What to Say When You Receive a Gift You Hate
Receiving a gift is always an inconvenient exchange, especially when the giver, be it your mom or a colleague from the office, makes it clear that he took the time to find you a gift. Given this information, there are obvious expectations – once you open this neatly packed box, anything other than “I will live and die for this item” may disappoint them.
On Reddit, u / bravoteam127 expressed the same concern. “I feel like getting presents sucks,” they said. “I feel like I’m not satisfying the other person with my reaction, and I hate myself for it.” Worse, if the present is terrible, how should you react then?
If you tend to keep your face poker open when opening a gift – and want to hate yourself a little less for it – we have a few ideas. First, according to Patricia Rossi , author and keynote speaker who specializes in business etiquette, you really need to say “thank you” and show your appreciation first. “I don’t care if it’s a repeat gift, always be agitated,” she said over the phone.
If you are speechless or unable to summarize in order to act agitated, u / medullah recommends contextualizing the gift to express your gratitude. “What I have found is immediate gratification is to think quickly about how you will use the gift, whether it’s true or not,” they said. “A few years ago, my parents gave me a wall outlet to analyze how much power a particular device consumes. I told them, “Oh, good! I was thinking about getting one of them and track my desiccant! “(Our video producer Joel also points out an episode from ” The Office, “ in which Pam offers Jen a not-so-good bottle of wine as a gift.” It’ll be great to cook with them, “Ian replies.)
If you don’t like the gift
If you’ve received a sticky sweater or other unwanted gift, Rossi has a similar idea. “It’s always great to say, ‘I like the color,’” she said. Find something nice to say. For example, you can show appreciation for a trademark if it’s a garment. If you don’t feel like reading this book, you might compliment their choice of author (or at least admit you know who they are).
In other cases, depending on your connection, honesty can work as well, but use it sparingly. Our video producer Heather has experienced this firsthand. “If my mom gave me something and I’ll never wear it, I know she’d better give me what I like,” she told me. “I’ll say,“ Thank you, but it’s not me, maybe we can go back to the store and exchange. ”
And if the situation has changed – and you are having problems finding a gift for someone – Rossi recommends not to complicate the task. “Money is never the wrong size or color.”