I'm eating flaxseed oatmeal topped with raisins and chopped walnuts while shopping online for my nephew's first birthday.
My sister-in-law is such a control freak about birthdays. His wish list includes "touch and feel or noise-making baby books from Babies R Us only." I can understand that he's at that developmental phase for textures and interaction with books, but why does it have to be from Babies R Us? So she can return it easily and get what she wants. She's done this with every holiday, and if she opens your gift and it's not from "her" store, she makes a sour-puss face and doesn't say anything. Yikes! Hope my baby doesn't end up like that.
Not sure how to respond to a gift receiver like that. I used to try to push her boundaries a bit, maybe get a touch and feel book from somewhere outrageous like a museum gift shop, but it's almost not worth it. I've tried not buying her anything, but that's the ultimate no-no (she's very materialistic, so that is a form of not loving her). I've tried handmade. I've tried following her list to a T, and that obviously works best. She's just not open to change and it's easier to comply with people like that than fight it. So I'm looking for touch and feel books at Babies R Us now. Oh the joy of gift giving.
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4 comments:
Oh ick, I can't stand when people have no imagination! I would feel very inclined to do what you have done. I always like to get or give things that aren't run-of-the-mill and typical. I hate having what everyone else has. Don't know why but it must get boring for those people, doesn't it?
Don't cow down to people like that, especially if you think she'll probably just return the gift anyway; why waste your money?
I feel bad for you. Of course, everyone seems to know somebody who's like that.
I enjoy the idea of buying something from a completely unrelated store.
Maybe you should try shopping around Salvation Army.
Yuck. That's not any fun at all. To me, most of the fun of receiving a gift comes from knowing that the person giving it to me put thought and love into what he or she purchased.
Your sister-in-law sounds like a materialistic ninny with whom I wouldn't get along very well... in fact, she sounds a lot like a female version of my former brother-in-law. If she is, I'm sorry for you.
With a mother like you, there's no way that your baby will grow up to be a twit like her. Just be thankful she's not related by blood. ;)
I've been out of town, so I'm probably too late, but how about a savings bond? Your nephew is young enough he won't be disappointed by the "boring" gift, and your sister-in-law couldn't possibly roll her eyes about that. The only potential issue is you'd need your nephew's social security number to buy the savings bond. Your SIL would drive me crazy, I think.
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