Come on, you know that cash is the perfect gift. So how do you go about asking for it, without coming off as tacky or offending the giver and all of the questionable presents they’ve presented you with in the past?
The answer, according to etiquette experts queried by CNN, is: very carefully, or not at all. Sherri Athay, author of Present Perfect: Unforgettable Gifts for Every Occasion, offers this insight:
There really is no nice way to ask for gifts — cash or otherwise.
The best you might hope for is a prospective benefactor who asks what you want, in which case you might, if you’re comfortable, drop a hint like, “Well, you know, Grandpa, I’ve been saving for a trip to Rio.”
Jodi Newbern, author of Regifting Revival! A Guide to Reusing Gifts Graciously, advises:
Alerting potential gift-givers, especially relatives, that you “seriously don’t really need anything,” when you know full well that they will be giving you a gift, will most likely score you cash or a gift card of some sort.
In other words, here’s an instance in which it’s clearly bad to be direct. Saying “Gimme money!” is not advisable, even though the alternative—giving silly little things to people who don’t need or want them—sure seems highly inefficient and wasteful. Instead, the proper approach is to be all passive aggressive and hint and hint and hint—until givers take it upon themselves to take the hint or just ignore you and decide, “Screw it! He’s getting a sweater.”
Oh, and I don’t want anything this year. But if you refuse to accept that answer and really want to get me something: hint, hint, hint.
I guess I just came up with another suggestion for how to get cash gifts for the holidays: Blog about it. Probably not approved of by the etiquette experts, but oh well. Wouldn’t be the first time I failed to measure up, etiquette wise. For instance, using the word crappy in a headline is probably not a sign of good manners.
Read more:
‘Tis the Season of Regifting
Have Yourself a Merry Anti-Consumer Christmas