by Lynne Colquhoun

Created on: January 14, 2009

Is it impolite to sell a gift someone has chosen for you? Of course it is, as that person could have put alot of thought and time into choosing the gift. Whenever i recieve a gift i am not overly fond of, Im honest with the person and tell them in a way in which Im not going to offend them or hurt their feelings. I cant think of a time when i have hurt anybodys feelings by telling them. The person has always been appreciative that I was so honest. This way I can go out and choose something that I would prefer, and even take the person along with me. A great excuse for a day out at the shops.

I have a huge family and can get pretty stressed out during the christmas period. I usually end up giving myslef a thumping headache driving myself mad trying to find something that my family members are going to like and treasure. I like to look for unusul gifts, therefore there is less chance of anyone else buying them the same thing. When it comes to giving and recieving in my family, we are all honest, therefore nothing is going to get thrown to the back of a cupboard. This also means that good money is not going to waste.

So many gifts must get wasted each year due to people not being honest when disliking a gift. They must either get thrown to the back of a cupboard or drawer, sold on at a car boot sale, or worse even thrown in the bin. I did discover once at a car boot sale, a friend of mine selling unwanted christmas presents she had recieved, one of which was a gift i had bought her. It was a clay trinket box, with very unusual chinese designs on the front. I thought she loved it, but I was clearly mistaken. This really upset me, and I asked her why she did not tell me she didnt like it. She told me she did not want to hurt my feelings, but if she had just been honest with me, then she wouldnt have. It was by lying that she had upset me.

We also forget about people less fortunate than ourselves who have nothing, no toys, nice clothes, or luxurious beauty products to pamper themselves with. And the little that they do recieve Im sure means alot to them. People in poor countries recieve no gifts from their families for christmas and birthdays. A single piece of clothing would be a luxoury to them and mean so much.

So i say in the future if you ever recieve a gift you really do not like, TELL the giver, that way you are not wasting their money and you are going to get something you will like. Everyones happy!

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