Gift Exchange
A few weeks ago, my brother wrote in the family group chat that he and his wife decided that there would be no exchanging of gifts between the adults this year for Christmas, just for the kids. But here’s why this drove me nuts. Since they’re the only ones with kids participating in this family holiday season, essentially they were telling us that they weren’t getting us gifts.
Instead, they only wanted us to give gifts to their kids and not them. That’s fine. Whatever. Well, yesterday I was casually talking to my sister-in-law and mentioned the gift I got for my partner. She got quiet and hurried off the phone. Later my brother texted me that he was very upset that I would disrespect them and their request since they’d decided it would be an “only kids” Christmas.
I clarified that I wouldn’t even be exchanging the gift in front of the kids and that I’d only got something for my partner and for my nephews, literally no one else. My brother still insisted I was being disrespectful and could have spent the “extra” money on his kids. Literally what the heck?