Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
Not too far off, actually. It was some VERY young child's "Doctor Who Playset". Goodness only knows what she thought I was going to do with it.
We have now "had words", and agreed that it would be mutually beneficial to simply exchange cards in the future.
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Seems like she saw it and thought of you, not realizing that you're only into higher-quality models. Some people do have toys in their offices, you know.
(Reminder to self: post photo of desk....) But if you can both agree to exchange cards with no hard feelings, that sounds like the best solution.
My kids did this sort of thing a lot when they were younger, and even my mom (who usually has excellent taste) has given me a couple of items that left me scratching my head. (e.g. a pink knitted vest this year... I'd have thought everyone who knows me even slightly would know how little chance I have of wearing something pink. I "loaned" it to my younger daughter, who still adores the color.)
I used to give a short reminder lecture to my kids right before we would get to relatives' houses at the holidays, explaining that "I don't like this" is
never an option when opening a gift, nor is "I already have this." The correct response is always "thank you," though it is not necessary to go on about how much one likes a gift if one doesn't. (If a gift is completely inappropriate, I take it up with the relative in question after all the gifts are opened.)
This practice had an amusing side-effect early on. I'd given my mother a nail brush in her stocking, and my younger daughter knew she already had one. She wisely and thoughtfully shared the advice that "it's ok that you already have one, Gramma. You can give this one to someone else after Christmas."
Ok, at least I know she was listening....