Family member shocked by "inappropriate" gift they receive from aunt
A "confused" family member has been defended online for sending back the birthday gift they received from their aunt—at her request—after finding out that it basically came with an unexpected catch.
The original poster (OP), Reddit user snowsean1988, explained on Jan. 21 how their aunt, a dietician, shipped them a birthday present that she hoped they would "like" and repeatedly asked if it had arrived in the mail yet.
Measuring Body Fat
But when the OP eventually got their gift, they opened it and realized she'd sent them, of all things, a "smart" body weight scale.
According to the OP's post, they were "confused" as to why they were supposed to be excited by this scale, which also measured body fat and collected other data. Still, they thanked their aunt anyway, the OP noted.
They weren't exactly ready for what she said in response.
"She replied and said that I should step on the scale get all of my information AND have my wife use the scale too and send BOTH of our information from the scale to her," the OP wrote in their post, which has drawn around 280 upvotes in two days.
"She will then go over our personal information and explain to us how we measure up to people our age.
"As an athlete for many years, I can confidently say that I've never really struggled with my weight so I'm not even sure where she's coming from... I politely declined her offer the best way I could and said it's personal information that I choose to not share with anybody.
"I then explained that I'm grateful for the gift and it's really the thought that counts."
'Snarky' apology
At that point, the OP went on, their aunt "snarkily" apologized and said that if she couldn't be trusted with their information, they might as well send the scale back so it can put it to better use.
After being encouraged by their wife, the OP—who felt that their aunt didn't even want to get them a gift, but was after their personal information—did just that.
"I then sent my aunt the shipping tracking number in a text and explained that if she could refrain from giving gifts with assignments or further contingencies to where the 'gift' will ultimately need to be returned that would be great," the OP continued.
When it comes to gift-giving etiquette, a weight scale is generally a present to avoid because it could send the wrong message and rudely imply the recipient needs to gain or lose weight, according to Popsugar.
However, the OP didn't seem to mind the gift itself as much as the strings attached to it. Plenty of Redditors, with those strings in mind, could understand their refusal.
One user replied: "Your concerns were valid and you did what she asked, she then got petty. Weird enough to gift someone scales, but crosses the line asking you to send her your measurements."
A second similarly commented: "You are nicer than I am. I would have sent her 'Miss Manners' Guide to Excruciatingly Correct Behavior', or a similar book on etiquette and manners."
Off the Scale
A fellow user wrote: "Your aunt doesn't respect boundaries. I say give her all the space."
Another supporter acknowledged the aunt is a dietitian, "So she got you something that interests her. Some people are like that—they don't understand that gifts should reflect the recipient's interests.
"But wanting your biological data from the scale? That is pure lunacy and so inappropriate I don't have words for it... Send her a box of Funyuns and Snickers every year for her birthday.
"Tell her to send you her weight after she's eaten them. Because that's fun!"
In a direct message to Newsweek on Jan. 22, the OP said they were "honestly taken" aback by the response to their post and further opened up about their ongoing situation with their aunt.
"To this day my aunt is refusing all physical gift exchanges," the OP told Newsweek.
"She is now eager to have my wife and I come visit her and my uncle this year. My wife and I have agreed to not do that because if my aunt can't respect our personal boundaries about a gift she sent to me then who knows what she's do if we told her 'no' in her own house...
'I cannot change her'
"As long as I just keep distance from her and not stir up more drama about it then the better off I will be because I accept that I cannot change her."
In other gift-related drama to hit the internet of late, Newsweek just covered how a wife was slammed by readers for getting her husband a birthday present he explicitly didn't want.
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