Smaggle

It depends on who the gift-giver is and what kind of relationship you have with them I think.

Eg – with my boyfriend we usually discuss what gifts we’d like for birthdays and xmas and agree on something sometimes months beforehand.

My parents I usually do the same and sometimes I ask for money.

Other people I wouldn’t expect gifts from so whatever they give is perfect. I wouldn’t ask any friends etc for money instead of a gift. I wouldn’t even ask for a gift! It’s their prerogative whether they buy me anything

I’m in pretty much total agreement with Esz. I’d be comfortable asking for cash/vouchers from family members, but I don’t expect anything from friends.

On the flip side … I’m poor and generally can’t budget more than $30 for gifts. While a well-spent $30 can buy a thoughtful and beautifully wrapped gift, slipping a measly 30 bucks into a card will just make me feel cheap and embarrassed, so I prefer people not ask for cash gifts.

My personal opinion is that we don’t celebrate to get ‘things’, so I think that it isn’t appropriate to ASK for gifts or cash.

Yes. Always rude.

I agree! I’d feel awkward.

Oh totally! I’m a genius at making cheap presents look expensive and cash would totally give me away.

I think it depends on who the gift is potentially coming from. My parents long ago switched to cashola and we really look forward to the gift … and what we plan to buy with it.

Just saying “gimme money” would be rude, but if it’s in the context of helping you pay for something more expensive, then it works. I tell family and friends “If you need a gift idea, I’m saving for X.”
Telling folks what you’re saving for provides gift-givers with a theme – whether it be cash or a fabulously creative gift basket.
The year I was going on a cruise, family & friends gave me a gift certificate towards the airfare, on-board cruise dollars, a beach bag, a cover-up, and sunscreen.

IMHO, if you’re having a big party that goes beyond immediate family and close friends, then the only mention of gifts should be “your presence is your gift” or a suggestion to make a donation to a favorite charity.

I would never ask someone for money instead of a gift. To me, the gift is about the thought that goes into it, not the dollar value, so I actually feel really let down if someone just gives me money or a random voucher. I would, for example, much prefer someone bake me cupcakes and ice them in my favourite colour and spend a total of $4.50 on me than give me $50 inside a card. A voucher for a shop I particularly love on the other hand, is lovely, because it shows that the person knows I love that particular store. A CD voucher or similar makes me feel like they’ve put in no effort at all and couldn’t be bothered thinking about what I would actually like. This is why I never give cash or gift vouchers unless they’re specifically requested.

The tricky bit though, is when people ask me what I would like for my birthday/gift-giving-occasion, because usually what I want costs more than I’m comfortable with asking other people to spend on me. In that particular instance, I’d probably go with Barb’s line of “well, I’m saving for XYZ at the moment so if you’d like to contribute to that, that’d be cool?”

I usually wouldn’t ask for anything, except from family, so I guess asking them for cash would be fine. My brother has startlingly good taste in jewellery, so I don’t tend to give him suggestions.
The one time I did feel comfortable asking for money was my wedding – there was definitely no pressure to give anything, but for those who really wanted to, we asked for a contribution towards the honeymoon rather than an object.

I think that it might be rude to do so…

Hmmm, this is a tricky one. I personally think that it’s okay to ask for money if you are saving for something specific. For example, if you are planning a trip overseas or saving for your own apartment or wanting to buy yourself some fabulous camera equipment. This way, the person who is giving the cash can see that you are putting it towards something that you truly want. I think it’s a bit rude to ask for cash otherwise, but it really does depend on your relationship with the gift-giver.

I think it really depends on who is giving the gifts. If it is close family or friends and they ask what you want than it is okay to suggest it.

Unless you’re fifteen years old and saving for your very own copy of the Oxford English Dictionary, or a formal dress or a car or something, it’s rude, and I think a little bit greedy. I think if you have a job, you should probably save your own goddamn money and be grateful that you’re getting any presents at all.

It depends really. If it’s a parent it’s okay to ask for money or gift vouchers. I normally ask for money or gift vouchers from parents/grandparents because they never know what I like or what to get me anyway, so it saves my dissapointment when they get me something I really don’t like, and them having to look for a gift. I always ask my dad for money or gift vouchers because it’s pretty obvious he wouldn’t know what a 19 year old girl would like as a gift and I think that’s fine.
With my boyfriend on the other hand I would never ask him for money and he wouldn’t vice versa because we are sentimental people.