How to Handle Awkward Christmas Gift Moments

Have you ever had one of those gifting moments during Christmas where you don’t want the gift someone got you?  Or where they get you something really great and you sort of got them a stocking stuffer?  Or even worse – what about the moment where one of you gets the other something, and someone forgets about the other person?

Yeah – those are all awkward gifting moments.  No one likes them, and most people don’t handle them all that well.  Some people speak a very loud response through “silence” – others will actually voice their opinion of disapproval about the gift…

Side story about one of the jerkiest things I’ve ever done…

So – this wasn’t Christmas, but once (long time ago mind you) a girlfriend bought me a shirt for my birthday.  It was a brand I didn’t wear and didn’t really want to wear, and my face said it all.  She saw my face, and then (like people do) asked if I approved of the gift.  Next thing you know, my mouth was saying it all   I tried to pretty it up as much as I possibly could, but the damage was done.

I spent the remainder of our relationship trying to make-up for the horrible slip in judgement.

I bought other shirts that were from that brand to show her that I actually ended up loving her gift (which I did – but I’m honestly not sure if it’s because my tastes changed, or because I “made myself for her” you know?).  But now every single time she got me anything – she’d sprinkle in a “I hope you like this more than the shirt I got you,” or always have worries that her presents weren’t thoughtful enough.

I felt horrible (as I should have).

Since then I’ve been extra careful how I handle gifting situations, and I’ve always shown (and felt) genuine gratitude that anyone got me anything in the first place.

Back to the post…

A Gent should have a little finesse in these situations.  To make sure that you’re not that guy – check out this very useful video from the good folks at Howcast, just in time for the Christmas holiday

Peace and thanks for reading.