Tubs of chocolate & toiletries gift sets - show no thought

[notedbiscuits]

Now shops have aisles full of gift sets - mainly toiletries. Plus tubs of chocolates

To me, they make me think they are bought by people who give no thought. Plus some gift sets are more expensive than buying them separately. Take Dove, 2 bottles of shower gel and a body puff thing. Cost in shop £6. Go to a shop and can buy the bottles for £1.50 and body puff thing is 75p-£1 (though doesn't have the Dove tag on it) You are paying £2 for a box! Card Factory do sell gift bags for that size for about 75p. For me also, there are things in gift sets which I don't use such as bubble bath and bath salts - have shower. Last week I had a clear out of the cupboard which has medications, toiletries etc and put some of these into food banks and the posher brands, to those charity shops that do sell (unused) toiletries.

Those tubs of chocolate, which get smaller each year, There's always one chocolate families don't eat. Quality Street- toffee finger and penny - due to fillings, Heroes - Eclairs (they cheapen it by adding Eclairs) again due to fillings.

Remember being behind a woman buying 50 odd tubs of the same chocolate. Said to the cashier "Oh that's my Christmas present shopping done in one shop". Glad I am not related/friends with her. As she would give each member a tub.

If you have no idea what to buy someone, don't buy anything. My family have not sent each other Xmas presents for many years. Why waste time, money and stress?

Do you mean that if I was close enough to them I would just instinctively know what they want? This may be the case for my partner, but not for old school friends, work colleagues (secret santa) or siblings that I don't see often. I may not be close to them but I still need to give them gifts at Christmases or birthdays.

I agree, @JaninaDuszejko - this is why I give a lot of edible gifts - posh jam or biscuits from somewhere like Fortnum and Mason, or a hamper of nice things.

Oh - and for the toffee penny haters - I love them - please send them to me, and I will give them a good home, I promise! 😁

I like gifts that I'll use and will disappear. Prefer flowers or wine or booze over chocolates and toiletries, but all so much better than endless books, scarves, scented candles etc.

these sneery threads appear ever year.

Many people find buying presents stressful.
For various reasons, they want to give something.
These gifts show as much “thought” as anything else.
I personally would be happy to receive them, as I would anything else given to me.

I love getting these gift sets for Christmas. Saves me buying any for a while.

I never turn down chocolate either.

To be honest, I am grateful for any gift I receive. People have spent their hard earned money on it regardless.

Totally agree. Consumable / usable gifts all the way

I don't mind gift sets with shower gel and hand soap because I can always use those.

But body lotion and hand cream are a waste of time. I use a tiny tube a year, if that.

Personally I am quite happy to get chocolates or wine as presents - I can either eat/drink myself or if it's a wine I don't like, I can regift it or give it to the school fayre.

Poor Aunty 😢, can he not make an effort to see her?

Oh - and for the toffee penny haters - I love them - please send them to me, and I will give them a good home, I promise! 😁

Me too!

Agree.

Give me chocolate anytime.

Do you need to be close to someone to buy them a present?

I have a relative in a simmilar profession (who is vegan/teatotal).... Christmas day there contrubution to the meal is all the wine &chocs for everyone else!

Last Christmas my DP received one of those lynx body wash sets as his present from his dad and his wife. Would have been nice of them to warn us before we’d spent our usual £100 🫠

Feel like I need to add they are very well off. I think it was more of a punishment for us not complying with their Christmas plans.

I’d honestly rather the gift giver saved their money than buy me a toiletry set. I have eczema and can’t use most products so just give them away.

Not just you. I like the gift sets too. Means I don't have to budget for toiletries for a while.

I will gladly accept a Lynx or Dove set over the charity shop stickered chipped glass bunny family ornaments that I was given. I've had to keep them to put in the glass cabinet when the gifter turns up.

I love getting consumables now I’m a certain age. I would rather have something slightly nicer than I buy myself, which tbf, dove is as I get Aldi own brand shower gel usually. I’m very happy with jam, shortbread, shower gel etc. I don’t want more “stuff”. I don’t think tubs of roses etc are the best but they do get eaten and it’s nice to have in for guests over Christmas. Loads of those tubs of chocolates end up in peoples work places and are perfectly fine. If you are getting someone a tub of celebrations or a toiletry gift set then you are likely spending under £6/7 and it’s a token gift to someone rather than something that is supposed to be meaningful and treasured.

Yeah, a big tub or a box of Ferreros is often given to all staff by my former CEO as a little gesture to wish us and our family a happy Christmas. Most don’t bother gifting to employees of course unless they directly line manage them so it’s a nice surprise. It used to mark the start of the Christmas holidays for me when I received one.

I have three new unread Christmas gift books and drawers full of candles…all I want is edibles…chocolates preferably. I hate buying presents for adults..everyone likes different things

If you would buy this gift, I think better to shorten your gift list. It is senseless to buy unnecessary tat for the sake of it. Not to mention the expense, and where does it stop? Make an agreement with family and friends well in advance of Christmas and then stick to it.

I love a toiletries gift set - fancy or bog standard. I actively ask for them for my birthday and Christmas! Also never going to complain about chocolate. Everyone’s different 🤷‍♀️

I don't get many gifts so I'd gladly have a gift, I don't see how it's unthoughtful, more like ungrateful.

I think it's not necessarily no thought, but no ideas. And sometimes that's fine. I always get some sort of gift box/set (either chocolate, or bath stuff and moisturiser etc) from BIL (DH's brother).
He doesn't live near us, I don't know him that well because we only see him once or twice a year due to the distance. I'd have no idea what to get him but thankfully DH takes care of that. So I don't blame him for going for a generic gift set thing type for me.

I understood what these gift sets were about when I was invited to a relatively new boyfriend’s house for Christmas one year in my youth - and was astonished to find that every friend, neighbour, acquaintance, second cousin, the dog groomer, etc within easy driving distance turned up in person on Boxing Day to wish the family a merry Christmas, bearing little beautifully wrapped Boots gift set presents for everyone, including me.

I’d never heard of any of these people and was mortified to receive a bounty of shower gels and tinted lip balms from a parade of strangers, for whom I’d not known to buy anything in return. Boyfriend’s mum had a stack of wrapped chocolate / body wash type presents ready to give everyone who arrived.

I guess if you need to buy presents for everyone you vaguely know in a ten mile radius I can see how the gift sets are a budget friendly and easily regiftable way to keep with festive tradition.

I would prefer something consumable rather that stuff I have to have hang onto forever.

And, don't buy me anything for my many craft hobbies, I only buy quality stuff not the cheap crap Amazon sells! I'm a £20 a ball of merino yarn person, not 10 balls for £10 of nasty acrylic crap!

I love a gift set of toiletries or a scented candle.