to think that people who send presents from Amazon without giftwrap are a bit stingy?

[makemineamojito]

...just a small thing, and before I'm flamed for being ungrateful for the present itself (I am EXTREMELY grateful!) I would be a bit embarrassed to do that myself. It kind of says 'I'll buy you something, but I'm not going as far as to have it wrapped so that you can open it at Christmas - but I'm happy for you to buy the wrapping and do it yourself'... People are sending me presents for my kids and asking me to wrap them when they arrive. I don't mind wrapping them but I'd feel like I'd look really stingy if I did the same thing!

Well let's see

Budget = £15

£15 gift with no wrap or £12.50 gift with wrap

No brainer, no? better gift every time.

It looks like you are outnumbered. Sis and I buy for each other and families via Amazon because we are hundreds of miles apart. It is much, much cheaper than posting gifts and much less hassle. When our parcel arrives I wrap up DD and OH's gifts. Obviously there is no point in wrapping my own because I always email a wish list to sis (she does likewise) and my gift is never a surprise anyway.

it's always been silver when we've ordered from there, maybe diferent depots?

I don't pay for giftwrap.

If its wrapped how do you know if its been damaged or if someone else has bought the same and it needs to be returned?

YABU.

I once sent about 6 or 7 gifts for my family (overseas) via amazon and paid for it all to be giftwrapped.

Bloody waste of money, never again.

yabu.

as someone else said, WHY can't amazon wrap a whole order up together?

I have ordered 6 books for one family - I am not paying 3.95x6 to wrap them - that's 23 pounds!!!!

My DC are delighted to get an amazon parcel and rip it open, just don't open the packet - or stick a star on it if you one of those people who likes to have pretty wrapping under the tree.

Amazon gift wrap is rubbish anyway, very boring and nondescript. If the present is for children, you'd probably end up doing it again!

Must say I do get a bit fed up of this version of present buying. People ask us what the kids want (exactly what they want, so we do the work on selecting presents). Then they order it on Amazon (couple of clicks), and send it to us. Then we sometimes have to go and collect it from the depot. Then we have to open and wrap and label it.

Call me unreasonable if you want, OK the giver may have paid for it, but we've done all the work.

I agree PlanetEarth. I know people have to send loads of presents and Amazon is really easy, but what did they do before Amazon came along? I still like wrapping stuff up myself and taking it down to the post office to send off...call me old-fashioned.

PlanetEarth I'm afraid I think you are being unreasonable. MIL, for instance wouldn't have a clue what to buy DD. In fact I buy the presents and she gives me the money. Result happy DD and happy granny. What is wrong with that? We don't live near either of our families and I have to say that Amazon has made getting presents to far away relatives so much easier.

I don't see why you can't either a) just wrap the box without opening it, or b) just give the present in the box it came in, without opening it or further wrapping?

when I sent presents in a box from an online store, I send a text to the parent saying "suchandsuch is coming for blahblah, please don't open it cos it's not wrapped inside"

you know, though - most independent or small er retailers would be happy to take your order, your card payment over the phoe, wrap it in gift wrapping ,put a note in the box saying who it's from and send it through the post for you.

I do it quite a lot for my customers, and they love it and recommend it to others too.

It's the personal touch that you don't get with big companies

Your DCs get a free lesson in saving the planet at the same time as a well-thought-out gift.

I was thinking this was last year's thread- it always crops up.

Just give your kids the box.

I would say the cardboard they post it in does the wrapping job. Just stick a bow on it (or let a toddler at it with some felt pens)

Nickel are you the MN with the bookstore down south?

(trying to remember)

anyway - the very academic university city I leave near now has 3 bookstores in the whole city, and two are highly specialist expensive book places. It makes me really sad to see how thoroughly Amazon mullered the chance to just wander round a book store.

Totally agree that you could just give them the box - in fact I might just do that - it's more the point that the sender asks for me to wrap the item. So they don't want the child just to get the present in a box, but they don't want to wrap it either!

my brother sent a load of giftwrapped presents from Amazon one year and it meant we didn't know which present was which and hence who should be opening them - it was just, like, a box of random unlabelled presents. I wouldn't bother.

ah now I agree with you OP, THAT is unreasonable. At the very least they should ask if you would mind terribly and offer to send you money to cover the cost of paper etc. (Which you will of course graciously decline.) If they're just assuming you will that is bloody rude.

Seth

I would just give them the present in the cardboard. The only point of wrapping paper is so that you can't see what's inside and the cardboard fulfils that function. Job done. And yes, Amazon wrapping is minging and v expensive

In which case makemineamojito I would definately give the box. If someone wants something wrapped they can do it themselves and post on.
Free delivery to them on Amazon-£1 a roll of wrapping paper (for several gifts) then they can post it off to the cherished recipient.

I have just bought a little gift for a friends 14 month old. Only wanted to spend about £10, so my two boys both chose a book each, ones they had enjoyed when they were young. Anyway, once I would have paid for giftwrap for each item, I could have bought another book! So I did and just told my friend that is what I chose to do and that opening the parcel is like unwrapping a present anyway. I hope she understood, to me it was a no-brainer.