December 21, 2007
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Sentimental Value of a Gift
I received my “Secret Santa” gift from Jennie_Nguyen. It was a Christmas basket with chocolate, tea and all kinds of treats in it. I was so happy to get it. The “Secret Santa” was sponsored by Slutburger_with_Cheese.
I sent my gift out to the person that I was given. She is supposed to get it by Saturday at noon. I can’t say who it is until she gets the gift. I did get her a basket from Bed Bath and Beyond. The basket had everything from lotion to spray to a candle. I went a little over on the price but I figured it was better to over deliver than under deliver.
I put the ‘gift receipt” with the gift. It doesn’t tell the price but gives the person receiving the gift the receipt just in case the lotions and sprays are not really the fragrance the person wants. My wife said that it was the best approach. I was a little concerned that it took away from the heart of the gift.
I guess these days with regifting, gift receipts and gift cards I wonder if the giving of gifts has lost its sentimental value.
Do you think putting a gift receipt in with the gift takes away from its sentimental value?
Comments (64)
No – not at all! What if she is allergic to some of the ingredients? You’d rather she be able to return them and get something she would be able to use, wouldn’t you?
Nah.
Yes!!!!!!
nah, not for something like that or books or something the person might already have.
not horribly.
Eeyore17026 made a good point if she was allergic to the ingredients
I will be pretty upset if I bought a present for someone and they were allergic to the product - my feelings would not be hurt if they had to take the product back to the shops and make an exchanged.
No. I usually get gift receipts too. What if I got the wrong size or wrong color. I just want the person to be happy!!
sentimental value is whatever people attach to it… i’m not sure about soaps and fragrances
no. it’s just saying “I tried my best, but I understand if you don’t really like it.” It actually makes gift giving a lot less stressful, and a lot less awkward for the person receiving should they not actually like it.
No. It is saying you want to get the person a gift because you want to get them a gift. You are giving them the chance to get exactly what they would like. Besides, it really is the thought that counts.
No… But unless a gift is something someone made for me I don’t really think of it as sentemental… thoughtful maybe.
That gift exchange sounds fun I wish I had known about it!
No, I wouldn’t mind.
I love the new design
Not at all. I think it shows that you care enough to think of these little things. I once got jammies from my SIL that were the wrong size. She included the gift receipt & I was able to get the correct size & something else becasue they went on sale the day after Christmas! Bouns!
Not at all. If they don’t like it, I would rather they traded it for something they do like instead of keeping something they’ll never use.
How about this, though: if someone buys a giftcard for a friend, is it horribly wrong for that friend to trade it to someone else for cash if they don’t like that store? I hope that makes sense. If not, say my mom buys me a twenty-five dollar gift card to a sporting goods store, and I hate that store. Would it be wrong of me to give the card to my friend who loves the store in exchange for 25 dollars cash?
No, don’t worry about it. There isn’t usually a whole lot of sentimental value anyway, right?
Nope its a way to insure your time and money can be enjoyed. Might be a allergy thing most times its a issue of the wrong size so I think gift receipt are a great way to make the dreaded trip to the store after the holidays much easier.
I don’t think so. I think it was very considerate of you, Dan…
dang dan, you really went all out on secret santa. listen to jenn, she’s still right
after being married to her for so long, you should know that by now.
Why don’t we phase out the whole gift giving thing and just give them gift vouchers. Of course, I gift voucher is like money, just slightly less useful. So we should just give each other cash…of course you can just do an electronic transfer these days. Of course the gift received and the gift given should be roughly the same worth, so to reduce bank costs maybe everybody should just agree to keep their cash and we can get rid of this whole gift giving thing.
Do you see from my above example that giving gift vouchers or including receipts undermine the very idea of gift giving. A person should take time and thought into choosing the right gift, and if you don’t have time to do it properly why bother? If you insist on bothering then buy something generic that everybody likes, at least the person who gets the gift will be happy.
And if they don’t like the gift that’s their problem.
aha! now we know the truth about dan
I personally think animal porn is a real gift.
