Gift equitte/dilema?

[momxx5]

If a gift request for a 13 yr old girl was made (via angel tree) for:

" lip gloss, lotions, Bath & Body Works gift card"

Would a pkg of lip gloss and seperate pkg of bath gels/washes both prepackaged from Five Below be a good solution?

We were putting everything together for the families. The supervisor was checking all the orders as the PTO were sorting things.

The supervisor was not really that happy with the substitution. She feels that most needy families aready shop at Dollar Tree and Five Below so they could possible already have or are getting said items, but chances of getting a better brand was unlikely , making it that much more special.
(We are not talking replacing iTouch with off brand or Levi jeans with Dollar General brand).

I am not familiar with Five Below, but somehow put it into the same type of Dollar Tree catagory and certain things I love and certain things I avoid from there.......like toothpaste, candles w/lead wicks, body washes.....and things I love like the holiday decor, crafts, hair/socks accessories, etc.

Well, needless to say it started a debate. I managed to stay out of it during the sorting/packing time. However I would love to hear opinions from hear (Y'all have good ways to view such matters).

Thanks in advance.

 

[indimom]

I don't think there is a "right" decision. But, I'd have gotten the stuff from Bath and Body. With coupons, it's not that expensive, so I would have gotten them the gift they really wanted.

 

[DianeV]

I agree, me too..

 

[angierae]

I'm sure the girl will be happy to receive anything, but I would have bought the brand-name stuff too, for exactly that reason. Expensive body washes and lotions are probably a luxury for her and this might be her only chance to get it.

 

[leslie826]

Yep, I think if you're in a position to give to a child that is less fortunate - then get the brand name. It will be a lot more special. Not to be snobby, but when I was a teacher I LOVED getting B&BW stuff. The dollar tree or 5 Below or whatever stuff usually ended up in the garbage. I think it was a poor decision.

 

[Priorityonecb]

I'd go name brand in this instance too. We have an outlet store by us, full size bottles for $2.50 and the little purse sized hand sanitizers less than .40! You can always find good deals too at the store and with coupons.

 

[DWGal210]

I don't think there is a "right" decision. But, I'd have gotten the stuff from Bath and Body. With coupons, it's not that expensive, so I would have gotten them the gift they really wanted.

This is how I feel too.

 

[luvmy3]

I'd get her the BBW gift card so she can use it for their after Christmas sale. She will be able to get great deals on their stuff.

 

[LuLuO]

I love the dollar store, but I wouldn't shop at the dollar store or a similar store for an angel tree gift. I'd do my best to get what was specifically asked for.

 

[Disney845]

Not sure I followed exactly what you had written. Did you buy the off brand and don't see the problem, or were you just an Angel Tree helper and saw a heated discussion about this and wanted our thoughts?

I have never heard of 5 Below, but if it is a "Dollar Store" type brand than yes I agree with the supervisor.

I know the point is giving and being generous with the assumption that the needy family will/should appreciate it regardless, but really I think that if you have the ability those buying the gifts should do what they can (certainly within reason) to make the presents special.

That said, I have seen some outrageous requests on these trees (gaming systems, cell phones, expensive designer clothing, etc) and I think that perhaps the families filling out these requests need to have more realistic expectations.

I do not think that the request in this case is at all unreasonable. B&BW often has sales/discount making their products quite reasonable. I think the gift giver could have spent $25 and gotten some nice items from B&BW and really made the day of this Angel Tree recipient.

If all the giver's budget would allow is $5 (and there is certainly nothing wrong with that! giving is giving and should be commended) well then I think they would be better served donating to one of the Bell Ringers where the money is pooled or maybe giving a small toy in a Toys for Tots type thing and allowing someone with the ability to gift the Angel Tree person with a specific request.

 

[ilovemk76]

If a gift request for a 13 yr old girl was made (via angel tree) for:

" lip gloss, lotions, Bath & Body Works gift card"

Would a pkg of lip gloss and seperate pkg of bath gels/washes both prepackaged from Five Below be a good solution?

We were putting everything together for the families. The supervisor was checking all the orders as the PTO were sorting things.

The supervisor was not really that happy with the substitution. She feels that most needy families aready shop at Dollar Tree and Five Below so they could possible already have or are getting said items, but chances of getting a better brand was unlikely , making it that much more special.
(We are not talking replacing iTouch with off brand or Levi jeans with Dollar General brand).

I am not familiar with Five Below, but somehow put it into the same type of Dollar Tree catagory and certain things I love and certain things I avoid from there.......like toothpaste, candles w/lead wicks, body washes.....and things I love like the holiday decor, crafts, hair/socks accessories, etc.

Well, needless to say it started a debate. I managed to stay out of it during the sorting/packing time. However I would love to hear opinions from hear (Y'all have good ways to view such matters).

Thanks in advance.

Not to me. The B&BW stuff is far nicer and really not expensive if you know how to shop there.

