How to handle an ugly gift
Did your mother-in-law give you
an incredibly ugly sweater? Or a co-worker gift you with a hideous pair
of earrings this holiday season? We’ve all been stuck with gifts that
weren’t our taste and wondered what to do with them.
Regardless of how you choose to handle the ugly gift, remember that
taste is highly subjective and the giver probably thought the orange
metallic handbag was just fabulous when it was purchased.
 If you keep that in mind, you can handle even the most heinous
fashion gifts with ease.
Here are a few suggestions for dealing with clothing and accessories
that don’t match your taste:
* Thank the giver for the gift, whether you love it or not. The real
gift is that the giver spent time and money thinking about you (however
bad their taste).
* If the ugly gift is clothing, you can always say it doesn’t fit
just right (which isn’t a lie, almost nothing fits perfectly without
alterations). It’s perfectly acceptable to ask for a receipt to exchange
the clothing for something else based on fit.
* From who is the gift? If children or grandparents give you
something that doesn’t exactly fit your style, the sentimental value of
the gift alone makes it worth keeping.
It won’t kill you to don that teddy bear sweatshirt once in a while
to keep your kids happy.
* If you receive a gift you hate from someone who doesn’t live
nearby, you can always ask them “Wow, where did you get this purple
patchwork sweater?” If they tell you the name of the store and it’s
nearby, you can try to exchange it for something you like since it’s
unlikely they’ll ever see you wear it.
* Don’t re-gift the ugly item. That just makes things worse because
you are giving something you don’t like to someone you do. If you want
to redistribute the ugly gift, give it to charity.
* Remember that no matter how you ask to return or exchange the ugly
gift (even if you use a valid excuse like fit) you’ll shake the
gift-giver’s confidence. The person who bought the gift thought he or
she made a good choice, only to discover it wasn’t right. Is it really
worth the trouble and hurt feelings just because hot pink isn’t your
best .
- about.com
|
