Money Moral Dilemma: Is it OK to give a birthday present two months late?

gaving7095

Why does it matter? It's done now. Are you looking for justification for why you can be upset with your relatives? They did BUY gifts after all, didn't they?

TBH personally I consider birthday presents to be all well & good for kids & partners, possibly "special" birthdays (30, 40, etc) but other than that, who cares? Fine, send a card - that's nice - but adults can generally know best what they want & sort themselves out.

elizabethhull

Well in our family it would be considered perfectly acceptable.
Instead of wasting money on postage (which is now calculated by size rather than weight), you can add it to the present value.
It's rather nice to have presents later as well as on the day.
You can bring fragile or bulky presents safely in person.
I've been known to give my father much-wanted compost for his birthday & I'm certainly not posting that !!
You get the pleasure of seeing the recipient actually open their present.
I'm in a group of friends and, like hazyjo, we hand over presents when we meet up. This means that at almost every meeting someone's birthday is being celebrated.
I do NOT see a problem with this practice !

joehoover

Who are you? Larry David? I think I recall a similar scenario in an episode of Curb your Enthusiasm, but the show pokes fun out of ridiculous 'rules' like this.

But in reality, no it's not a problem, don't be so daft.

Augustus_the_Strong

For god's sake, haven't you got anything better to worry about?

shehen23

Every family has got different habits and traditions. In my family it is considered much more preferable to deliver a present personally even if that means receiving it late. To us a present through the post feels impersonal and slightly lazy whereas making the effort to take it yourself even if you can't make it on the exact day, seems more caring (although we would hope for, or send, a message on the day). It's not that one way is superior to the other, it's just a different way to look at things so I wouldn't take it personally either way

bods

My partner's birthday is a a week before Christmas. For a long time we did not live near her family and they'd end up giving her her birthday presents at Christmas when they did see us.

She found it incredibly frustrating and annoying that her birthday was - in essence - a bit devalued.

My take is that for a one off, it's probably fine, but regularly is just going to frustrate

Volbeat1!

I have done this with my sister who lives abroad but normally visits within a month or so of her birthday to save on postage so that I can spend more on her gift and don't have to worry about what to buy and she doesn't mind at all. A card is always sent.

crmism

I think you need to get real.

Carriage costs are very high, so it makes sense to deliver a present personally, even if it is a couple of months after the event. Rather than spend money on postage, I often hand birthday cards to a closer family member to hand on when the time comes. Where relevant, they accompany a cheque, as I'd rather the recipient spend the money on something they really want, rather than what I think they need or might like.

Birthdays, and especially Christmas (the meaning of which has been lost), have become too over-commercialised in recent years, and the producers of cards and stamps take full advantage of this, leaving those already short of money worse off than before. The guilt factor doesn't apply to me, so I've already told everyone that I won't be sending festive greetings any longer, but will instead donate the cost of all those cards and stamps to my preferred charities. Some of my friends/family will be doing the same, so the timing of gifts for whatever celebration is immaterial, isn't it?