Hi All,
At Xmas I asked my SIL what she thought her son would like as a gift, she told me and I went out and bought it. She didn't ask me at the time what my son wanted. They weren't here over Xmas then, they went on holiday. When they returned she asked, and I said maybe a gift voucher for a toy shop. Seeing as Xmas had already passed, it wasn't like he could open up the present on the day etc. She said of course, but then never got anything. Months have passed now and I don't think it's really appropriate or necessary to be exchanging Xmas gifts now at this stage. But, her son's birthday is coming up soon and I'm wondering if it's acceptable to give him the gift I had bought for Xmas? The mother knows what it is (she asked for it), however my nephew does not. It's not a toy that my son would be interested in so I'm not going to give it to him. It's too expensive to re-gift for a school party. Too much time has passed for me to return it to the shop. We are a one salary family, so money is tight. I know some people don't buy gifts if they are going to be away for Xmas, but in that case when I asked, she could have said as much to me, and I wouldn't have bought her son anything either. Could I say something like "I know we didn't end up exchanging Xmas gifts for the boys this year, but I still have X's gift there, I was going to give it for his birthday if that's ok?"