‘I returned all my Christmas presents – I’m tired of getting thoughtless gifts’

A woman has taken to Reddit to share how she returned all the Christmas presents she bought for her family to spend the money on herself instead, meaning she had nothing to give them when they showed up at her door bearing gifts

A woman so fed up with receiving “thoughtless” gifts has been slammed for returning the presents she bought for her family to instead spend the money on herself. She explained how her family turned up at her door on Christmas morning with gifts for her – but she had nothing to give them in return.

The woman, who prides herself on her gift-giving, claims she usually spoils her family and friends with personalised presents when they don’t have a specific gift already in mind. But despite putting in “maximum effort”, she always receives a generic candle or body bath set in return. Taking to Reddit, the woman said: “I listen to them and use their hobbies and interests to make sure their presents are a hit. One of my favourite things is watching the shot of euphoria they get when opening their present – they were speechless.”

“Then it comes time for me to open gifts and it’s a generic set of headphones, much worse than the ones I own and in colours I hate.

“It’s a face wash and candle set I can never use with sensitive skin and allergies, a mug with a weird meme on it that has no inside joke between us.”

The woman admits to storing her unwanted presents in cupboards around her house until ultimately donating them to charity or throwing them away years later.

To try to improve her present haul, she sent her friends and family a list of what she wanted for Christmas – but many chose to ignore it.

“We all sent out lists again weeks back and my husband said he had already done his shopping and was excited to wrap my gifts. I was hopeful this time he got something from my list,” she added.

“While tidying up [before Christmas], I found a stash of sweets, a pair of cheap slippers in a pattern I’d never wear, a makeup travel bag with a tacky slogan ‘Slay all Day’ on it (I despise quotes on anything and it’s well known) and a pair of gloves.

“I just felt deflated. I felt sunken in on myself. I realised I’d never get the joy of opening a gift and being blown away by its thoughtfulness. I cracked.

“I told everyone I wasn’t doing gifts this year and to return anything they got me because I didn’t have the money and wanted to be fair.

“I don’t have the money to waste £1,000 on personalised gifts for everyone just to feel disappointment.”

With that, the woman cancelled all of her orders, returned all the items she’d bought for others and spent that money on items on her own wish list.

She added: “I wrapped them and put them under the tree [with a tag saying] ‘To me, from me’.

“My husband is hurt and my friends are disappointed. My family has told me how spoiled, entitled and petulant I am.

“This year I’m getting what I want, and going forward this may even be my tradition forever so I finally get things I’d like.”

While most users supported her decision to return her family’s presents to spend the money on herself, others claim she took the fun out of Christmas by doing so.

One user said: “I totally get it. My mum gets me a Sudoku book for my birthday and Christmas every year because it’s one of my favourite games. She knows me and what I like.

“My partner got me a shower curtain and matching bath rug. I was a tad disappointed. It doesn’t have to be crazy or expensive, I just needs to be thoughtful.”

Another user added: “Maybe you’re the problem here. It sounds like they don’t know what to buy you, and maybe what was on your list was too expensive or was too hard to find.

“You’ve taken all the fun out of Christmas. It’s meant to be about spending time with your family, not about the presents they do or do not buy you.

“Yes, it’s the thought that counts. But least they thought in the first place. They can’t help it if you don’t like the gift – they tried at least.”

A third user said: “I know how you feel although many of my friends can’t even bother to give gifts to me in return.

“It just wears on you when you put out such a high level of effort and it doesn’t get reciprocated in the least.”

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