I can't remember ever returning a gift...

My cousin on the other hand... She has four small children (ages 2-10). I spend Christmas Day with them in Philly. Before the opening of piles upon piles upon piles of gifts for the kids commences, she always announces, the such-and-such location is the return pile (a piece of furniture). As the kids open the gifts, at least a quarter are put in the return pile by her... It is so awful it makes me nauseus. The oldest daughter (10) now just walks over quietly and puts a stack of gifts she doesn't want on the pile. She returns more than she keeps. My cousin returns almost every gift someone other than she gives to the kids... Hers are the only ones she keeps... It is to the point that family gives her money to buy the kids gifts herself. I call her in October and say keep on DVD in mind for me to buy for the "family" gift... She buys thousands of dollars in gifts for the kids and not much else for anyone else to get... I have to have her not buy all the DVDs released that year and save one for me.

It is gross gluttony. She wasn't raised that way. Her sister (my other cousin) visited last year and was stunned. She passed a couple home-made pajama type gifts out to all the kids and one main, nice gift to her two boys and we spent the next 3 hours watching my other cousin's kids open their gifts... and put stuff in the return pile...

The year her Mom and Dad visited just after Christmas, they hid most of the gifts for the kids so Mom and Dad didn't know how much they gave the kids...

I go because it is family and you can bite your tongue for 24 hours. The sad thing is, these gift frenzies and stacks of returns are recorded on video every year...
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Tammy
Stanley and Pookey

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