To roll my eyes at these gifts

[Emilyaparis]

Birthday was recently and a relative bought me Star Wars oven gloves and dish clothes, as they know I love Star Wars. DPs birthday was in October and he was bought lovely t-shirts by the same relative.

Is it just me who thinks that handing someone kitchen gear as a gift is a little shitty? It's not just for the birthday girl, it's for everyone in the house 🙄

YABU. She saw something cute in a theme you love and thought of you. More thought went into this than into a nothing-says-I-don’t-know-you-like-another-candle.

@DoYouWantDecking Apparently his entire family finds me "difficult to buy presents for" the reality is that they have zero interest in me and never cared to get to know my interests.

Yabu, I think there is some thought there and fine for a “normal”birthday

I love a nice tea towel.

Beyond that, agree with pp who said a generic oven glove/ tea towel or buying you house stuff every time would be a bit of a statement, but this present is probably an attempt to be both personal and uncontroversial.

As an adult in my 40s, any birthday gift not from my DH is a bonus and not something I would expend any energy on. If you like it, keep it, if you don't, then pass it on.

I bought my brother in law a Star Wars wooden spoon last year along with a few little other bits. He is a big Star Wars fan. My rules of gifts are mainly - does it relate to their interests. Can it be used or not take up much space. I’d have been sad that he thought i hadn’t tried.

@LetHimHaveIt

I think you're being a bit unreasonable. A bit.

Ok. I'm the relative. I know you like Star Wars, for example, so that's a possibility when buying your present. There are four or five things I might think of - memorabilia is too expensive. Lego (probably) too childish. Clothing is an idea, but I'd be worried that anything I could find might be a bit 'extra' for you to actually wear in public. That leaves stationery or homeware. You're not an adolescent boy, so probably no to the former. So - homeware. Ok. You might not be particularly interested in cooking, but presumably you have a kitchen, so oven gloves/apron are a decent bet. They sort of say 'I like 'Star Wars' without declaiming 'I LIKE 'STAR WARS', I DO!

So IF that was the thought process WHY didn't OP's HUSBAND get Household shite then???

@EKGEMS that's the truth isn't it - they can't be bothered to find out what you'd like. And it is blatant sexism assuming you wouldn't want something as interesting as your male counterpart.

I'm happy to take the teatowels off your hands, DH would love those as a gift for his birthday. We have quite often got each other kitchen bits, as well as both requested and given to family (men and women). That's because it saves other random crap mounting up in the house.

With your update I think you are being unreasonable.

They were being funny, fgs. You said you don’t like kitchen gifts for women, they agreed, then found Star Wars oven gloves and thought “perfect - theme you like and playful reference to your conversation!”

You know, in a wind-you-up but still cute kind of way? Because I’m can gloves are dull but Star Wars oven gloves sound epic.

Then again, I have Millennium Falcon and Death Star ice cube moulds in my freezer, so my judgment may be skewed

OVEN gloves, not I’m can gloves, obviously

@LetHimHaveIt

I think you're being a bit unreasonable. A bit.

Ok. I'm the relative. I know you like Star Wars, for example, so that's a possibility when buying your present. There are four or five things I might think of - memorabilia is too expensive. Lego (probably) too childish. Clothing is an idea, but I'd be worried that anything I could find might be a bit 'extra' for you to actually wear in public. That leaves stationery or homeware. You're not an adolescent boy, so probably no to the former. So - homeware. Ok. You might not be particularly interested in cooking, but presumably you have a kitchen, so oven gloves/apron are a decent bet. They sort of say 'I like 'Star Wars' without declaiming 'I LIKE 'STAR WARS', I DO!

That was pretty much my exact thought process too.

Also, I find it a bit weird that a present can’t be usable by anyone else in the house. So if you get flowers do you have to lick at them in a room that only you go into, so that no one else can see them?

I did NOT know there was such a wide range of Star Wars themed kitchen merch available.

@SpiderVersed

With your update I think you are being unreasonable.

They were being funny, fgs. You said you don’t like kitchen gifts for women, they agreed, then found Star Wars oven gloves and thought “perfect - theme you like and playful reference to your conversation!”

You know, in a wind-you-up but still cute kind of way? Because I’m can gloves are dull but Star Wars oven gloves sound epic.

Then again, I have Millennium Falcon and Death Star ice cube moulds in my freezer, so my judgment may be skewed

^This