Pretty much everyone loves receiving gifts, especially because of the idea that someone took the time to find something you’d like and gave it to you. The gift giver usually considers the other person’s hobbies, interests, needs, and wants in order to find the perfect present that will give them joy.
Unfortunately, not everyone is good at giving gifts, which often results in the receiver getting something plain awful. This is what a woman faced on Christmas when her thoughtless boyfriend got her presents that he actually wanted.
More info: Reddit
Some gifts are truly so bad and selfish that it’s often hard to fake a “nice” reaction to them
Image credits: senivpetro / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The woman explained that her Pokémon-loving boyfriend wanted Christmas gifts related to his hobby and that she had specified wanting beauty products and a hoodie
Image credits: Giorgio Trovato / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
When Christmas came around, her 30-year-old boyfriend gave her three gifts, all related to Pokémon, which she was shocked by since she had no interest in it at all
Image credits: azerbaijan_stockers / Freepik (not the actual photo)
It seemed like her partner had bought the gifts for himself because he ended up opening the presents before she even had a chance to do it herself
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The woman felt angry and hurt by her boyfriend’s selfish behavior, and even though she tried to move past it, she later wondered if she should break up with him over it
Nobody ever wants to be the victim of a thoughtless gift giver. It often makes people feel bad, and like their loved one didn’t want to put in the time and effort for them. The OP’s boyfriend clearly couldn’t stop thinking about his own Christmas wishlist and completely skipped over the things his partner had asked for.
It can be annoying to deal with selfish people like this, which is why Bored Panda sought the opinion of Diane Gottsman. She is a national etiquette expert and owner of the Protocol School of Texas. We asked her why some people try to pass off gifts for themselves as something the other person may like.
She said that “there is no one answer as to why people would [do that]. The most obvious answer would be that it’s an indirect way of buying a gift for themselves. In regard to these Pokémon cards, if the receiver is not a fan, the obvious answer would be that they wanted them, had a limited budget to spend for a gift, and decided to buy themselves a gift.”
Unfortunately, this type of thing is more common than you would expect. A survey found that around 72% of people have received very disappointing or confusing gifts. Within this group of folks, nearly 40% felt insulted by the terrible presents they were given. The poster also felt hurt that her partner of three years would pull a stunt like this and ignore what she actually wanted.
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The OP couldn’t believe that her boyfriend had only got her Pokémon cards. So, she took some time to calm her mind and get her anger in check. She obviously dealt with this situation much better than most people would, and decided to figure out exactly what prompted her partner’s inconsiderate behavior.
We asked Diane what people can do if they are given bad gifts. She said that “they can opt to say nothing and donate the gift to an organization that they know will put it to good use. They can tell the gift giver that they appreciate the gift, but it’s the wrong size or fit and would love to exchange it for something else, and ask for the gift receipt.”
“In this case, she can address the issue directly and let her boyfriend know she feels dismissed and hurt by the lack of thought. It all depends on the relationship one shares with the gift giver,” Diane added.
It might seem like a waste of time and energy to confront the boyfriend over his actions, but people can grow and improve if they’re made aware of the impact of their actions. They can also become better at gift-giving.
Diane Gottsman also said that “a person can be a better gift giver by listening to what their friend or family member says throughout the year and taking notes when they say they like something. They can ask them point-blank to give them hints or go to a trusted friend and ask for advice.”
“There’s no excuse for a bad gift when you know someone well and have multiple opportunities to gain insight into their preferences, and always give a gift receipt so they can return it if necessary,” she explained.
It doesn’t seem like the poster wanted to help her boyfriend improve his gift-giving skills. His poor behavior pushed her to reconsider their relationship and possibly initiate a breakup. Oh well, at least it might help him save up for his own presents next year.
People were put off by the boyfriend’s selfish actions and urged the woman to break things off with him
