Expert QA

Gifts Galore

How do you tell your kids you really don't need all the gifts they give you?

Dear Wendyl,

I have three lovely adult children who I adore. Every Mother’s Day, birthday and Christmas they buy me ridiculous presents that I don’t need. How many vases can you live with? I’ve asked them not to buy me anything, but they insist. I store the gifts in the garage for them to find when I’m dead. How can I get them to see I don’t need these things?

Sylvia, via email

Dear Sylvia,

Giving things is a way of showing love, so by not letting your kids do that, you are taking away one of the few things they can do to display affection. Instead, find things that you would enjoy. Do you like candles? Plants? Good wine? Yummy cheese that you wouldn’t buy yourself because it’s too pricey? Then tell your kids you are trying to de-clutter and would rather receive gifts you can use and enjoy. Then give them a list. They’ll feel better knowing what to get you and you will enjoy the gifts so much more. And take all those vases down to the local charity shop, so that others can enjoy them.

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