Community Chat

[Sooner]

One suggestion I can add to the gift giving suggestions here is to be respectful of people's space.  Do they have enough storage space?  Do they have room in their house or closet?  Do they have lots of stuff, or are they minimalists? 

I think space is something that sometimes people forget about when they are gift buying.  We used to get some large things we didn't ask for, were beautiful but we had NO room to display OR store.  I have never figured out what the giver was thinking--except they were beautiful.

[Peaches McPhee]

QVC used to sell these giant foldable play houses for kids.  Friends of mine received one for their kids (from the grandparents), and it took up half their living room.  They lived in a small townhouse, with no basement and no backyard.  

[AngelPuppy1]

I think that's a very good suggestion!  It's especially hard when family members and/or friends might come to your house frequently and see that you have limited space and then they might buy you for lack of a better description -- knick-knacks --- I use this term collectively and loosely --- which could be glassware, statues, etc.  Sometimes, you  have absolutely all you need or you really don't want any of these things because you don't want to have the added cleaning time.  You don't want to not display these things and be rude either, so it's kind of troublesome!  

[JJsMom]

I agree. I think most Americans have too much clutter and "stuff" as it is and most would not appreciate something that needs to be displayed or takes up a lot of space. The most important thing in gift giving is knowing the person and their wants/needs. A lot of people buy what they like according to their taste instead of what the recipient would probably like.

[vermint]

This is a very good suggestion!

I don't buy home decor items for gifts unless it's from a registry. Everyone's taste is different, and I have received my share of things for my house that I just didn't care for...from people who really should have known better!