How to Turn Down a Gift For Your Child

They can also be a bad thing, for various reasons. What do you do when someone you know gives a bad gift to your child?

The first thing you will want to do is immediately thank them for the gift. This will immediately help keep any negative feelings at bay when you do turn down the gift. Smile and say in a courteous voice, “we are delighted for your gift, but we feel it is inappropriate for our child.”

The second thing you will want to do is to do this discreetly. Don’t turn down the gift in front of your circle of friends. This will just embarrass and humiliate the person you are refusing the gift to. Take them into another room or aside once the party has died down or it is over.

The third thing to do is to explain why you are not accepting the gift. If the gift goes against you and your spouse’s personal beliefs, than let them know that. Explain what you don’t like about it. If you think it is age inappropriate, than tell them.  Make sure to always explain why you are returning the gift. Don’t let the person stand there and have to ask the question why. It’s not fair to them and it’s rude on your part.

For the people, who refuse to take the gift back there are some options you can do. First tell them politely, “ok, thank you for the thought.” Don’t try to force their gift back on them. That will end up in arguing and is sure to end badly. The first option you can do when accepting a gift you don’t want your child to have is, to find out where they purchased the gift. Take the gift to the store and return it. You can then purchase a more suitable toy. Another option is to donate it to charity. This way both parties win. You will be doing well for your community and the other person can have the satisfaction knowing that the toy they bought will one day be of use to someone.

Another option you could do is to keep the toy, but store it somewhere. If you don’t think it is age appropriate than store it for when they can use it. If you just don’t plain like the toy, storage is always an option. At a later date you can sell it in a garage sale.

Always try to think of ways to put the guest’s gift to use. Never automatically give a gift back without giving it some thought. This will save you a future argument.