Ok, I promise I’ll stop harassing the fine people of MPSIMS with my silly dilemmas, but first…
I know that Christmas is about giving, but when you’re on a tight budget you have to keep your list small. Here’s my problem; a good friend of mine lives with her boyfriend and best friend. When I go out with her it’s usually with the group, so I see her roomates just as often. Now, so as not to go over for Christmas with just a gift for her, I was planning on giving something to the whole apartment, like a basket, as well as some baked goods which always seem to go over well. Christmas is taken care of… or so I thought.
Ok, her birthday is this weekend, and she’s planning a group dinner. I’m going to get her something, but now I found out that her best friend’s birthday is the following week so they’ll be celebrating on the same night. I don’t want to go empty handed for the best friend’s birthday, but then do I get her something for Christmas as well? That leaves the boyfriend out. Also, I don’t want anyone to feel obligated to buy ME something. That wouldn’t be my intention at all. I just don’t want to seem rude.
If you gave them the basket at the birthday party, you could tell them it is for the birthdays and Christmas and for everyone. Then tell them you won’t be able to give something for Christmas and therefore do not want them to give you anything. You can probably word it better, but use the general idea.
I would suggest that you bring both your friend and her friend a present each. Also bring a gift for the whole apartment. ( I am assuming that the birthday party and the Christmas party are being held on the same day, right?)
The boyfriend won’t be expecting a birthday present so don’t get him one. This way you have all you bases covered: The birthday girls both get birthday presents and the whole apartment gets Christmas presents. That’s what I would do anyways. Does that makes sense?
Also, if you were asking whether or not to get the roomie a present, the answer is defenatly. It’s a party for both of them, so you get both of them presents.
Hmm. Actually, this weekend is strictly birthday’s for the girls. I just figure that once I’m in the “gift-giving zone” with the best friend, I can’t NOT get her something for Christmas… leaving the boyfriend out cold.
Ok, I’ll definitely go with two birthday gifts for the girls, and a big generic gift for the apartment on Christmas… but for Christmas I also wanted to get my friend something more personal. Can I do both?
Yep. You can do whatever you like. A nice basket for the appartment, plus a nice gift for your friend is great. No one can get crusty at you, as far as I’m concerned.
If they’re really friends, they will understand that your budget is tight, so the group Christmas present is fine. I did that last year; I usually give my brother and his wife individual presents, but money was scarce at that point, so I gave a gift to both of them–they had just bought a house, so I made it a “housewarming” type of item, some really nice coffee beans.
An additional gift for your friend would be OK and doesn’t obligate you to then get separate gifts for the others too. I’d think of the roomie and boyfriend as “auxiliary” friends, since you really only know them through your friend. They’re probably not expecting big presents from you.
Since the birthday party is for both girls, you should give both of them gifts, but it’s OK if you make them inexpensive (see above re: friends understanding about tight budgets).