Julie-Anne recently had a birthday, and her sister-in-law, let's call her Trish, asked her if she'd like a new hairdryer as a gift. Julie-Anne said sure, that sounds fine, since she needed one, and knew Trish could quite comfortably afford a good quality one. But when the gift came, it was a super-cheap version - The sticker from the Two-Dollar-Shop was still on the box, and it had only cost Trish $20.

Now the price tag itself is neither here nor there; What bothers Julie-Anne is the quality of electrical goods you get for $20... There's a reason these things make it to the Two-Dollar-Shop....  As she expected, the hairdryer turned out to be a flimsy one; and really not much good at drying her hair. In fact the instructions even warned shamelessly that you shouldn't use the product for too long at any one time. Clearly Julie-Anne has been sucked in and wasted her money.

Now you might be wondering , what's the big deal. There are far greater problems in the world to talk about. But obviously this isn't just about a $20 hairdryer. It's also about navigating a delicate relationship.

Julie-Anne says Trish is quite prone to being over-sensitive... Historically if her opinion is questioned or her ideas rejected in some way, she gets overly hurt and offended. So Julie-Anne's worried that if she says something, her sister-in-law could take offense. She's wondering what to do.  Let's give Julie-Anne some Second Opinions.

 
DISCUSSION POINTS

• Should she accept the gift with insincere thanks, use the cheap hairdryer, and risk it blowing up in her hands while using it, or at the very least, have it die on her after a few uses?

• Should she just leave it in the back of the cupboard to take up room and collect dust?

• Or - does she avoid the waste, Confess to her sister-in-law that the quality is highly questionable, and suggest she take it back to the shop for a refund?

• Julie-Anne's been stressing about this for a week; It seems like a small thing, but in her mind there's an important principle here of being open and honest with her sister-in-law, not wasting resources, and not encouraging her to give pointless gifts that just won't be used or appreciated.

• Do you have any policies or strategies of what to do when it comes to unwanted gifts?

• If you have an over-sensitive family member, do you have some strategies of how to handle them with sensitivity, yet without walking on eggshells around them?

• Maybe you have some tips for how to avoid this 'unwanted gift' situation too.