Terror Gifts

First trick to making it easier to get a gift you will use, pair that guest with another friend or relative you trust. If Grandma wants to shop for you and your new spouse, have a cousin or close relative do a shop with them. This will also help direct that friend or relative to stores where you are registered or the very least that does not give them access to tacky item or craft stores. You can also strongly hint the direction you want the friend or family member to go gift wise, by making sure you include where you are registered. If you know that this relative or friend is adamant that they ARE going to get you something from a tacky store, try to direct them to items you can place in your garden, like a frog path light or garden fairy. You can also tell them that you don’t like certain items like gnomes, fairies, frogs or skulls (yes this has been gifted before).

If this person insists on making you something, again ask for something you’ve seen them make that is bearable to you or that can be used in your garden or to help you make a garden. Even those without a green thumb can use planters to decorate, or seeds to plant outside. Think outside and they will likely follow that direction. Remember, if they must shop for you, get someone to accompany them. Or get a group to plan to go “wedding” shopping to pick up gifts. This also helps if someone gets something and another person planned to get the same thing and they aren’t buying off your registry.

It’s the day after the wedding and you are holding a gift opening. You are excited to see what you got because be honest some people have great surprise gifts that you would never consider. Then you get to your cousin Wendy’s gift. You pause, you pray this is not like every Christmas and birthday present since you were 5. When she gave you everything from used toys to badly moulded pottery and hokey oven mitts. You open it and “surprise” she got you a red toaster. You can now breathe a sigh of relief. You wanted the black one, but hey, at this point your just glad it wasn’t from her collection of creepy garden gnomes.


You can’t completely guarantee you will avoid a bad gift, but you can do things to improve the chances it will be something you will like. Yes, you can do it without being rude.

If the day comes and all your suggesting and guiding doesn’t work, smile and maybe you can use it out in your yard or give it to someone who would appreciate it, just don’t forget to tag it with the name of the person who gave it to you. You don’t want to re-gift to the original buyer. Don’t forget, even the worst gifts deserve thanks. Just put “Thank you for your gift and for sharing our special day with us. You looked good in that cheap homecoming dress/ told that great joke, etc.” to let them know you know what they gave and that you acknowledged they came. If they come by for a visit and they inquire about where their gift is, it is perfectly acceptable etiquette to tell them you are saving it or you still haven’t found the right spot to place it, so you put it into storage for now.


Who knows, you may be able to use that gift with other items to make it more appealing. Guide your “tacky gifter” or have someone you trust guide them. This may be what saves you from a gift that you can’t bear to face.

Every family and group of friends has them. They are the gifters you would rather not get a gift from. Grandma gives you cat sweaters your sure she took from her closet that she wore 20 years ago. All you can do is smile and say “oh, its nice, thank you for the nice gift”. Your big day is not usually one you think of for making sure your friend or relative leaves the “tacky taste” at home, but be guaranteed that the possibility of the bad gift striking is there.
How do I avoid this? Can I do it without being completely rude?