Dear Queenie,
Now that our children are grown up and out on their own my wife and I are moving into a smaller home. We have everything we need – clothes, furniture, etc. – and don’t need more stuff, and when people give us things we don’t need we donate them to charities.
Queenie, how do we explain to everyone that we would rather get a gift certificate to a restaurant or tickets to some event?—Fed-up new-home owner
Dear Homeowner,
Tell people what you have told me – that you have everything you need – and if they are planning to give you a gift and ask what you would want, tell them what you would like to receive or ask them to make a donation to a charity in your name. And if they still give you something you do not want, thank them for it and then donate it yourself.
