COLUMN, COMMUNITY, Opinion

Who said I wanted this?

I have never returned a gift. Not once, be it for a birthday or Christmas. I accept all gifts in the spirit in which they were given.

So you can imagine my chagrin when I see video of stores just as busy the day after Christmas as Black Friday, with hordes of people rushing to exchange their holiday gifts. This makes me a post-Christmas Scrooge.

We want what we want—I get that—but if someone takes the effort to give us a gift, we should accept it with gratitude. It doesn’t matter if it something you don’t want. That’s not a license to casually rid yourself of another’s gift., Suck it up, buttercup.

I figure the only way to rid oneself of an unwanted gift is to donate it to someone less fortune, or  use it for a different purpose. For example, the ugliest candy dish can easily be refashioned into a kitchen sponge caddy. Everything has a value.

If an article of clothing is the wrong size, by all means, exchange it for the correct fit. Do you really want the giver to forever wonder why you never wear the Garfield cat sweater they gave?

Buying Christmas gifts has such a bad rap. Many people grumble about the chore of deciding what to give everyone on their list. The easiest way is to purchase online and have the gift delivered. Easy? Sure, but cold and impersonable. When’s the last time you saw an Amazon item gift wrapped? I rest my case.

Small Business Saturday is two days after Thanksgiving. The day encourages shoppers to step away from the web, step out of the mall and give small retailers a chance. Oftimes these businesses offer goods not found online

One way to assure a recipient won’t offload your gift is to make it so personal they wouldn’t dream of parting with it. Consider the response to a gift of pottery from one of those paint-your-own studios. Now that is a one-of-a-kind gift. 

We all have our talents. I would like to think a  writer could compose a poem or a short story comprised of details the receiver can cherish for a lifetime. There are many people who play a musical instrument. Do you think Grandma would have a pair of mass produced Crocs or a recording of her grandchild playing and singing a song meant just for Nana? The tears wouldn’t stop until January. 

I guarantee, she would never say, “Who said I wanted this?” The fit is perfect.