Now you are "grown up" what do you do when you receive cheques for birthdays etc?

[MrsFogi]

I have some lovely relations who send me cheques for my birthday. They certainly have a great deal less money than I do. Should I thank them and cash them or should I thank them and not cash them? Interested to hear views. I'm not trying to be patronising etc I just don't want to cause offense.

cash it and tell them you have bought something lovely with it (even if you have put it in your account and it has been swallowed up by your overdraft)

i take the view if someone has given me money/chq then they want me to have a gift and it would be a bit rude to not cash it

I still get excited if/when I get a cheque in my birthday cards! (I am 35.)
I would cash and if they ask say you put it towards some new shoes or similar. I think not cashing would be potentially more offensive than cashing IMO.

cash it and send a thank you card

I agree; cash it and send a thank you card.
If poss detail something nice that you 'bought with the money', or you put it towards, on the card.

I never get a cheque in the post.

Last year my Mum bought me a new disgusting hideous handbag because she didn't like the one I had bought for myself! We rarely go anywhere together so she rarely saw my bag but she moaned it was too small