What do you do when during X-mas shopping...

[K2!]

The minute someone started nagging me about a gift they would get a $5 gift certificate from MacDonalds.

Oh boy! I do want fries with that!

[DollyKim]

Anyone with a case of the Greedy Gimmies can march themselves to the nearest volunteering place. You want a hot toy so bad the least you can do is give something to a kid who might not get anything else. Some of us are thankful for plumbing or a house that doesn't shake.

The McDonalds gift certificate is a great burn. The most thoughtful gift I got recently was a modest iTunes gift certificate, she got me some nice apps I needed.

[famedglory]

One of my favorite gifts my fiance has given me was one of those little milkshake cards for Wendy's. That year he had also gotten me a nice book and a pretty sweater but that milkshake card was the best. True fact. It's like a little present every time you eat there. But I am pretty easy to please.

I'll happily get friends whatever I can afford. Getting people nice things makes me genuinely happy but asking for something like that is a good way to ensure I don't get you anything.

[kittyasauras]

It sounds to me like you aren't being aggressive enough. If you tell her you can't afford it, you're not buying that because it cost x amount of dollars, then don't get it for them. She sounds spoiled. :I

Tell her you have this much and you are only going to spend this much, tell them to pick an item in that price range.

You can't let people walk over you.

[Jobee]

In my family we try to think of affordable things to put on our Wish Lists, and that we'd use or enjoy having. But if someone demanded a specific thing, I'd tell them they will get coal.

[magkelly]

My nieces used to try this one on me. They'd nag me for particular toys for months, change their minds 20X while they were at it. Now they just get a gift card to TRU and I always tell them I'll take them to buy whatever they can find that they like for what amount it's for. I don't negotiate and I don't add onto the amount if they find something that's more. If they want to spend more it comes out of their holiday money or their saved up allowances, period.

Every now and again I'll buy them something just because I want to surprise them. Of course they get the usual birthday presents, Christmas presents, and they get a small surprise every semester if they do well in school and the report card shows it from their parents and me, but that's about it. If they want more than that they have to earn it and if they get too whiny about what they want? They don't get it and they know it.

If this was my friend I'd just give her a gift card and be done with it. Let the friend do the picking. It's probably the only thing that will work anyway.

[Alopecia No Hime]

Thanks for the tips guys. I just told her to get me Making Waves Sophie from Liv and I told her I got her one item from her list and told her in an irritated tone that I couldn't afford everything and she was like: "Oh well duh I had mostly books on my list." Ugh...I got her DOTD Clawdeen I hope she likes it.

If she doesn't...Say-la-vi.

[OkamiKodomo]

c'est la vie

I actually had the opposite discussion with my old roommate tonight when he stopped by to say hi... he was saying how his girlfriend bought him these books for his birthday, and while he loves the books, he felt bad that she bought him such an expensive gift.

[DollyKim]

Tell him not to feel bad if she cared that much. Some thing that furthers knowledge, helps with work, or makes you a better person is always money well spent. The money could have been spent on rims and a sound system for a car or a designer purse.

[arrowchild]

I think the world would be a better place if people would stop putting the emphasis on WHAT they're getting for Christmas and just enjoy the fact that people care enough to give them gifts at all. Personally I have always felt a little guilty telling people 'what I want' for Christmas, (I only do it now at all because a few people-husband included- have told me how stressful it is shopping for me because they never know what I want lol). I have pretty much zero tolerence for ANYBODY who gets pushy/greedy/whiney when it comes to holiday presents...including children and small pets