by Grandparents across the country have plans to start their Christmas shopping the day after the grandkids return to school. It is an annual rite of passage. And with it come a bevy of gifts that seem completely practical to grandma and grandpa yet are despised by the grandkids.
It is not that grandparents give terrible gifts. It’s just that they give practical gifts. And no kid with an ounce of consciousness wants to get something practical. After all, they are going to get the practical stuff one way or another. When it comes to gifts, they want things they would not get otherwise.
In the spirit of the pending holiday shopping season, which is now (at the time of writing) just a few weeks away for you early birds, here are five gifts that grandparents love but the grandkids hate:
1. Underwear
A universal complaint heard around the world is the stupidity of getting underwear as a gift. Of all the practical gifts grandma and grandpa could give, underwear is by far the most practical. It is fundamental to human life. As such, it’s anathema as a gift.
Most kids would rather die than get underwear for Christmas or a birthday. Mom and dad buy the underwear. It’s what they do. So why are grandma and grandpa spending good gift money on T-shirts and briefs? It boggles the mind.
2. Galoshes
Kids who live in areas where winter gets messy are often forced to wear galoshes. Maybe you call them overshoes or shoe covers. Either way, they represent another gift kids don’t want from their grandparents. Galoshes are just as utilitarian as underwear. They are also ugly.
GC Tech, a Salt Lake City company that makes waterproof overshoes for men, says that galoshes come in different styles and material choices. Some are made of rubber and look more like fisherman’s boots than anything else. Others are thin pieces of silicone barely big enough to cover up to the ankle. Either way, kids don’t want to receive them as gifts.
3. Anything School Related
If you are a grandparent looking for gift ideas for the kids, don’t even think about school supplies. Kids are desperate in their attempts to keep school separate from the rest of life. The last thing they want is to rip open a present only to find a slide ruler and a yellow legal pad.
Two exceptions might be the laptop and tablet intended for schoolwork. The grandkids won’t be excited about the school side of things, but they are smart enough to know that they can use new electronic devices to do a lot more than just their homework.
4. Sweaters
Getting back to clothing, grandparents love to give sweaters. Why? Because they love sweaters themselves. A sweater represents warmth. It represents a comfortable contentment that can be only achieved with a sweater, a blanket, and a cup of hot cocoa. It’s too bad the grandkids don’t think the same way. To them, a sweater is something you wear when mom is cold.
5. Family Collectibles
Finally, some grandparents choose to pass down their collections to their grandkids as gifts. Unfortunately, many a heart has been broken by the realization that the grandkids don’t share the same interests. In fact, the grandkids either don’t want collectibles or want them only so that they can turn around and sell them. Not cool to grandma or grandpa.
Let’s face it, there are distinct generational differences when it comes to what makes a good gift. Hopefully this post will keep at least a few grandparents from making terrible gift-giving mistakes.
