I generally don't say anything if the gift blows unless it is my significant other. Even with him I let him know how appreciative I am for this thought and consideration but that it isn't really my taste. For other folks I generally re-gift items for people that I think are better suited for them if I don't have a gift receipt.

Guilty... I always say "Oh I love it!" even if in my head I'm thinking how much I hate it or will never use it... Just because I don't want to seem ungrateful... and especially if I know the person has put a lot of thought into it and chosen something they definitely thought I would like... I just can't do it... not even with my parents, sister...anyone. I'll lie through my teeth so they feel happy about what they got me lol... I have a friend who blatantly tells people if she doesn't like something... I think she comes across as selfish and ungrateful and I don't want to be seen that way... maybe its just the way she specifically says "ew I dont like this did you get a gift receipt?" lol

Oh man, I always pretend to love the gifts my partner's family gets me ... even though they're not me at all! Either it's something girly and pink, which I vehemently hate, or some sort of perfume or scented bath stuff, which makes me sneeze. Still, I feel that they're not close enough to say something, so I grin and bear it and always wear their gifts on family outing days.

If it was my own family and they said 'Oh this is returnable if it's not for you', sure, I'd speak up.

My boyfriends mother gave me the most hideous purse this year for Christmas. I was horrified when I opened it (luckily, I opened it at my house in front of my bf but not in front of her), but I didn't want to say anything. He even said "if you don't like it we can return it", but I just couldn't bring myself to say that it was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. I seriously do not want to be seen in public with the damn thing. Luckily they gave me a nice set of teas as well, and I do love my tea, so I had something to rave about.

My favorite part, though, was when I went over their house the next day and she showed me a really cute scarf, and told me, "well, it was either between this, or the pocketbook!" Aargh.

I got a jacket from my future mother in law with a fur collar that is definitely not me, it's her, but I didn't know how to say 'no, thanks.' I would be happy to give it to her because she obviously wants it, but don't know how to go about that.
Any suggestions?

I was taught that if you hate the gift it was inappropriate to say "This isn't my thing/type." or "I don't like this." because it would hurt the givers feelings and make you seem ungrateful. Especially if the giver put tons of thought into the gift, the last thing you want to say is "Why did you get me this?"

I have even taught my daughter to fake it when it comes to gifts that she doesn't like... At her 7th birthday party, a friend of mine gave her a short mini skirt and the first thing my daughter said was "I can't wear that it is too short!" There was a bit of pride that my daughter knows what is approriate and what isn't, but then when I saw the hurt on my friend's face I felt mortified. Now my friend is leery about buying my daughter gifts at all!

100% depends on who it is that is giving me the gift.

I'm with aujah, totally depends on the gift-giver. In-laws, get the "Oh, I love it" when I hate it but my family gets honesty. I just don't want to offend my in-laws, they hear enough smack from my sister-in-law anyways.

I always say I like it. Hahaha. If I really really don't like it I will probably say something. But EVERYTHING I got this Christmas I LOVED

I think it is rude to tell someone you don't like their gift. It sucks to get something you don't like, but what is the big deal? You can always re-gift, give it to charity or just bring it out whenever said person comes over! My boyfriend's family did a gift swap and he had his older sister and brother in law. Each person in the family made a list of 5 things they wanted. When we went shopping we followed the list and got his sister a green throw and some picture frames and his brother in law a DVD player. When they opened gifts his sister was extremely upset because the throw and the frames were not EXACTLY what she wanted and she asked for the gift receipt. She then asked if we had a gift receipt for her husband's DVD player too. My boyfriend was extremely hurt by the whole thing because we put a lot of time and effort into choosing their gifts AND he spent a good amount of money which made him feel like it was a waste because he worked like 15 hours in order to afford their gifts. I'm just saying - suck it up and deal with it.

I always say I love it. Even if its something I don't want or don't like, I do love that they thought of me. So, what's the diff?

I don't really see Christmas as a way to accumulate a bunch of things on your list. Giving gifts is a way people show you that they're thinking of you, and it really is the thought that counts.

I agree with Clareberrys I always suck it up. I hate when somebody purposely gives you something cheap and ugly, I don't mind cheap things but I hate when they buy me crap they would never be caught dead wearing or owning.

I don't think I ever really get a lot of things I don't want. I'm a pretty open person so people usually either know what I like already because I tell them or my family will ask me exactly what it is I want. The thing is i just like getting stuff because it means people are thinking of me. I don't think I would say anything if I got a bad gift because I do appreciate the time people put into looking for something especially for me. Sometimes my siblings and I will trade gifts from family that isn't so close to us if they get us things we don't need and the other can use.

to me, it depends on whether they put alot of effort to the gift when choosing, because sometimes I get some ugly crap that was obviously some random stuff from the closet put together.
But, if it was something that I know they really thought I would like, and chose it with thoughts, then I would be happy.

I would HATE it if someone didn't return a gift I gave them that they didn't like.

So for the most part if someone says to me when handing me the gift, "If you don't like it, please return it" or the gift comes with a gift receipt, then I feel it's okay to return it.

If it's something homemade, or if it's from someone I don't know well, then I would probably keep it.

I think it depends on how close you are. Of course, there's always the "oh, it doesn't quite fit right" that I use with my mom (who's extremely insecure and would be crushed if I didn't like something she bought)...My MIL gave me a red sweatshirt with cats on it (because I have 2 cats) and a yellow gold bracelet (I never wear yellow gold) for Christmas this year that were awful. I lied through my teeth and told her the sweatshirt was cute and the bracelet was beautiful, and my husband fought back laughter -- luckily, he had warned me in advance so I could practice my reaction!

