Advice For Dealing With A Husband Who Has Trouble Buying Gifts

It can be frustrating to be married to a man who isn’t the greatest gift giver.  You know you are going to get things that don’t work for you or you won’t enjoy.  You feel obligated to act as if you like the gift when in reality, nothing could be further from the truth.  What is a wife in this situation to do?

First of all, look for the thought behind the gift.  He remembered your birthday, anniversary or whatever the occasion is.  Many wives have husbands who forget those occasions all together and in comparison, you definitely have the advantage.  Realize that a bad gift is better than no gift at all.  To receive no gift means you were not thought of or considered.  Your husband did think of you, even if you don’t have any idea what made him think in the direction of gift giving that he thought.  Appreciating the thought behind the gift is important.

Secondly, you can almost always exchange a gift.  Tell him something that you genuinely like about the gift but why it won’t work for you.  Maybe you could say you love the color of the sweater he got you but the sizing is off.  Sometimes you can exchange it without him ever knowing.

Help him out in the future.  Maybe he is just clueless as to what to buy you which is why you end up with a stack of unfitting gifts.  He may even welcome the help.  Tell him what you would like to have from him when there is an occasion approaching that you know he will be purchasing a gift.  Ask if he would like you to make him a list.  I have even drawn pictures of things for my husband if he needed more detail.  A little bit of help goes a long way in the preventing terrible gift category.

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