Posted 12/20/2007 11:48 PM by TheTheologiansCafe
only clothing should include gift receipts.
like the layout
Nope, its the smart approach. She will love it though I am sure.
not at all, first of all just getting a GIFT rocks glitter and stars. The great thing about a gift receipt is that you’re basically saying, it’s cool if you don’t like it, go get something that works. So you’re giving the gift of choice too, that’s pretty rad.
Newp! I personally prefer a gift receipt to a gift card. I like the idea of someone at least trying (even if I end up exchanging it after all). Merry Christmas to you and yours, Dan!
I think it depends on who the gift is for…if it was for your wife and you gave her a gift receipt, it sends the message “I got you something to cover my ass, but here’s this so you can go get what you really want.”
Take time and get something that you’re confident she will like instead…eliminates all sorts of questions.
But when talking about a secret santa…this is a random person you may not know very well…a gift receipt fits. Especially if you include a card that explains a little, “I hope you like your gift! Merry Christmas! I included a gift receipt just in case you’d prefer a different scent. Love, xxxx.”
Makes EVERYTHING better.
Nope, not at all
Sometimes.
No you still shopped for it and took the time to wrap and ship it!
No I like them. I buy what I need rather than getting something I don’t want.
Oh oops. No. I reread it.
Slutburger with cheese?
Wow. I love that name.
And yeah, gift recipts to take some of the sentimental value out of the gift, but I love when people include them.
I’ve ended up with shoes and clothes that don’t fit me and had no choice but to give them away.
A lot of what has been said already: The sentiment is not the lotions, but the thought of the gift, it’s a secret santa, blah.
Answer – no, it does not.
And thanks man, your comment comforts me in this time of grief.
Nah, don’t worry about.
No. It’s realistic. It IS the thought that counts, and you put a lot of thought into it, but realistically, a gift receipt is just considerate. If you did miss horribly, why “burn” your money and have someone dispose of something they can’t use or really don’t like. (In my case, we have tons of allergies – fragrances, certain fabrics, etc., can make us miserable. You can’t expect a gift-giver to know all this and label-read, so a gift receipt is great insurance…).
My MIL used to buy us clothing, and, just because she wanted the gift to be “convenient”, she’d cut ALL the tags off before she put it in the gift box, rendering any possibility of return or exchange nil. But after a couple of years of buying altogether the wrong size for the teenager, she stopped doing that.
Not giving them a receipt. I like that idea actually just in case you buy someone a shirt that’s too small, or buy them something with fragrance & they’re allergic to that specific fragrance.
But I don’t like the idea of gift cards & similar things. I can understand if they just have no idea what to get me but if they’re just doing it as an easy out it really does take away any sentimental value.
Probably a good idea with the way store return policies are now. I think gift giving as a whole has lost it’s sentimental value. There are SOOOO many THINGS out there taht people think they just HAVE to have. Something simple from the heart just doesn’t create the excitement folks want. It’s like if you don’t go for the expensive stuff, you just don’t care about the person. Someone could spend hours making something SPECIAL for someone because they didn’t have the money to get what the person wanted and it’s looked down on. That kind of a gift should be treasured, a friendship someone cared enough about to go to all sorts of time and trouble to show how much they care about someone. That’s what makes a gift special, not HOW MUCH was spent. A sad race we have become!!!
I don’t think giving a gift receipt takes away the sentimentality of a gift. In fact, I received a gift basket from Bath and Body Works last year, as a gift from my step-mother-in-law. It was coconut scented, which was really very sweet and intuitive of her, because I adore coconut. However, my husband detests the smell of coconut, and I was sad to have to exchange it for something else.
Interestingly enough, she had not enclosed a gift receipt with the package, probably because she was sure I would like it. I still went to the store and exchanged it for a different scent, but I felt guilty doing so. If she had enclosed a gift receipt it would have been like she gave me permission to exchange it.
I appreciated her thought and sentiment, and it really was the perfect gift for me (she maybe needs to get to know her step-son a little better, though) but I would have liked to exchange it without guilt.
