Christmas shopping 2008

[ForeverRoses]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

One year I gave the nieces and nephews personalized stationery. No thank you notes. The next year I gave them etiquette books. No thank you notes. So now I make a point of spending as little as I can without looking totally cheap. I got 3 of them Webkinz - they were 1/2 price. And the minute they turn 18, that's it, cupcakes. No more gifts.

Seriously, I didn't think there was much worse than no thank you note. But there is- the thank you notes that my nieces send. One year it read "Dear Aunt FR, thank you for the outfit. I returned it for a sweater". Another year it read "Dear Aunt FR, thank you for the watch. I couldn't figure out what time it was with it so I returned it for earrings". Besides the disturbing thought that a freshman in high school can't read a standard watch, my niece actually had picked the darned thing out!

ETA- these thank you notes came from different nieces- they are sisters though!

[Munchkin03]

We do a family gift exchange--my mother's siblings, their spouses, children, and grandchildren. There are about 20 of us, and we're pretty close and see each other regularly.

I don't think I've ever received a thank-you card, thank-you phone call, or even an acknowledgement of the gift's receipt. The past three years, I've shipped the presents to California, and the only way I know they receive it is when the UPS shipping confirmation e-mail comes into my inbox.

Why do I still do this blasted exchange?

[SWTXBelle]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

Seriously, I didn't think there was much worse than no thank you note. But there is- the thank you notes that my nieces send. One year it read "Dear Aunt FR, thank you for the outfit. I returned it for a sweater". Another year it read "Dear Aunt FR, thank you for the watch. I couldn't figure out what time it was with it so I returned it for earrings". Besides the disturbing thought that a freshman in high school can't read a standard watch, my niece actually had picked the darned thing out!

ETA- these thank you notes came from different nieces- they are sisters though!

When I went to Walt Disney World for my 40th birthday, I got all the nieces and nephews gifts - and my then-childless brother's dog a gift, too. The only thank you note I got? From the dog.