 

[akcire]

If someone cares enough to give a gift and the gift request is reasonable, I would hope the request would be honored.

I always either try and get exactly what is requested or a gift card for somewhere they can get what was requested.

 

[puffkin]

I think it is a very reasonable request by the 13 year old for an Angel Tree gift and it should have been honored. You can get tons of stuff cheap at B&BW with sales/coupons and age 13 is a very BRAND conscious age. I too don't think the 5Below stuff was appropriate in this case.

Curious to see what your opinion is on this, OP?

 

[MrsPete]

This probably won't be a popular opinion, but I would've skipped that particular angel rather than address the issue of name brand vs. off-brand. I also don't particularly like requests for gift cards; it sounds like "give me a gift, but I don't think you have the sense to pick something good, so just throw cash my way". Honestly, I would've moved on to another angel.

I don't go to the mall between Thanksgiving and New Year's, and that's the only place to get these items/that gift card. I can't get a parking space, and it's over-crowded. So I would never have promised to go get that item.

If I were forced into a "gotta get this product" situation, I would choose a good brand at Walmart or Target while I was shopping there for other things. I'd choose full-sized bottles, I'd get a nice, varied selection, and I'd package them up in a cute gift bag -- but I'd blow off requests for specific brands. If the superviser was unhappy, she could do without my assistance next year; plenty of other groups are in need.

Disclaimer: I don't know this Five Below store. Sounds like a place that'd sell parkas.

 

[momxx5]

I was not the gift purchaser for this Angel.
I am a volunteer parent (PTO) who was helping to sort and organize the gifts. A total of 6 families were sponored this year.

I was thinking, as most of you, that if a partiuclar item is asked for that a cheap replacement is not really the solution. Again we are not talking about game systems or iPods.

Five Below is a brand new store in our area, where everything is priced in whole numbers being $5 or less.
Personally I think you have to really watch what you care getting because cut Christmas fuzzy socks for $3 are a pretty good deal, BUT Old Navy has better quality fuzzy socks for 3 for $3.00. A fancy makeup brush or even hair brush at $4 is not a bargain.
DD was able to get a Webkinz reindeer (animal of the month??) for $5 when Justice has same thing for $16.....so that was a deal. The mimi Webkinz were also $5 but Hobby Lobby had them for $3 and using a 40% coupon made them even better, so Five Below was not good for that item.

Anyway, thanks for the responses. I agree that a B&B Work gift set would have been much better. Again most families in these situations do shop a Dollar Tree or Five Below so are used to "settlling" but getting a B&B gift would be super special.

 

[dzorn]

DD breaks out in a rash with certain brands so yes I would give the brand they asked for. Not like they asked for something outragous.

Denise in MI

 

[castanhope]

I agree with a previous poster, Five Below sometimes has items that are a good deal, other times you really end up paying more than the more "popular" store prices. I am pretty sure I saw those bath sets that were mentioned at our Five Below, and they appeared to me to be very similar if not exactly the same as some sets I had bought at Kohls. So in this case, I would not equate the products with a cheap dollar store bath gel - they were probably pretty nice and the gift giver felt she was giving the child more than she would have been able to had she shopped the pricier store.

On the other hand, I am really sensitive to the fact that when someone makes a specific request for a gift, one should purchase them the exact gift they have asked for. And the Angel Tree is just that - asking a person to name exactly what they want so people in the position to give them that gift can do so. It is not a charity that collects general donations and passes them along to families in need or lets parents pick gifts for their kids. I am sure the buyer was well intentioned, but probably that 13 year old girl will be disappointed. It's like asking for an American Eagle hoodie and getting a very nice hoodie from Target. The quality might still be decent but it is not the item that was asked for.

 

[mrodgers]

My mother LOVES Bath and Bodyworks. She brags all the time how she uses nothing else but Bath and Bodyworks. She even brags about Bath and Bodyworks while my wife is opening her Dollar Store body lotion garbage that my mother gets her.

Tried to get her just not to get us anything for Christmas without actually saying, "you could save yet another $1 because we throw it all away...."

Of course my mother gets my wife something else also. My wife wears a 2XL and mom always gets her a sweater or shirt in petite medium. It is very obvious that not even our daughter would wear a petite medium, let alone my wife. Perhaps one of you girls could explain the thought process of my mother, because I don't understand it at all.

 

[mjantz]

I consider a giftcard request to a place like B&BW reasonable because part of the fun is picking your own scent. I really don't like cinnamon scents or other 'spiced' scents; others may not like floral sets.
This is not a kid asking for a $200 giftcard to Best Buy. This is a girl asking for some a card to a store where, with coupons, one can do well with $25. I'd buy the giftcard & make sure there were coupons with it. I'd even talk to B&BW & see if they had any special coupons we could throw in.

 

[Eliza32]

mrodgers...there is no thought process....it's thoughtless!!!!!