go figure

[penguinlady61]

i have been looking at the vents here and really should be glad this is the only one i have.....see the other side of the family has always treated me differently at christmas....hubby and kids get good gifts , mine come from the dollar store...so this year they went to gift cards.....and again hubby and kids got toysrus and walmart and lowes , but I got a gift certificate to a restaurant named Damon's ......there is no restaurant by that name around here closest one is 150 miles away ...yes i have been to one but that was in Cinncinnati on vacation......so what were they thinking!!!!! :confused:

[JCshopper]

Hon, I've got a similar situation with some of my inlaws. Only some of them do this to my husband and son also. My hubby's biological father and step-mom buy his brother (who is not his dad's or step-mom's) and his wife hundreds of dollars worth of gifts but only give us cheap or RECYCLED gifts. And the other brother who belongs to both the dad and the step-mom get the sun, moon, and stars. I was actually given a much too small and dirty sweater for a Christmas gift once. It doesn't feel good! I don't know why they do what they do. We're good people. We can't afford big Christmas presents for all, all of the time, but do what we can. I have always had a big heart. I have given dishes, pots and pans, linens, food and anything else I can spare when their other son moved into an apartment and didn't have. We go out of our way to help any way we can, when we can. They treat us like strangers at a homeless shelter or something anyway. They just throw their unwanted STUFF at us. I can't figure it out. I have tolerated it for my husband and son's sake. My son is too young yet to understand that there is a distinct difference in the way we're treated and my hubby tries to have a relationship with his father. When it reaches a point where my son will notice, I will put an end to it. It hurts me more for him than anything else and he will not be made to feel less than anyone! Again, I can't tell you why they do what they do, but I know how you feel. I guess we just have to take it with a grain of salt. HUGS

[queenangie]

Families - gotta love 'em!
Guess we all have our share of 'unusual family members'
in the family trees.

No answers for you, just hugs

[faygokraze]

Ill take the Damons GC if you dont want it. I think you should be happy you got something!

[LitWtch]

I know it may not have been to a store you frequent, but Damon's is a great restaurant. The food is wonderful, and the service is outstanding. Perhaps you and DH could take a weekend and go to the town over night and use the GC for your meal.

[dangerousfem]

You can offer it for trade here on the trade forum.. and get something you really want.. or need.. sorry the familys are like that... and I don't blame you.. If it were me... I would not go there for the holidays.. just stay home and enjoy your family... maybe they will start to get the hint... sorry.. but there is no reason to give someone something just to say you did.. the whole point in exchanging gifts is to show our love... if they can't do that... then I would tell them don't bother.

[bribella]

You can offer it for trade here on the trade forum.. and get something you really want.. or need.. sorry the familys are like that... and I don't blame you.. If it were me... I would not go there for the holidays.. just stay home and enjoy your family... maybe they will start to get the hint... sorry.. but there is no reason to give someone something just to say you did.. the whole point in exchanging gifts is to show our love... if they can't do that... then I would tell them don't bother.

ITA. I would rather get nothing than be given garbage or something like a GC that I couldn't use unless I drove 150 miles.

I wouldn't put up with being treated like a second class citizen especially by family let alone strangers.

I am sorry your "family" is like that. My Grandmother was like that in a sense she would give my brothers and sisters really nice presents for xmas and birthdays and I would get nothing or socks. While I got to watch my siblings open up and play with great toys ect.

So one year my Dad had enough of it and took all the presents she sent and droppped them off on her doorstep and told her (his mom) that if she couldn't treat her grandkids fairly then to not even bother.

[Lori63]

Same here-I am grateful that my kids get good gifts, and my hubby always gets something really nice. I get a measuring cup (I don't cook!) or a hand towel. Whatever.

[Willow]

I think it's insulting for your in-laws to give nice gifts to everyone but you. It's like leaving a penny as a tip for a waitress. A gift is something that people should give from their heart and not because they feel obligated to do it. If someone gave me a gift only because they felt obligated to do it I would rather not get anything.

[JCshopper]

I think it's insulting for your in-laws to give nice gifts to everyone but you. It's like leaving a penny as a tip for a waitress. A gift is something that people should give from their heart and not because they feel obligated to do it. If someone gave me a gift only because they felt obligated to do it I would rather not get anything.


I completely agree with that sentiment!

[Freebeemom]

OMG,,,Sorry, I had to laugh only beacuse this is SO me and my inlaws as well. Sounds as if they want you to take a long roadtrip. That is unbelievable. I am sorry you have to deal with that.

[Linus1223]

Ill take the Damons GC if you dont want it. I think you should be happy you got something!
Happy with something? It's truly the thought that counts and it sounds like the put little to no thought into it!

[irrelevant0]

my ex-fiance's family was like that. last christmas his grandma got me stuff from the dollar store. which was fine. she loved me. she hates one of her son's girlfriends. she got us the same things, and bought all her kids nice toys. kind of strange seeing that she liked me so much and only had bad things to say about the other girl. the ex-fiance's mom didn't get me anything last christmas. she said i could share his. too bad i wasted money buying her a gift. i don't like her as it is.

[llbriteyes]

We have a tradition in our family. No one is rich enough to really buy everyone *quality* gifts. Its kind of a game throughout the year to find the best freebies and most discounted nice things we can. Thanks to this newsgroup, and a bit of researching on my own, everyone got a super great Christmas from us. Some of the freebies were nicer than I could've bought on my budget anyway.

Nobody in our family ever pays retail for anything. It isn't because we're poor, its just fun to look for the stuff. We get cheap or free stuff for everyone, and we have a BLAST doing it!

Linda

[ang in NC]

sounds like my sister in law

[Johnslambchop]

I know people like that - I know people say it is the thought that counts - however I seems like they were giving a recycled gift (giving something to save face and not look like a complete cheapo)....

My suggestion, put it up on FSOT at least you can get something for it and put it towards something you want/need. I've been on the receiving end of some pretty lame gifts - don't want to sound ungrateful - but I'm talking where there was no thought at all put into it.