2nd Trimester

WWYD? Possibly turning down a baby gift?

My SIL has offered to have someone paint a mural in the baby?s nursery. At first, I thought it would be really neat, but DH said nothing, which means he?s not wild about the idea at all! Then she told us about how much she charges ? about $300! ? and I started thinking, that could buy all kinds of baby stuff we actually NEED (I know DH would agree - he's a practical gift type of person). Especially in our situation, since I got laid off a few months ago and money is a bit tight. DH and I haven?t had a chance to talk about it, but I?m sure he?s also thinking about later on whenever we decide to repaint the nursery, how much of a pain it?ll be to make sure the paint marks from the mural don?t show through. (He made that same comment when I put stencils in my study.)

Would you turn down this gift, considering our situation? If so, then how would you tell her ? without hurting her feelings?

(Besides, if I really wanted a mural or something, my sister is an artist and she?d do one for free.)

Thanks....

Re: WWYD? Possibly turning down a baby gift?

  • I would turn it down..especially when I consider gifts free...
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  • Just say "thanks, it's a beautiful idea, but we're trying to keep the wall toned down so the room can grow with DC's tastes as he/she grow up."    It's a legit reason, because a mural (however beautiful and awesome it may be), may not be the baby's fav. thing when they are 4 or 5.
  • I would let her know that you weren't planning on doing anything that major to the room considering when the child is old enough to even realize it's there they may want to repaint.  At least you're being honest and not trying to hurt her feelings.
  • Wait- is she charging you $300, or just wanted you to know the value of her gift?

    I would accept it.  Primer is a wonderful thing for covering stuff.  Or, if we had someone to do a mural, we would probably put up a layer of white wall paper and let her paint that.  I think it's an awesome gift!

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  • Talk to your sister about it, and then tell SIL that your sister offered to paint a mural for free at some point. That way SIL will get the idea that you don't want the mural gift and that you don't want her to spend money on something you can get for free.

     

  • imageSirenella4:

    (Besides, if I really wanted a mural or something, my sister is an artist and she?d do one for free.)

    Thanks....

    I would just tell her this.  That way you're not "turning it down". Just saw your sister already offered to do one if you choose to. 

  • Doesn't sound like a gift if she expects you to pay for it.  Sounds like she wants you to buy something from her. I would tell her no!
  • i personally don't like murals so i wouldn't like that gift as well~ that's a tough call because it's a gift and you don't wanna hurt ur SIL's feelings but at the same time, it's a wall in your home and if you don't want it there, then it will be a constant reminder of how much u don't want it there...

    i would graciously decline~ just explain to her that it's a really expensive gift that you wouldn't spend your money on so you dont want her to go out of her way to spend money on it for you~ and let her know that you weren't goin for a mural in the nursery because of how specific it is (and the fact that it will be hard to paint over later after the baby outgrows the nursery in a couple years)... and thank her for the kind gesture though of course

  • imageSafetyWife07:
    Doesn't sound like a gift if she expects you to pay for it.  Sounds like she wants you to buy something from her. I would tell her no!

    this is what i immediately thought but after re-reading a couple times, i think the poster meant that $300 is what her SIL is paying for someone to come out and paint the mural for them... so it would be a gift~ not something that poster would have pay for...

    i thought then same at first! i was like noo way haha

  • It is a unique gift offer so be sure to thank her for it! ?If it is something that you'd like to consider but are worried about the walls, I have seen one done on the closet doors (depends on your closet doors obviously) but it looked pretty cool and a door is super easy to replace. ?
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    I would definitely turn it down.

    If it's your H sister, have him tell her thank you for the offer but we're trying to focus on more practical gifts because money is a bit tight for us.

     

  • imagecedens:

    imageSafetyWife07:
    Doesn't sound like a gift if she expects you to pay for it.  Sounds like she wants you to buy something from her. I would tell her no!

    this is what i immediately thought but after re-reading a couple times, i think the poster meant that $300 is what her SIL is paying for someone to come out and paint the mural for them... so it would be a gift~ not something that poster would have pay for...

    i thought then same at first! i was like noo way haha

    LOL Sorry if I wasn't clear! Guess I should have worded that the artist would charge my SIL $300. Heck, if I had to pay for it, definitely no way! I was trying to say that I would rather my SIL spend that kind of money on baby stuff/gear we'll need.
  • THANKS SO MUCH for your responses! I was really worried that I was not being a very gracious gift recipient. Though I still hate to hurt her feelings, considering the generosity of the gift (I had no idea she'd be willing to spend so much on the baby!), I feel better about us asking for things we'll need instead. And since it's DH's sister, I'll let him tell her!

    Thanks again ladies!

  • Turn it down. Just be honest, then divert:  "Such a neat idea, we hadn't thought of that before you mentioned it. Unfortunately at this point our budget just doesn't allow for it, but thank you for the offer!  By the way, how did you get started doing murals?....." or something else to divert so it doesn't become a big deal.
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