Mismatched Decor: Good Gifting Gone Bad

I love holidays like Christmas and birthdays because I get gifts. What? Okay, so I’m a little shallow – I get it. But still, you never know what kind of fabulous treasure will be behind the ornate wrapping paper.

For the most part, the gifts are benign, but, occasionally, a relative decides to thrust their design expertise upon you with a horrendous decoration. It could be a leopard print lamp or a homemade craft your 14-year-old nephew made in shop class that’s supposed to be a mighty lion, but looks like an amorphous amoeba.

The problem is none of these have any reason to be proudly displayed in your living room, but you feel obligated. They’re your family. They come over all the time, and your nephew’s going to ask where you put his lion. In small doses, this isn’t a problem. A mismatched knick-knack here and there isn’t a big deal, or a picture hidden behind a conveniently placed lamp fixes everything.

Things go south fast when Aunt Bertha decides that you’re still six and buys you a unicorn figurine EVERY holiday. These nightmare gifts add up, so what are you supposed to do? Should you simply tell her the truth and that your decor didn’t really have a place for it or do you sacrifice your design instincts for the sake of family harmony?

There is no easy answer, but if you don’t mind a little subterfuge, there are a couple of ways of having the gifts and displaying them, too. Do you have a room that you hardly ever go into? Maybe a guest bedroom that only gets used when Bertha comes by for an extended stay? Load it up with those horrid gifts. She’ll see all those unicorn figurines and smile… at least until nighttime, when they start staring at her with those beady, little equine eyes.

You can also put them in storage and bring them out when the gifter comes over. It may not be 100 percent honest, but it’s definitely an option. Bad gifts are going to happen, but always remember that it’s the thought that counts.

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