Choosing a Christmas gift for your relatives is a bit like having the first pick in the NFL or NBA draft, where even the most trusted pick can easily turn out to be a terrible bust. However, unlike the draft, some people who don’t like their gifts can always demand to change them.
This is exactly what happened to the user u/Ok-Spirit-3972, whose story we'll tell you today. Her sister has long had a habit of being extremely whimsical with gifts, and this recent Christmas, this habit resurfaced in all its glory, leading to another family drama.
More info: Reddit
Giving your close ones gifts for holidays and special days isn't an easy thing - especially when you have to deal with some entitled and spoiled folks
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The author of the post and her sister are both in their thirties, but the sis could sometimes be quite petulant when it comes to getting the gifts
Image credits: Freepik / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Recently, the sisters met at their parents' home for Christmas, and the sis was too eager to get their mom's gift bought by the author - a heated blanket
Image credits: karlyukav / Freepik (not the actual photo)
The mom agreed to give her gift to the daughter, but the author said no, since the sis once rejected a similar blanket from her
Image credits: Ok-Spirit-3972
The sister got offended and literally demanded that the mother give her a similar gift soon after
The Original poster (OP) and her sister are both in their thirties. The sister is married and has two kids, yet her habits regarding various types of holiday gifts remain largely those of a spoiled child. For example, a couple of years ago, she literally begged the author for a heated blanket as a gift, but when she received it, she changed her mind and demanded a shirt...
So at Christmas, when the sisters arrived at their parents' house and began exchanging gifts, the sis discovered that our heroine had given their mother the heated blanket, similar to the one she had once refused. The woman opened the gift first and loudly declared that she still wanted the blanket anyway.
The mother, as always, indulged her daughter and said she wouldn't mind giving her the blanket. But for the original poster, it had become a matter of principle, so she flatly refused to give her gift to the sister. Naturally, she was offended, and a tense atmosphere reigned in the house for the rest of the evening.
However, the sister obviously didn't let up. So, after some time, the mother called the author and explained that she was now looking for a similar heated blanket for her daughter, since, apparently, the OP was unlikely to buy it. Our heroine just said that she was tired of this story of demanding others' gifts and changing their mind at the last minute. So, the woman decided to take this online, seeking support.
Image credits: SkelDry / Freepik (not the actual photo)
Experts are quite confident that there's nothing wrong with people changing their minds about a gift they've given, and even changing the gift itself. After all, once the gift reaches the recipient, it's theirs, this article at Mr. Porter notes. On the other hand, demanding that the giver handle exchanges and returns is, let's say it clearly, somewhat inappropriate.
The authors of this dedicated article at Psych Central, discussing interactions between givers and recipients, recommend always taking into account the history of the relationship between these persons. In other words, if there have been strange or unpleasant stories related to gifts before, something similar is quite likely to happen again.
By the way, it's far from certain that our heroine's sister, even if she received that much-coveted blanket, would actually use it. After all, according to a survey cited by The Week, up to 18% of all gifts are never actually used by the recipients, while 4% are immediately thrown into the trash. Most likely, this was also a case for the OP's sis of simply getting what she wanted.
People in the comments also agreed with the original poster that her sister's behavior seemed suspicious and strange. At least an adult with two children can't, and shouldn't, act like a spoiled kid, the responders are almost sure. "Your sister sounds like a 4-year-old," someone added in the comments. So do you, our readers, also agree with this?
Most commenters sided with the author, claiming that her sister just behaved like a petulant kid and nothing more
