How to Accept (and Make the Best of) a Terrible Gift

A quick guide to the appropriate way to handle being on the receiving end of a terrible gift.

Steps

By a certain age you’ve probably figured out which of your friends and family have a knack for getting you gifts that would be better suited for a dumpster. It’s best to approach each gift you are given with an air of caution in case you need to blatantly lie about your feelings towards it.
If it’s just a really hideous piece of clothing, calm down. Within the next year you or someone you know will undoubtedly snag an invite to an ugly sweater party where your “awful gift” will potentially get you crowned the belle of the ugly clothes ball. Horrible things always tend to be a bit trickier to deal with because they often serve a specific purpose that will not necessarily benefit you. But, just because it isn’t what you wanted doesn’t mean it’s actually a bad gift. You have mere seconds to instinctively decide where the present falls on the gift scale, and immediately act accordingly.
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Arguably, the only thing worse than getting a terrible gift is knowing that you’ve given one. Meaning, the only way to prevent the latter from happening is by faking it until you make it. This is why every gift recipient needs to have an array of expressions to appease whatever poor soul gave such a lousy present. Having go-to fake reactions like “happy” and “surprised” is absolutely essential when receiving any gift.
It’s necessary to be ready for anything but, more importantly; it’s essential that your reaction be based on the giver, not the gift itself. There is a big difference between a horrible gift from a grandparent and a horrible gift from the guy/girl who only came to your party for the free food. Tailor your reaction based on the gift-giver and how much effort you feel they put into it. If they spent time and energy into giving you something, you should put the same amount of effort into pretending you like it.
Unless you’re dealing with someone who can’t pick up on the most obvious of social cues, people are going to be able to tell whether or not you’re lying. You have a small fraction of time to determine whether or not your going to react genuinely or react how the giver wants you to. If you choose the latter option, you have to commit. You can’t give a quick smile with no eye contact. You have to absolutely sell your pseudo-happiness in order for it to be even remotely believable.
Most people reason that any card accompanying a gift should be opened first. This is the biggest mistake you could make if said gift isn’t exactly appreciated on your end. Reading the card after you open the gift creates a distraction from whatever fake or unenthusiastic reaction you had. Most cards are either sentimental and genuine or humorous and lighthearted. You’re far more likely to have a positive reaction from the card, which will detract from however you reacted to the gift. An, “Oh that’s so sweet,” or courtesy laugh at a corny joke will allow for a natural segue away from the gift itself, saving you from the discomfort of having to spend more time focused on something you don’t really appreciate.
Since your face and eyes are the, “window into your soul,” AKA the easiest way to see if you’re lying, if you don’t think you can realistically pull off fake happiness, use your hands to partially block your expression. It’s a temporary fix but doing so will give you a few extra seconds to compose yourself by preventing others from being able to completely make out your expression.
Sometimes the best thing to do when presented with a gift you didn’t want is to describe it and its uses. “Oh wow this iron sphinx cat doorstop can hold open a door upwards of 100 pounds!” If there’s a description on the box, read it out loud. If there is no description, make something up and start discussing them with the giver. This makes it seem like you genuinely care, and talking about the gift itself means you don’t have to discuss how you actually feel about it.
post-present depression. Chances are you’ll be a little bummed immediately after opening a lousy present. This is normal. It’s natural for people to feel disappointed, but it’s important to remember that it could have been much worse. Never complain about receiving a bad gift unless you want to hear about the even “worse” gifts that your friends or family have been given over the years. Complaining will get you nowhere so figuring out what to actually do with the gift is a far better use of your time.
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Weigh all your options. Unless it’s a family heirloom that’s been passed down for generations, if you don’t like a gift, there’s really no sense in keeping it. This leaves three options:
- First, if the tags have been left on, attempt an exchange or return. Store credit goes a long way these days and, by “long way,” I mean it can provide you with the potential to leave a store with something you actually want.
- Re-gifting is another great option. Finding someone who will genuinely appreciate, and utilize, a gift that is essentially worthless to you means that it won’t go to waste on a horribly ungrateful person. Though, if you decide on the re-gift route, make sure the person you are handing the gift off to does not know the original gift-giver.
- If you cannot think of anyone you know who may appreciate the gift, a final option is to simply donate the gift to an institution like Goodwill or the Salvation Army. This way you can rest easy knowing that: A. You did something good B. Someone else will benefit from something you didn’t like and C. You don’t ever have to look at that present again.
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Tips

Dealing with Gag Gifts. Gag gifts are always slightly harder to deal with. They’re given to you strictly for entertainment and a laugh, and are almost always obnoxious in size and completely useless. The best way to handle a gag gift is by using it as a means of slowly punishing whoever gave it to you. Pranks are always the way to go. Make it so that the real gift you got was the ability to make them regret spending any amount of money on a joke gift. Possible pranks include: snapchatting them every day with pictures of you and the gift, sticking the gift on the roof outside their bedroom window, and sending videos of all the uses your gift has. The joke will be reversed, they’ll be miserable, and you’ll get a nice laugh out of the whole situation. EXAMPLE: Cardboard character cut-outs.
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