A goat!! Aibu?

[Afrigginggoat]

My kids are 19,17 and 13. A close family member usually gives them £10 each or a book gift card for Christmas, sometimes a little gift. They buy for us too. This year they bought presents for dh and I and envelopes for the kids.

When opened they contained a sponsored goat, mosquito nets and a toilet.

Aibu to think you do this for adults who don't need gifts not for younger people who appreciate a bit of a gift? FWIW my kids have active social consciences and were actually very nice about it, they don't mind. But I mind. The relative has plenty of money and time but has a reputation for being selfish and I feel this year he's taken it out on my kids, he couldn't be bothered so he gave them a frigging goat!
Aibu?

Yes. And the close family member probably knows you very well.

YABU I am sure they got enough and it’s a nice thing to do. Maybe it will remind them to be less materialistic than you are.

I think that’s a great gift.

The relative has plenty of money and time but has a reputation for being selfish and I feel this year he's taken it out on my kids, he couldn't be bothered so he gave them a frigging goat!

Well arranging the goat would have been more effort than just sticking a tenner in a card.

They didn’t have to give you anything.
Sit with your dc and research the difference the goat etc will make to someone somewhere. And feel good about it.

Wow. OP YABU. This is a windup, right?
I don't think the family member is being the selfish one here.

The goats have notoriously been a problem as they eat everything and it supposes that a family can afford to keep the goat. Mozzy nets and toilets are good though. I got a one for sponsoring school meals when I was younger and I was very pleased.

The sponsored toilet is £60 (I bought one for my mum!) So they've spent a lot more than their usual tenner which is nice. And I'm sure the kids wont really miss the usual gift (£10 is not a huge amount to most teenagers really) but this time at least they've got a talking point and to teens with a social conscious it's a nice gift.

I think yanbu
He should have asked for all his gifts to go to charity. I hate this virtue signaling with somebody elses present

Yabu they made an effort and I think it's a nice gift. Your DC wouldn't have bought much with £10 anyway.

Ummmmm......... maybe your kids are less materialistic than you? If they don’t mind simply embrace it. It’s an awesome gift.

Sit with your dc and research the difference the goat etc will make to someone somewhere

Ah bless, you actually think a family somewhere will be getting a goat, rather than the money going to the charity's multi million pound wages bill.

Lol.

Your family member is a good person. I hope this rubs off on your children.

I agree with @SentimentalKiller

You sound very grabby tbh.

The kids have got social consciences.
They don’t mind
The relative knows them well (so it would appear if the points above are true)

I don’t see the problem.

YANBU

If people want to sponsor goats, donkeys or anything else they're perfectly free to do so.

But giving it as a 'gift' is virtue signalling imo and letting everyone know you've done something for charidee.

Just get on with it quietly.

The kids appreciated the gift. They got the thinking behind this fantastic gift. This are life changing gifts and have clearly thought about what is and is not important. This is their planet and their future. Be happy that they appreciate what they have

YABVU. It's definitely not 'not bothering' because that takes as much effort to organise as any other gift. Maybe he, like most of the western world, realises that we all have too much stuff, like your kids, and chose to do something better for Christmas this year, on their behalf. It's not like he did it for a three year old. They're more than old enough to understand.

You got a problem with me?

@CoffeeCoinnesseur

How sure are you? I remember one charity in Ireland that sends animals
www.bothar.ie/

I'm sure they are genuine and the families do receive the animals.

I don't see it as virtue signalling (although as I've said I bought a toilet for my mum), I think it's a good gift for someone who you don't know what to buy for but know they like to support a cause. Which sounds like the OPs kids from the small amount she's said.

To be honest I have seen :

"Oh OP get them a bloody charity goat this year"

So many times on here

As a suggestion to posters who have previously :

Really struggled to buy for people who seem to have everything massively materialistic

People who haven't shown much gratitude previously, or thrown some passive aggressive "oh? MORE Thorntons?! ANOTHER Candle!" in with their thanks

People who find a massive disparity between gifts given and received in terms of either thought or value or a mix

As a gift that kind of cuts through all that

If you Advanced Search "Charity Goat" on here you'll find loads of posts that basically say to do that in those circumstances

Your relative may be a MNer

YANBU

If your teens have active social consciences then surely they'll be delighted with this? Aside from whether anyone gets an actual goat or not, they'll know about reducing waste/consumption etc?
My older DC's have developed a keen interest in social and environmental policies over the past couple of years, particularly in light of Brexit and the climate emergency, and therefore they've taken on board that this year's gifts have reflected that.
No goats have been received here and, to be honest, I don't even know what that involves, so I accept I might be missing the point here.