k cars. They sound wealthy but how will they buy food, let alone pay the ongoing costs of all those items. By contrast, assets bring in an income. Attitude to shares He says the sharemarket is our friend, and "provided it is treated with respect, it creates appropriate wealth for all those who use it sensibly. However if we approach it as a gambler, we need to be prep...
Post a Comment
Read more