Cool color change
I think it’s tacky, but that’s just me. I hang on to all those receipts in case there’s a problem but I don’t generally give them with the gift.
Haha personally, if I get a gift I can’t use I just re-wrap it and give it to someone else. But I think we covered that already.
No.
Great Christmas layout!
my family does christmas lists – and i DO NOT get clothes for christmas
Daniel (doubledb)
There is a space of life between, in which the soul is in a ferment, the character undecided, the way of life uncertain, the ambition thick-sighted: thence proceeds mawkishness.
The sentiment is in taking the time to pick out, purchase and wrap a gift. The gift receipt is just practical. I bought a friend a coat for Christmas and was guessing on the size and color. I’d much prefer she exchange it for something that fits and something she likes if necessary. The point is that she needs a coat, not MY choice of a coat.
Not at all! In your case, the person getting the gift may not care for that scent she was given but may love getting bath and body works type stuff. My mom never gives gift receipts and the clothes she buys me never fit, so they end up going to good will because I can’t even exchange things without a receipt anymore. While her money isn’t wasted because it is going to good will…it seems wasted because she meant to spend on me, not on some stranger. Long live the gift receipt!
A bit, probably. I’d be mad.
I agree with unoriginally_me.
Well…no…cuz it’s like, “I’m not sure you’ll like this so here’s the receipt so if don’t like it, you can turn it into something you do like.
” Then it’s like, “Wow, I’m glad I can return this. I appreciate the fact that they tried to match my taste.”
I guess what I’m trying to say is…Atleast you know they want to exchage the gift and aren’t just trading it behind your back.
I don’t know…
No…especially since the receipt doesn’t show how much you paid. Then if the person is allergic…or like you said…maybe they don’t like lilac but prefer raspberry…they can exchange part of it.
No, your wife was definitely right. Women are pretty particular about their scents.
Do you mean Bed, Bath & Beyond or Bath & Body Works?
no I think that it was a good idea for the reasons you stated especially if you don’t really know someone that well to me it appears arrogant not to send a gift receipt with the present
no it does not …I think it is sensible since you dont know the persons tastes gives them a chance to really get what they like if they want to
YAY I’m glad you like it!! *does happy dance*
I think a gift receipt is a good idea…gives the person
the option to exchange if she prefers another fragrance.
Ho Ho Ho Happy Holidays!
No….. I wish that I had done a secret santa! That is cool beans!
I agree with unoriginally_me; it depends on who the gift is for.
But in the case of a Secret Santa, or a friend you just weren’t “sure” what to get, or anything like that, I think it’s a very practical thing to do. I also think that, since it allows the person receiving the gift to exchange it, it gives them the opportunity to get what they really wanted if someone effed it up — for instance, if you got a scent she didn’t like. :]
I don’t think so. It shows your acknowledgment that you may not have picked out the perfect gift for them and that you care enough to allow them to exchange it for something they might like better if they so chose. But as long as you still put thought into the original gift to begin with, it’s still sentimental. It’s when you get people crap that has nothing to do with them that you take away the sentimental value.
I think that was very thoughtful
yes, it is very kind
We had a secret santa at work, and I did the exact same thing. I included a gift receipt simply because I felt it was the right thing to do, esp. b/c the person I chose is picky. =)
Not much.
Yes. You should never get people gifts just because you want to get them something. You should get people gifts because you see something that reminds you of them – doesn’t have to be for a birthday or Christmas or whatever.
Nope. I guess someone could have an issue with it, but why stick someone with something that’s not exactly what they want, especially when it’s so easy to get around that?
My dad always forgets to take away the gift receipts. . .he wraps the presents and half of them have the price tags on em!
Sentimental doesn’t go with bath gels and lotions to me. Sentimental would be having a bracelet made with their children’s names on it….obviously no gift receipt would be able to be given.
On non-sentimental things gift receipts are needed so they don’t end up with something they hate and never wear/use….ex: A sweater your great aunt probably gave you as a teenager! haha.
No, it’s just being practical. I would rather someone exchange something I gave them, than not use it.