Did he like our gift?

"Gracious acceptance is an art - an art which most never bother to cultivate. We think that we have to learn how to give, but we forget about accepting things, which can be much harder than giving."

Alexander McCall Smith

Winter holidays. I can't think of any other time of the year when so many gifts are exchanged at the same time. Good or bad, you are getting a gift, and I have yet to find a person who has never received something they didn't quite like or want.

Growing up I was taught to be generous and see joy in giving. No one really cared to explain the part about receiving. That is important.

Should you feel bad if the preset is too good or too expensive? is it OK to decline? Are you expected to give a big present in return? It gets even better if you feel foreign.

The way someone accepts a gift can add to - or completely ruin - the satisfaction from giving. You don't want to make someone, who's trying to be nice to you, uncomfortable by admitting that their gift...sucks, but then your pleasantry might set you up for years and years of bad presents. Kind of like faking orgasms.

My parents called today asking if my husband liked his new watch they sent him. We just got him a watch, the one that he personally picked and liked. He wasn't a big fan of the style they chose. It went to our "to be given to someone else at some point" shelf.

"So, did he like it?", my dad sounded so thrilled. I couldn't help it, "Yes, he did". I have a rather good relationship with my parents and lying to them sounded wrong, but I had no idea how to pull it off any better. "Very well", my dad was pleased.
Ironically, it's the second watch they bought for my spouse.