Two Day Magazine

Dear Natalie,

My boyfriend spent a lot of money on a pair of diamond earrings for me this year for Christmas but I hate them. They are really ugly and look like old lady earrings. I know he was so proud of getting me them but they seriously are not my style. I told him that I loved them, but I don’t. Is there anyway of me returning them without upsetting him? I know I sound like a brat, but they are just ugly.

---Bad Gift

Dear Bad Gift,

I don’t know how bad it could be, they are diamond earrings, after all! And the fact that he seems so proud of them and so glad to get them for you makes it even worse because you don’t want to crush his heart (which could mean no diamonds in the future!) so here are a few options to deal with this situation:

• Just wear them and deal with it. Honestly, if you don’t love them, don’t wear them unless you are going out with him. Then he can see you wearing them and he will feel good, but then you don’t have to feel as though you need to wear them all the time. Not the best solution, but at least this way you won’t be hurting his feelings.
• Tell a little white lie. Explain to him that your ears hurt for some reason when you wear them or that they are really uncomfortable and that you would like to exchange them. I don’t know how good of an actress you are, but this could work if you play it right. Then, you can exchange them for something you really like. Unless, of course, there is a no-exchange policy, this could backfire!
• There really is no easy way out of this one. If you tell him the truth (always an option) and that you don’t like the earrings, he may be really hurt by that and also it may make him shy about buying jewelry in the future. However, if you don’t say anything, you run the risk of never getting what you want.

Whatever you decide to do, drop hints for next year’s gift by pointing out styles and ideas of what you want in the future so he has something to work with. But remember, at the end of the day, it was incredibly generous, thoughtful and sweet of him to get you a pair of diamond earrings and the gift clearly came from his heart. Be thankful that you have a man in your life willing to go the extra mile for you.

Now that’s a gift you would never want to return!

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