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A brother and sister’s holiday wish this year is to decline the usual gift of cookies from a family friend, but they struggle to tell her to stop without being a grinner.
According to one “Am I the A——?‘ post on Reddit, the sister, who along with her brother identified herself as in her thirties, wrote that Emily, a friend of one of their parents, was like a second mother to them during their childhood. The siblings live together and their parents are deceased.
“Emily has sent us cookies as Christmas gifts for the past few years, though,” the sister said. “And these aren’t homemade cookies, these are cookies from a catalog that, quite frankly, taste like cardboard. And as a result, we don’t eat them and they decay to the point where they are no longer edible because they are so old.”
Against the idea of wasting food while people go hungry, the sister said she tried to donate the cookies immediately, but the siblings’ schedules make it difficult to do that due to personal commitments and stores closing early for the holidays.
“As a result, my brother and I came to the conclusion, we have to tell Emily that while we appreciate the thought and all that, we don’t want any more of these cookies for Christmas, especially since we don’t eat them,” the sister said . .
“We feel bad for Emily for spending her hard-earned money on a gift that goes to waste every year,” she continued.
The nurse also said she had talked to her therapist about her dilemma. “She told me, ‘But it’s usually the thought that counts that you might hurt her feelings if you tell her,’” the sister recalled.
The sister further clarified that she and her brother don’t want Emily to spend money on things they don’t eat. She also added that they are not asking her for another gift.
“We just don’t want the cookies anymore because they just get thrown away, they taste terrible and we can’t even find the time to donate them,” said the sister, who then asked the users of the Reddit forum for advice on what they and her brother should do.
“Keep them in your car and I’m sure you can donate them easily enough,” one commenter wrote. “This probably means a lot to her. She would probably be terribly hurt and embarrassed.”
“Can you put a price on hurting Emily’s feelings? Toss the overpriced cookies in the trash, appreciate the thought and move on,” said another user.
One commenter offered an alternative solution, writing, “Maybe let her (Emily) know that this year and in the future you are all asking for donations to food banks to help others in honor of your parents? It’s just a thought.”
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“Cookies can be crushed and used to replace graham crackers in a crust,” another commenter suggested.
“You accept her kindness and her seemingly sincere desire to maintain a bond with you and your brother. It’s not about the cookies. Be a kind recipient and accept the cookies, and call or email etc. to thank her. The cookies are not a problem,” wrote one user.
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In an update, the nurse wrote that she did not expect her post to attract so much attention.
“I will inform my brother of this information,” she wrote on the forum. “Like I said before, we literally don’t want anything, but we can at least try to find a food bank.”
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