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A Gift Giving Dilemma


Whitestripe

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Pretend if you will that you and your spouse both work in an industry where holiday bonuses and gifts are rare and unexpected. Your board members present you with a $75 gift card for a local liquor store and a $50 gift card to a restaurant near your office (but not near your home) that you and a colleague often visit when the two of you are working on weekends. How do you spend your new found riches?



A...Go immediately to the liquor store and spend it all on a bottle of something that you've always wanted to try but never have because your spouse probably won't like it, and invite your colleague to dinner the next time you are both working weekends. (After all it's your gift, why should you share it? You and your colleague are already going to be eating dinner there in a few weeks anyway, so why shouldn't it be free?)



B...Go immediately to the liquor store and buy a nice bottle of wine that you and you spouse can enjoy and spend the rest on something that you've always wanted to try, but your spouse doesn't like, and invite your colleague to dinner the next time you are working weekends. (It's nice to spread the holiday spirit around a little, but you still want your special booze. As for dinner, sitters are so expensive and you and your colleague go there all the time so it isn't really a special place.)



C... Call home and ask your spouse when they can arrange a babysitter for the two of you to have dinner at said restaurant and spend the liquor store money on a bottle or two of something that you both will enjoy. (Cool! A perfect excuse for a nice night out!)



Well?


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^^^ The gift giver is the board of directors if I understand correctly.



As you already often go to the restaurant with your colleague, I would treat the spouse.


I am presuming that although you said you both work in the same industry that you do not work for the same company and your spouse did not get similar bonuses.



I would spend the liquor store money on something I wanted (champagne?) and the restaurant money on my spouse.


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Then he's shit out of luck.

Unfortunately, I'm the one shit outta luck, ;) but your collective wisdom did help restore marital harmony in Stripeland. See, *I* would have purchased something that we both like.

[sarcasm] But at least I get to enjoy the beautiful wall calendar that I got as a holiday gift from my employer. It's just like the one they sell in the bookstore for $24.99. [/sarcasm]

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Unfortunately, I'm the one shit outta luck, ;) but your collective wisdom did help restore marital harmony in Stripeland. See, *I* would have purchased something that we both like.

[sarcasm] But at least I get to enjoy the beautiful wall calendar that I got as a holiday gift from my employer. It's just like the one they sell in the bookstore for $24.99. [/sarcasm]

THE INTERNET KNOWS ALL. ;)

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Well, you didn't say anything about the restaurant being in questionable taste!



If it's a chain restaurant, and a mediocre one at that, then obviously it's not worth hiring a baby-sitter etc.



If it's a bit better than that then I would stick to my guns about taking the spouse out to dinner.



ETA


Of course, you COULD run it past the spouse, see if they are interested in travelling for an hour and hiring a baby-sitter.


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All's fair in booze and hogs.

Sorry, but no. That sentiment opens up all sorts of horrid possibilities, like mixing scotch with cranberry juice and calling it a "North Seabreeze"

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Well, you didn't say anything about the restaurant being in questionable taste!

If it's a chain restaurant, and a mediocre one at that, then obviously it's not worth hiring a baby-sitter etc.

If it's a bit better than that then I would stick to my guns about taking the spouse out to dinner.

ETA

Of course, you COULD run it past the spouse, see if they are interested in travelling for an hour and hiring a baby-sitter.

In this case, I am the spouse. ;) (The stone cold sober spouse while my other half is happily sipping some extra-peaty- newly-purchased-with-a-gift-card-single-malt-that-I-probably-will-not-care-for-although-I-am-more-than-welcome-to-try-a-dram-or-two) :p

The restaurant is not a chain at all. Plenty of people love it, but I don't particularly care for the food there. (Of course I haven't been there in 10 years and it's possible I just ordered the wrong thing twice in a row) I was not invited to dinner because he didn't think I'd want to go,even though I might have tried it again had I been asked.

In the end, it isn't a big deal, really. I just wanted an excuse to play the diva for a while, but I find that the role really doesn't suit me after all.

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