What sort of gifts do you get family members? 21 November 2015 at 2:47PM in Special occasions & other celebrations 21 replies 3.8K views

deaston

Y'know, all those cousins, aunties, uncles, step-brothers, half-sisters that you don't know very well but you'll see over the xmas period - what do you get them??

chanie

I have a selection of harmless token gifts I can call upon in such circumstances:

Scarves - amazon has a nice selection for under £5.

Wrist warmers - as above from Amazon, but I think they are more versatile than gloves.

Bottle of wine - only if I know they drink.

Lush bath bombs - they are a little bit different from normal toiletries people get at Xmas.

Flavoured cooking oils - a good gift for couples.

kingfisherblue

Nothing - but I don't expect anything either. I don't see my sister-in-law very often, maybe a few times a year. I buy a small gift for her, but only spend a fiver. She does the same for me. I don't buy token gifts for those I don't know well, or only see over Christmas.

Pollycat

deaston wrote: »

Y'know, all those cousins, aunties, uncles, step-brothers, half-sisters that you don't know very well but you'll see over the xmas period - what do you get them??

What have they bought for you in the past?

TBH, I wouldn't buy gifts for somebody I didn't know very well, it just seems like spending silly money for the sake of it.

"Well, I've bought you chocolates, but I didn't realise you were diabetic".

"Don't worry, I've bought you a bottle of wine and didn't know you were on the wagon".

Spending time over Christmas with people I hardly know is my idea of hell.

And I'm not grumpy or anti-Christmas.
I love spending time with friends & family that I know well and see often and I enjoy choosing gifts that I know will be perfect for them.

Rummer

I love giving people books and try to give everyone a book as part of their gift. Failing that then something general like a scarf, coffee shop voucher etc

bossymoo

Nothing, I buy for my kids, my nieces and the children choose something for their grandparents.

No-one else is on my "nice list"

carlamarie_2

honestly, if you dont really know these people, then i wouldnt bother.
having said that, if they give a gift to you, it could be embarassing if you have nothing in return.
why dont you have a baking session and have bags of homemade cookies/truffles/shortbread etc ready to give out?
if they dont give you anything, you dont have to return the favour and will have lots of yummy treats to eat instead!

SailorSam

They've conned me into giving them to much in the past but i've finally learnt. They're getting nothing.

Pollycat

SailorSam wrote: »

They've conned me into giving them to much in the past but i've finally learnt. They're getting nothing.

Who are 'they'?

And how have they 'conned' you?

SailorSam

Pollycat wrote: »

Who are 'they'?

And how have they 'conned' you?

My Sister and her adult kids, and i'm not going into detail in an open forum, but it's far more than a few Christmas presents.

Pollycat

SailorSam wrote: »

My Sister and her adult kids, and i'm not going into detail in an open forum, but it's far more than a few Christmas presents.

Okay.

But the OP was asking about more distant relatives that he doesn't know very well rather than closer but possibly estranged family.

That's why I asked.