Although many of us would be lying if we said we didn’t like receiving expensive gifts, it can nonetheless feel even more special when someone puts a great deal of effort and love into something they made for us.
In my case, one precious gift that fills me with fond memories was a teddy bear my grandma gave me with my name stitched into its overalls. As someone with a fairly uncommon name (especially at the time), it meant a lot to see it reflected in something I owned.
But as we’re about to see, not everyone seems to believe that it’s the thought that counts.
When Reddit user Careless_Diamond_930 laid out her case to the site’s r/A***********e community, she explained that her cousin Beth was having a baby shower for her second child.
![Image credit: Reddit | [deleted]](https://diplycom5cc47.zapwp.com/q:l/r:0/wp:1/w:1/u:https://static.diply.com/12slrXmmFTiBAAPnk5us.png)
In the interest of providing some background, she said that her first child’s shower saw Beth request a $250-$300 play pen only to give it away six months later because it wasn’t to her liking.
This is apparently part of a habit of demanding expensive things and tossing them aside if they don’t meet her specifications, even if they’re brand new and unopened.
So when Careless_Diamond_930 had a look at her cousin’s registry this time, it quickly became clear that as a college student, she wouldn’t be able to afford most of what was listed on there.
However, she also really likes to sew and figured that making a personalized baby blanket would be a sweet and thoughtful substitute.

Indeed, that seemed to be the case for Beth’s first baby shower as the child still likes carrying around his little blue blanket with puppies on it.
It’s also a popular gift for other showers she’s attended as well.
As she said, “I always make sure to get soft, high quality material to ensure it is both safe and comfortable. Everyone who received a blanket from me always praised the craftmanship and that their children still snuggle with it well into their childhood.”
However, when she made that offer to Beth this time around, she was told that she either had to pick something from the registry or get a $100 (minimum) Babies ‘R’ Us gift card.

Although the woman was planning to have her blanket match the woodland-themed nursery, Beth turned it down because “she stated that because it was homemade it looked ‘tacky’ and it made her look cheap for not having a tag attached to it.”
In response, the woman said that there was no way she would sign on to the registry and if that’s the way she felt, she could kiss the blanket goodbye as well.
Although her parents were on her side, she soon received a flood of messages from relatives calling her a bad person for not attending the shower or sending a gift.
Although commenters agreed that there was no way she should feel obligated to attend the shower after that treatment, they felt she should still make the blanket.
As they saw it, it’s not the baby’s fault that their mother reacted the way she did.
This led her to agree to make it anyway and have her mother bring it to the shower in her stead.
As for relatives blowing up her phone, they had apparently heard from Beth that our protagonist wasn’t sending a gift because “the baby didn’t deserve it.” Once she explained what really happened, it was Beth’s turn in the hot seat.
It seems pretty clear who was in the wrong here.
There are a few more details about this story to consider.
For some more background, Careless_Diamond_930 is a 26-year-old student, and her “cousin and her husband are by no means struggling with money. She works as a nurse and her husband is an Orthopedic Surgeon.”
Perhaps Beth doesn’t understand that not everyone has the same financial situation she and her husband have?
Also, Beth “has also never sent out thank you cards or texts for the gifts, just so [we] all know that she has a habit of doing these kinds of things.”
I mean, we don’t send gifts only to be praised for our efforts, but a little recognition is always appreciated!
For many of us, gift-giving is about much more than the price tag attached.

Gift-giving is also about thoughtfulness, appreciation, inside jokes, demonstrations of affection, you name it.
Sometimes we want our presents to show how much we care, and how deeply we know the person, rather than how much we can spend.
The simple truth is not everyone can afford to break the bank on each and every gift they give to everyone they know!
Even if we may not love the homemade gift we’ve received, isn’t it worth at least pretending to protect the feelings of those we love?
Has something like this ever happened to you?
What do you think about this baby shower situation? Have you ever given a gift that wasn’t received as you had hoped? Or have you had to deal with someone else’s, perhaps unrealistic, expectations?
Most of us may have dealt with something similar, so here’s a chance to share our collective experiences. Let us know your story in the comments below!
h/t: Reddit | Careless_Diamond_930
Last Updated on June 3, 2021 by Mason Joseph Zimmer