My husband’s cousin’s daughter, McKenzie, turned 16 this past week on Wednesday or Thursday, I believe, and since I am short on cash (as per usual) but had plentiful amounts of yarn, I opted to make her something.
A week or so previous to deciding to make her something, I had found Rolling in the Deep, which is an infinity scarf pattern that I fell in love with immediately. I showed it to my mother-in-law to see if she thought that McKenzie would like it and assured me that she would, so I asked her to figure out McKenzie’s favorite colors, and when she figured that out for me, I set off in a frenzy to make the scarf, hoping that I would finish quickly so I could move on to making more to (eventually) sell.
When I finished it, everyone loved it, Dain, his dad, his mom, and most importantly, I loved it. I don’t typically like what I make by the time I’m done with it because I’m sick of staring at it. I had a lot of confidence wrapping this one up to be gifted, figuring she would love it.
Yesterday was her party, so after working on the gift that my mother-in-law was giving her (tying and sewing together a quilt), we packed up in the car and went to the local Godfather’s to have pizza, cake, and watch her open her presents. Everyone ate their food and cake while the adults conversed with one another, took turns holding a baby, paid attention to her cute little nephew TJ, and then watched a slideshow and video that McKenzie’s brother put together for her, which was tear inducing and very sweet. After that, we all insisted that she open up presents, we adults were getting impatient, not to mention we were suppose to be out of Godfather’s party room at 7, and it was, at that point, 7:15.
So she started into her presents, she asked which one she should open first, and my husband handed her the one that I made for her, to my horror (there were other gifts! Mind didn’t need to be opened first). She opened the card that I had Dain write up for her, it was just a cheeky, stupid poem that I had Dain come up with in a pinch, which got a laugh – so far, so good! Then she tore into the gift, to find this:
And she just went “Oh.” and put it around her like a sash. So I got her attention and let her know that it was an infinity scarf, to which she said “I’m going to wear it like this, because I don’t care.”
My heart crumbled to a million pieces. She didn’t say she liked the color, she didn’t think it was pretty, nothing, just “oh.”
Now, logically, I realize she’s 16, and teenagers have that kind of attitude, and in retrospect, she had about that same reaction to all her gifts, except for gifts of money, but I can’t help but still feel crushed. I put a lot of time and effort into things that I make, and maybe once she got home and was away from all of her friends, she actually appreciated it more, but I feel very doubtful about that.
It’s reactions like hers that make me not want to make people things as gifts. I don’t usually get that reaction, but it’s always just as soul crushing when it does.
How do the rest of you deal with getting a less-than satisfied reaction to something that you made as a gift?
Boomstick Creations 