How many times have you given someone and saw that they really didn't like what you gave them, even though you put a lot of thought into it...?

This always seems to happen with me and my brother. Almost every single Christmas, he gives me back what I have already given him. Not only is this incredibly frustrating, but it makes me feel like he doesn't appreciate what I have gone through to get him that present.

Not only that, but this year, almost all of my friends were mad at me because I couldn't afford to get them really nice things. I'm usually broke, and since I am still in school, I haven't had much time to get a job with all the activities I am involved in. This kind of means I am limited to thrift stores and cheaper places like that... Has all the thought appreciation just gone out the window, or is this only happening to me?

Nope, I agree with you. A lot of the thought appreciation in this world has exploded, especially with our generation - aka, more or less the current high schoolers... And maybe the middle schoolers as well, come to think of it. >.<
It's just so much more appealing for them to just get exactly what they want, and not exactly what the person thought of. But can you blame them? I can honestly say that I constantly dream of getting this or that thing for Christmas, or for my birthday, yet I never tell anyone that I want that specifically, and end up being disappointed - yet still content with getting whatever I get. But this year, I asked for a laptop, and that's exactly what I got.

The magic of Christmas - at least, for me - has dwindled to literal nothingness. That's why I told my mom that starting January 1st, I'm starting a major list for Christmas of 2008. I like getting what I want, true, but part of Christmas spirit is compromise and meeting halfway.

To me, this Christmas was just a real dud. >< Sure, I love my new laptop (OMG - IT HAS VISTA. =D=D), but I've known since probably September that that's what I was getting...

Just tell them all to eff off. Friends and family are supposed to be understanding and selfless, which yours don't seem to be at all.

My best friend's dog was stolen, so I was going to get her another one.
Well I don't have a job, I have school all the time, so I was going to get her a mutt.
Well I told her, and she threw a fit because I wouldn't get her a full bred dog.
I was just like forget it, if you can't appreciate me going out of my way to find a freakin' dog for you, then just forget it.
So you're not alone.
I thought she would be happy with a dog, but no.
D:

I have a teacher at school who is always so calm... But when Christmas came around, I've never seen him so frantic. Nearly every day for the whole week right before break he seemed to explode. To him, he hated the holiday going on and said it was just a waste of time.

"No where in the Bible does it say... years from now, you will all celebrate my birthday by buying everyone you know pointless junk."

I feel the same way. It's like you expect the world, and some people are so hard to please. Unless they tell you word for word what you need to get them, you can't really get some people anything at all. Then it ruins the surprise, and when you tell people what you want, if they don't get you just that, then you're upset and frustrated with them. I hate it when people ask me what I want. I try my best to give them simple ideas so that they can still surprise me, and make me happy.

I've seen it a couple times....not soo many though.

I haven't seen the look to much and I try to be grateful for anything and everything I get because it's somthing that, whether I want it or not, I wouldn't have had before.

Besides. Christmas shouldn't be just about presents. It is the day that Jesus was born and that should be what we remember. Not what presents we did or did not recieve.

Friends like that aren't friends.
Your brother sounds just as frustrating as mine.

I love Thrift Store stuff. :nudge-nudge:

But seriously, though. I'm sorry to hear that. That's so not cool.

That has happened to me once.
You see, I bought random things and tossed it into the bag, but I bought all the items relating to them, based on their personality. It was a matter of chance whether they got the right item or not.
She just gave me a funny look, and when someone grabbed the item that really stood out to her, she grabbed for that one. ~_~

I'm guilty of doing that..
There is one time I remember mostly.
It was Christmas eve, and my sister and I got the chance to have a peek at one of our gifts.
So, I go open one of the littlest presents for me (which was from my sister). Turns out it was lip gloss. Usually, I would be happy about receiving lip gloss, but it was the wrong kind/style of lip gloss. She got the brand name right, but everything else, she didn't do so well on.
My reaction (since we were alone) was to get mad. ;-;
I ended up using it after saying I wasn't going to use it.. heh

I think that you should put more thought into your presents, it's possible you might be a little delusional in thinking you know what your brother wants. As for your friends, I think you should get new ones. Or bake them cookies next time. Who doesn't like cookies?

xD I try to smile and fake it whenever I get something I don't want.
Even if I don't like it, I can appreciate the fact that someone took time and money to go out and buy me something.

I hate it when people buy me presents, actually.
But I never have enough money to buy someone else something, not to mention the fact that I'm terrible at picking stuff out for other people.
And then I have this whole guilt trip thing going.

Like this year...
I feel so damn guilty because I really just didn't have enough money to buy anyone a present.
I was going to get my boyfriend something, but I couldn't find what he wants. And of course, he wants very little that's in my price range.
I would have gladly gotten people stuff, but unfortunately I am unemployed.

And that's my Fabby-Feels-Guilty story of the day.

I never tell people that I don't like it. It's rude, and they spent time to get something they thought I would like. My cousin got my a 'How to draw Anime' book this year, and I don't really like those books, because they just teach you how to draw American characters they randomly make up, and it's not manga -head desk-. It came with some supplies though, so I can use those. I didn't say anything about not likeing it, I said "Thanks, _____, it looks awesome!" Not really lieing, because the art supplies it came with looked cool :3

A few years ago, my grandma got me a make-up set from some store. I have never used make-up on myself, and she got it because my cousin liked make-up, but we were complete opposites then. I still said "Thanks Grandma! -hug and kiss-" I remember that I used the nail polish at some point, so it wasn't a complete waste on her part ^.^

Usually, if I don't completely love th gift, I just try to be nice. SInce they didn't have to get me anything. Christmas isn't only about presents, you know.

As for people opening gifts I gave to them, most of hte time, they liked what I have given them. I gave one ofm yfriends this necklace with a tiny little rock/stone thing on a chain and she looked like she didn't really like it, though she didn't say much about it. So it wasn't that bad.

Some friends they are. ><; My friends understand if I can't afford to get them anything and usually I try to save as much as I can but the jobs I've had before don't pay much and when I get money usually I have to pay insurance on my car, get gas, or fix the damn thing altogether. ><; *it's a piece of shit*
So I do what I can to get my friends gifts but as for giving someone something and them not liking it or being disappointed...I know that feeling. It's with my dad and I know he wasn't mad or unthankful it's just he never asks for anything. ><; So my bro and I have to come up with creative stuff to get for him but so far we've never "wow'd" him before. Mom is too easy to shop for. XD

Hmm. Well, this Christmas, two of the gifts I got seemed to go over very well.

One of them was for my school librarian. You see, in the library, they charge you fifteen cents per page to print documents. All of the change goes into a little jar. However, she keeps the pens and the pencils in the same jar, so if someone puts in a dollar or a quarter or something and we have to make change, you have to take out all of the pens and pencils to get the coins. So, I got the librarian a new change jar. I got an old pickle jar out of our kitchen cabinet, went to the art store to get some paints and brushes, and painted the jar with a nice pattern in our school colors. In the morning on the day I gave it to her, I got a big bag of candy at the convenience store and filled the jar with candy. According to my brother, she later said that it was the best present she had gotten that day.

The other gift that went over well was for my dad's girlfriend. A couple months back, "The Sound of Music" was playing on TV and she was talking about how it was her favorite movie and such. So I got her "The Sound of Music" on DVD. It was lie a special anniversary edition or something so it had two disks and a bunch of special features and such.

So in the end, my biggest successes in terms of gifts this year were the handmade one and the most expensive one. So go figure.