I’m the only one in my family that likes spicy foods.
I REALLY don’t want another 12 pack of novelty hot sauces.
I just threw away a 12 pack that has been sitting in my pantry for two years.
I don’t like getting lotion or candles. I’ll just give the lotion to the food pantry, unopened, and the candles to the local resale shop, where they will probably be purchased and given as a gift, to later be given to the resale shop…:o
I can buy my own lotion and I rarely use candles. Thanks anyway.
Mixed nuts.
Every Christmas, among other gifts, my sister will give me a nice collection of mixed nuts. I do like various kinds of nuts, but not all, so I pick out what I like, eat them, and toss the rest. I’d much rather that Sis got me a can of only cashews or only almonds.
I’ll go with the chain sit down restaurants gift cards with a different twist. I’m not too good for chain restaurants, I’m not a hipster who will tell you the only real Italian is at this hole in the wall that doesn’t have a website and no one speaks English and Mama comes out of the kitchen to make sure it’s all good.
But, the Olive Gardens/Red Lobsters/Outbacks don’t exist in the city of Chicago. If they do, they’ve got an address barely inside the city limits that is a serious pain in the butt to get to without driving or a very long public transit trip. I’d much rather have a Chipotle or a Starbucks gift card which do have plentiful locations in the city.
The good thing is that those gift cards are super easy to regift or just give away.
Until my dad had part of his colon removed for diverticulitis, I would get my dad a big can of nuts, but he would have to pick out the almonds (ironically, his favorite) because he’s also had gout. Our mother would eat those.
He gets his nut fix from butters now.
Anything which takes up house room where it’s not invited - including, but not limited to, cutesy inspirational messages on mugs, cushions, pictures and professionally shot, framed photos of your child.
Clothes, because I won’t like them and will feel guilty for not wearing them.
Pointless food items, like chutneys, chocolate, jam.
Pyjamas and slippers. I don’t wear them.
Some relative gave us a huge flat-screen TV for Christmas. It is hard to imagine a more intrusive, unwanted white elephant that dominates the room. No we’re stuck with it.
The only person who was any good at buying clothes for me was my late grandmother. She had a real knack for knowing exactly what each of her grandchildren needed and would love. She could also knit sweaters for us without having seen us in months, with no pattern, and they always fit perfectly. She was a real artist.
My dad is terrible at buying gifts. One year when I was in college, he asked me what I needed, and I told him “clothes. Anything but sweaters.” He bought me a sweater. He had also bought me the dress that I was supposed to wear to his wedding #2. I was twelve, and he bought me some Godawful white dress with bubble gum pink satin ribbons that would have been more appropriate for a 6-year-old. And I basically never wear pink. Really, Dad, would it have been so awful just to take me shopping for an hour or two, or even ask me what I might like?
Please don’t buy me anything with a fragrance unless you know exactly what I want. I am very picky about scents, and a lot of artificial fragrances set off my allergies. Also, stay away from the artificial fibers, as a rule, unless they are something that won’t touch my skin - if it doesn’t breathe, it’s going to make my skin break out.
Gifts that create an awkward situation. Last year I helped out a couple we are friends with, spending a Saturday at their place. I was totally fine with the very good beer they bought for the day.
A week later I get a thank you card in the mail, with a $200 gift certificate to a restaurant we all like. We’ll eventually use it, most likely inviting the other couple to be our guests because anything else would be awkward.
Booze. I don’t drink and would just pour it down the sink.
Coffee or tea; I don’t drink coffee and tea -even smelling it - makes me nauseated to the point of barfing.
Religious stuff. I’m not so please don’t.
Soap. Some soaps make my skin so sensitive to water that taking a shower literally makes me cry.
Here is a weird one. Over the years, I’ve had several students give me framed photos of themselves. Now, a wallet sized senior picture is nice. I will put it with the others and look through them once in a while and smile. But what do I do with a large framed photo of a single child? Put it on my desk? Take it home and put it on my wall? It’s weird. I could strip out the photo and use the frame, but that feels disrespectful. So I toss it in the box with the unframed photos, where it takes up too much room.
Also, once I got a signed copy of someone’s grandfather’s self-published novel. That wasn’t bad, but I never read it and after a while it went to live on a nice farm upstate.
I hate when people latch on to something they know you like and that’s all you ever get! I love chocolate in most forms and brands. Just not the real cheap variety.
My husband is the worst git giver of all. Last Christmas he gave me a few nice gifts (only because they were items I actually pointed to when we were at a store together!) but then he also gave me a box of chocolates that was the size of a lap desk! Plus he wrapped up THREE boxes of chocolate covered cherries separately. Then to top it all off, my boss gave me a box of chocolates AND my MIL gave me a box of chocolates that she bought when my husband helped her do her Christmas shopping! :smack: Oh AND my aunt gave me 2 boxes of chocolate covered cherries as a hostess gift 2 weeks before Christmas when I hosted some family birthdays. For as much as I like chocolate, after the first box was gone I was done with chocolates. There most certainly can be too much of a good thing! I opened one of the boxes last week. I half-heartedly ate a few pieces throughout a few days then and dumped it out. I’ve done the same with the cherries. Eat a few and bury them in the garbage. Next Christmas I am putting out a NO CANDY memo.
“You must love them, you have so many!”
Yeah, I’m 53. Send me a card or stop by and say hello. Let’s go out together.
Don’t give me stuff. I don’t want it. I’ll never be discourteous, but it’ll just go into the pile.
Nooooooo, regift it, please!! Hell, I’ll be your friend. 
My husband gets one of those every year, I swear! Never ever uses them.
I play golf and for years everything I got was about golf. I finally told my wife that enough is enough.
I made the mistake of mentioning I really like the new Marvel Toms shoes. Luckily, my daughter asked before ordering them. Just because someone says the like something doesn’t mean they want said something - totally impractical. She also mentioned buying me new planters, as my two favorite broke over winter. They were massive terra cotta pots that are pretty expensive and difficult to find. And beyond that, due to social distancing, they couldn’t bring them to me / I couldn’t go down and get them. Perfumes, candles, clothing are no gos. Alcohol is kind of new to me after years of forced abstinence, so I’m learning my tastes again. I don’t want her to waste money on something that may go down the drain (like the super floral Indian beer I tried a few nights ago that was just gross). What am I supposed to buy you!? Nothing, sweets. I don’t need anything. She says that’s not an option.
We compromised and I’ll be receiving my annual pair of plain black Toms on Monday.
My mom also never wants anything. A few years ago I splurged on a gorgeous hanging flower basket, and have been nagged at ever since for spending so much. Did you enjoy it? Yes. But don’t do it again. She said she doesn’t want cards, yet she loves receiving mail. She’s getting a card anyways and she okayed my delivering her dinner on Saturday evening. I was surprised she okayed the dinner.
When I was seven years old, I asked mom what she wanted for christmas. She said, just give me a big hug.
Come christmas morning, I delivered the big hug and said merry christmas. She was obviously pissed.
That is when I learned, at a young age, that people don’t always speak the truth.
This. Why do my co-workers think I want souvenirs from their vacations? Why would I want to collect stuff from places I’ve never been? I don’t even collect stuff from the places I have been.