Help me politely tell someone their gift is awful

[Dollyparton3]

So..... every year my parents spend a not insignificant amount of money on a hamper. Every year the same hamper from the same company contains the same items.

For the last 3 years the hamper itself has gone straight in recycling, the food items have gone into cupboards (I removed 3 packages yesterday that were out of date).

The wine that is included is not to our taste. Hubby and I are big wine lovers and to us this stuff is a bit like flavoured vinegar. I found 4 bottles of the wine untouched yesterday, I don't even think it's the sort of thing we can regift to others in a hurry.

Here's the dilemma. I told my parents very delicately last year that although the hamper was lovely, we didn't make use of half the items throughout the year so we'd really prefer something that the whole family can enjoy this year. Hubby was there when we said it. There was a definite conversation, I also said that some of it wasn't to our taste so it had gone to waste.

Yesterday morning I got a text from the hamper company saying my hamper yet again from them will arrive tomorrow. I'm now making plans to take all the food straight to a food bank.

I'm not a material person as in expectant of gifts but I do get really frustrated with waste. Especially when someone else is spending good money on something we absolutely won't use. Any thoughts on how to approach this?

I’m struggling with the idea you don’t like sweet things. 😂

I'd have used the wine for cooking

If you wouldn't drink it, you shouldn't cook with it...

You threw away risotto rice? Good grief.

Don't they have food banks where you are?

Nobody in your house would touch an orange jelly covered in chocolate?

Just say that you don’t like the hamper.

You've tried to have that difficult conversation and they didn't listen. From now on, i'd take the hamper straight down to the local homeless charity/ other suitable charity. You could even donate it as a raffle prize for charity. At least then, it would make me feel good that its doing some good for someone!

Say thank you very much.

Why would you want to hurt your parents by telling them their gift is awful , and why keep stuff you know you aren't goung to eat , there are plenty of people who would appreciate these items , donate them

filka, each to his/her own, but I've never had a problem with using cheap wine for cooking. I'd put it in a lamb or beef stew or a ragu bolognese, both of which would be in the oven for hours (or my ancient slow cooker overnight). Always delicious, if you use the right cuts of meat and lots of herbs/spices/seasoning.

@LaMarschallin

OP are you saying you couldn't manage a risotto a few time in a year?! Or is that not to your taste either?

@LaMarschallin - except they’re NOT trying to please, are they? Because the OP has told them. They’re just taking the lazy option. A hamper is one step up from a voucher really and that’s not necessarily a bad thing; I love vouchers and hampers 🤷‍♀️

Time to be more direct with your parents.

If I had a pound for every bottle of hand cream my mother in law has bought me over the years, I'd have enough to buy myself a lovely hamper

I would check direct with the company if they can refund your parents if not yet despatched.

Jeez you sound hard work, I’m surprised they bother sending you anything. I couldn’t have the brass neck to tell someone their gift was shit. Plenty of people would appreciate it, give it to one of them

I hardly think the hamper company will be falling over themselves to give a refund on the word of a recipient who doesn't like risotto.

Don't eat chocolates or biscuits, throw away risotto rice, won't cook with the wine, pickles not to your taste. Your diet sounds very boring.
I'd use all the stuff even if it meant putting the pickles out when friends came round for cheese.

Can't answer this question without a link to the hamper, sorry.

To be fair, a boil in the bag sausage sounds gross

I doubt the wine's that awful, as pp said, cook with it or donate as raffle prizes. Give the food to a food bank. As a pp also said, you and 'Hubby' sound awful.

OP’s reasons for not wanting the hamper aren’t relevant to the company. They will have a refund policy. If it hasn’t yet been despatched, and their policy is to refund, OP could ask them not to send it and to contact the buyer, her parents, to organise a refund.

Just pass it on to an organisation that will make good use of it and forget about it. We can’t always get what we want.

Show some manners, thank them for the gift, then donate the food to a Food Bank and the wine to a neighbour.

Do you know that this year’s hamper has the same contents? Maybe they have send a different one.

If the orange jelly covered in chocolate came into our house, people would fall on it like vultures. We’ve never yet met a wine we couldn’t drink either.

Not sure about the sausages, but what’s wrong with biscuits and risotto rice?