What's your overall philosophy on gift giving and receiving?

[Disney Doll]

I try to receive gifts gracefully, even if it is not something I like or would have chosen for myself. If it seems like there was no thought put into the gift, well, so be it. If it is something donateable, my theory is that someone somewhere will want it.

I try to give gifts that show that I gave some thought to the recipient. Even when I give money or a gift card, I always try to give a little something else like an ornament or something. This year DNiece is expecting a baby so I gave her and her DH money and a baby bottle ornament. MOney is pracical but boring, but the ornament shows some TLC...

 

[Eeyore98]

To me those two camps aren't different camps. I believe them both. If you're going to the trouble to give a gift, you should put a little thought into what the receiver's interests are and what they would like to receive. Wedding and baby shower registries are a-ok by me (though including where the couple is registered in a wedding invite is tacky IMO).

On the flip side, if someone hasn't really put that thought in, or did try but still missed the mark, the receiver should still be gracious in accepting the gift and try to appreciate the thought behind it. Outside of an obvious "jerk" gift (*ahemlikemymilgettingmeascaleforchristmas*), most givers have tried at least half-heartedly to get something they thought you'd like.

I try to put a lot of thought and effort into the gifts I give people. But there are times I've gone wrong. Like the time my sister beat me to the punch in getting the PERFECT birthday gift for our niece...argh...we'd unknowingly gotten the same thing, but sis is in town only rarely, so she'd given her gift the last time she was in town, which was 3 weeks before DN's actual birthday. So by the time my gift was open, it was a duplicate. Boo.