I've had the opposite experience a lot: I give a fancy niche thing, and get confused looks because they don't understand its value. Then again much of my family is terrible at graciously receiving gifts!
Wait, are "confused looks" bad? I'd love to get a confusing gift.
When you go out of your way to get a special gift and the response is "thanks ... I guess", that's not really the desired outcome.
A confusing gift sounds like fun, but an unwanted gift not so much.
Culture-dependent then. I did get dozens of impractical, boring, useless gifts that were a net zero value to me (or slightly less). I've never responded "thanks ... I guess" or implied that, because it'd be super-rude.
Maybe not a full nuclear option, but a heavy offense, to be remembered for years.
Re:An ode to that “coffee friend”
by inanutshellus on Thursday October 27, 2022 @10:18AM
(#33357791)
This works great. I recall one time I gifted my wife, Marge, a bowling ball with my name on it even got the finger holes sized to my size, so she could think of me while she played.
(Ok, kidding aside, a curated gift from an expert is rad.)
When in doubt, alcohol is an easy one, provided the recipient isn't too snobby.