I guess I'm no good at hiding how I feel because when I opened a gift this year the first thing I said was, "can I return this"
But I don't feel bad because it's not like my mom put a lot of effort into buying it...in fact I don't even think she knew what she bought me....my brother got it and she paid him....

I am always polite, but my face is an open book and so I think it's usually apparent when I'm less than thrilled with something I receive. But I am always happy with the fact that the person went out of their way to select something for me.

I'm not used to getting gifts but when i do a thank you is all you get from me. It's at least committed, you know?

I thank them for thinking of me but I do not lie and say I love it when I don't. I then decide to either give it away or return it to the store.

If the person giving me a gift doesn't know me well enough, or care enough to find out what I'd like, then I just say I LOVE IT and keep getting junk.

It really depends on who is giving it to me... If it is my family I am more likely to speak up...with the in-laws I am very tactful...

What I really hate is when someone buys you a gift that is completely NOT you. My ex-best friend bought me a huge vase from Crate & Barrell for my b-day last year. I HATE fresh flowers...ok, maybe not hate but to me they are a waste of money. I would rather that the money be spent on something that will still be here in a week and not something that lasts 3 days... I felt like she didn't know me well enough after 6 years to figure out a real present...

i'm not a mean person, so i do lie about the gift, but i never think about it in a bad way, i'm always happy that i got something whether i like it or not...

jennifer76 I agree with you 110%!

Being ungracious is a huge pet peeve of mine. If you dont like that gift, then thank the person for being thoughtful and move on. Youll find someone who will use it. If people are kind enough to think enough about you to purchase a gift then you should be kind enough to be gracious.

A few years ago a good friend of mine had a big birthday dinner. i thought long and hard about her gift. she is very hard to please so i got her a new bottle of her favorite purfume, a starbucks gift card(she drinks it like its goin gout of style) and a frame with a picture of us in it. After she ripped thru the bag in front of everyone one she LOUDLY exclaimed "Thats what you got me? When did i ever say i wanted any of that stuff??" She didnt talk to me the rest of the night. Needless to say, we arent friends any longer.

XD blondewithbangs, that is an awful story! I can't believe it! Wow.. people amaze me every day, and not in a good way...

No matter how much I don't like something I will always say thank you and I appreciate their gift. I usually never regift, and never return... but I will never wear it either, hahaha... the only time I've returned something is when someone bought me something I already have (e.g. a book) and even then I make sure to point out that clearly they know my taste so well that they got me something that I would definitely buy.

I'm starting to have a newfound appreciation for giftcards...

one of my friends is a notorious bad gift giver. Everyone grins and says thank you, i cant even imagine doing otherwise.

I wanna have a bad gift christmas party where everyone gets each other the worst, most cheesy gifts they can find! I think that would be awesomely fun and it won't be materialistic... everyone would just join the fun and it will the be the thought that counts

oh hahah i say what i don't think. I am one of those polite people that are honest but I just can't hurt my friends feelings when it comes to gifting. I would think my friends know me very well and they know what I like but sometimes I am expecting something else, something that I am actually looking forward to and I end up getting sumting else so I just say aw thats awesome I like it!!

I'd never tell someone I hate their gift...I just couldn't. Even when it's my mom or dad, I don't feel comfortable just blurting out that I don't like it.

From my mom, I would tell her, or a close family member.
From my sister, no. She would kill me.
She got me used Melmac dishes from the 60s for Christmas.
That are ugly.
I have four sets of dishes.
She hasn't talked to me for real in like a year and a half.
And she has a good amount of money, like owns a lot of designer clothes, a lot of nice things, a big house, and what not.
I just say I love the dishes and how cute they are.

I generally don't say anything...I'm with most of the people here, I don't want to come across as ungrateful because really, we don't know how much time someone spent on that gift. For example, this year, I received many books at Christmas (I'm a voracious reader) and one book, I have no idea why it was gifted to me. I know the person put a LOT of thought into it (it was personalized, etc) but I'm really confused as to why it was selected for me. I'm going to read it of course, I always give gifts a chance. The only time I don't give gifts a chance are if they are something unwearable (think really cheesy scarves that don't match and you wouldn't be caught dead wearing) or something that would annoy you (a fragrance you don't jive with). If I'm given a gift receipt and I'm not that close to the person, I will exchange it (they gave me the option by giving the receipt to begin with!). But if I'm close to the person, I just keep the gift and look at it once in a while.

I always give my friends the gift receipts, because I'd rather they get something they like. In addition, sometimes I don't want them to open the gifts in front of me so they don't have to fake liking it if they really don't! But I try to pay attention to what they say, and stick to the goodies I know they'll like.

I am with those that think telling someone you dont like their gift is rude and very ungracious. Ive received some horrid gifts but I always am polite and say thank-you, like my parents taught me to. The thing is, the person thought of you and got you something regardless of whether you like it or not. Just suck it up and put it on ebay if you hate it! I would never say I hated something to anyone, least of all my closest friends or family because they are the ones who probably put the most thought into it. I'd be so hurt if my friends told me they hated something that I spent time getting for them. If YOU as the gift giver truly wants to know, give them a receipt and let the receiver return it on their own.

Poster of a girl: Actually there is a bad gift giving thing- I THINK it is called White Elephant (or is it Yankee swap)?
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-white-elephant-gift-exchange.htm
Also on www.secretsanta.com you can organize a white elephant gift exchange!

I always say thank you no matter how i feel about it, and appreciate the fact that they thought enough of me to buy me a gift in the first place......