I’d like to skip Christmas, I get nothing out of it but headaches. I don’t enjoy the family get togethers (individually or in small groups my family is mostly fine, but all of them at once is too much) I don’t want anything that can reasonably be asked for or given as a present, and I don’t have any space for the useless junk I’ll inevitably receive.
What I need/want is money. I’m not struggling, but I have projects and things I’m saving up for and whatever they’d spend on gifts if they feel like they need to give me something I’d much rather them just give me the cash or Venmo me. They’re not going to gift me a new heater, deck, washer/dryer, paint for my living room, etc. the best I can hope for is some gift cards to Lowes, home Depot, etc. and inevitably the cards will all be to different places so I can’t even use them all on what they’re intended to go towards, and there’s a good chance that once I’ve saved up enough I’ll get the best price at a store I don’t even have any gift cards for, so they’re going to sit around collecting dust because I’ll never remember to grab them when I need to go buy a box of screws or something.
If they’re willing to give gift cards, and you can find a bank that lets you open multiple free accounts for one user, you could name the accounts “new deck for summer get-togethers” and “heater to cosy up inside during winter” and such, and give a list with all the accounts info when people ask for your wish-list.
People would still gift you partial payments, as with gift cards, but would gift towards an item/project rather than lock you into a specific store.
Most of the time their argument is that they want me to have something physical to open/unwrap, so bank transfers aren’t going to be any more attractive to them.
Grandparents and aunts/uncles have for generations upheld the time-honoured tradition of sending money and a card. Bank-transfer and a card should be just as good imo. Maybe they can agree to that.
I’d like to skip Christmas, I get nothing out of it but headaches. I don’t enjoy the family get togethers (individually or in small groups my family is mostly fine, but all of them at once is too much) I don’t want anything that can reasonably be asked for or given as a present, and I don’t have any space for the useless junk I’ll inevitably receive.
What I need/want is money. I’m not struggling, but I have projects and things I’m saving up for and whatever they’d spend on gifts if they feel like they need to give me something I’d much rather them just give me the cash or Venmo me. They’re not going to gift me a new heater, deck, washer/dryer, paint for my living room, etc. the best I can hope for is some gift cards to Lowes, home Depot, etc. and inevitably the cards will all be to different places so I can’t even use them all on what they’re intended to go towards, and there’s a good chance that once I’ve saved up enough I’ll get the best price at a store I don’t even have any gift cards for, so they’re going to sit around collecting dust because I’ll never remember to grab them when I need to go buy a box of screws or something.
Just give me cash.
If they’re willing to give gift cards, and you can find a bank that lets you open multiple free accounts for one user, you could name the accounts “new deck for summer get-togethers” and “heater to cosy up inside during winter” and such, and give a list with all the accounts info when people ask for your wish-list.
People would still gift you partial payments, as with gift cards, but would gift towards an item/project rather than lock you into a specific store.
Most of the time their argument is that they want me to have something physical to open/unwrap, so bank transfers aren’t going to be any more attractive to them.
Grandparents and aunts/uncles have for generations upheld the time-honoured tradition of sending money and a card. Bank-transfer and a card should be just as good imo. Maybe they can agree to that.