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What fraction of holiday gifts do you ignore, regift, or discard?

I figure it's about 50-50 for me. People buy some ridiculous things as gifts, mostly out of desperation to buy something.

These come in several categories:

  • WTF: the giver is clueless or even malicious
  • Other people's aspirations: gifts they think will make you a different, "better", person
  • Meh: no explanation necessary
  • Hmm: seems like a good idea, just not for you
15 comments
  • I receive very few gifts and most are from my immediate family who know exactly what I'm after (we share wishlists). So from them, it's usually an 80% success rate.

    Occasionally acquaintances gift smaller things, usually chocolate which I'll devour, soap that I'll probably use or a scented candle. Hand/body creams are another popular choice, I rarely use these so I pass them on to my sister or mother. Again, I'd say a success rate of 80%.

    TLDR about 20% of gifts are regifted or forgotten, the rest is usually good.

  • Near 0% regifted or discarded.

    Family does a Secret Santa and everyone posts a wishlist. I get items from my wishlist, no issues.

    My friends and I only gift things to each other like homemade food/drinks, handmade stuff, or experiences. If it's a thing I can't eat/drink, I thank them, let them know, and take it to work to be devoured by someone. No issues.

    SO is a competent gift giver, and we mutually agreed to a <$100 spend, so it's low stakes.

  • I have a wishlist that I share with my family and close friends. People follow that list unless they have an idea that they're 100% sure about. I think the only times I got an unwanted gift was things I already had. Either because something went wrong coordinating between people (rare, everyone knows they can contact my partner to ask what's still available) or because they accidentally bought the wrong thing (like the first book of a series instead the second one).

    The only exception ever was during a single https://givin.gifts/ secret santa exchange where someone at the same time a) completely ignored my profile, b) gifted something below the stated minimum value, c) didn't wrap my gift, d) didn't include a card and e) didn't include any packing material. They just threw a random 5€ item from the supermarket into an unpadded box and called it a day.

15 comments