Woman Says She Won't Attend Family Christmas Gathering Due to $250 White Elephant Exchange, Mom Calls Her 'Petty'
"I didn’t want to be the person who has to sit awkwardly and watch everyone else exchange expensive gifts when I couldn’t contribute," the woman writes
A woman says she plans to "sit out" a family Christmas get-together due to the white elephant gift exchange — one with a pricey limit.
In a Reddit post, the anonymous, 29-year-old woman writes that the gift exchange is an annual "highlight," but that this year, the family decided to raise the price limit to $250 per gift.
"I’m honestly a little shocked," she writes. "I get that inflation has hit, but that’s a lot of money for one gift, especially for something that’s supposed to be fun and quirky, not something super expensive or meaningful."
The woman adds that she has "a pretty tight budget this year with unexpected medical bills, and just general life expenses ... the idea of spending $250 on a gift is totally unrealistic for me."
She adds that she explained how she felt to her family and now feels as though she is "being pushed out of the tradition because of my financial situation."
Now, she adds, "if I can’t participate in the gift exchange, then I might not come at all. I didn’t want to be the person who has to sit awkwardly and watch everyone else exchange expensive gifts when I couldn’t contribute."
"Plus, I didn’t want to feel embarrassed about not meeting their expectations," she continues. "My mom thinks I’m being 'petty' and that it’s 'just one gift.' My dad says I’m overreacting and that it’s not about the price, it’s about the spirit of Christmas (which, to be fair, I do agree with, but still—$250??)."
The woman's siblings, meanwhile, say she should "just suck it up" in the spirit of togetherness.
"There’s approximately 18-25 people in my family that will be there, and we are still expected to get gifts for our family members as well. I really don’t want to make a big scene or cause drama, but at the same time, I feel like this is a massive financial burden that’s being placed on me, and I just don’t know if it’s worth it to show up and feel out of place," she adds.
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Reddit users are perplexed by the high budget for the gift, with one writing, "Sounds like this 'tradition' turned into a luxury spending competition nobody asked for."
Adds another: "Sounds like your family turned Christmas into a budget-breaking Olympics."
Read the original article on People
