If you were really poor, would it frustrate you to have relatives who give you expensive, but frivolous, gifts for Christmas or your birthday?

It sounds awful, I know, but it just made me want to cry when my Dad’s wife would send me some horribly expensive piece of clothing or jewelry for my birthday, when I was racking my brain, trying to figure out where to come up with $20 to get the kids a new pair of desperately needed shoes or something.

School clothes? Good luck with that. Not to mention school supplies. But hey…I have this beautiful $250 watch I got for my birthday.

Of course, I never said anything beyond, “Oh, thank you! It’s beautiful and I love it!” which was absolutely true, but it kind of made me ill.

Was I being ungrateful?

PS, Yes, I sent them gifts too. They were either handmade or picked up at a garage sale or Goodwill during the year when I happened to have a little extra money, and hoarded until gift-giving time came around.