Quick Cooking (Quickly Discarded)

[madbaker]

My wife's grandmother means well, I am sure. The last few Xmases she has bought us magazine subscriptions.

To such periodicals as "Country Life - for people who enjoy the rural life" (we live in urban San Francisco); "Country Crafts" (for people who make popsicle sticks-and-yarn ornaments); and this year, "Quick Cooking".

"Hey," I thought. "This one might not be an insta-throwaway."

Then we opened it.

Standard ingredients include: processed American cheese; non-dairy whipped dessert topping; canned cream-style corn; and for those adventurous types, garlic powder and onion powder. (Not all in the same recipes.)

I'm... vaguely appalled.

How do we discreetly tell her that we would rather have her donate money to Habitat for Humanity or something similar? Unfortunately, I think she buys these subscriptions from her church - which means that the chance of changing her mind is low.

Comments

[farmount.livejournal.com]

Perhaps you should say, "Thank you for the lovely magazines, but right now we're so busy we don't have time to read and appreciate them as much as we would like to. Perhaps you could make a donation to a charitable organization in our name instead so we can help a worthy cause?"

She may still give the church the money then, but you won't have to deal with the guilt of dead trees being wasted on recipes for Velveeta.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Wow, that's a great diplomatic answer. One would think you'd had practice with relatives who don't share your values or something. 8)

Plattitudes

[fionnbharro.livejournal.com]

"She means well"

"It's the thought that counts"

"By accepting the gift, one honors the giver"


My own thoughts: Accept them with joy for what they are -- a means of showing her love for the two of you.



*Blearf!* I can't believe I actually wrote that. To an adult, I mean. (Can you tell I'm working on my lesson plan for the 2nd graders at my church?)

Call her. Let her know how enriched your lives are through her presence and love. Then she can kick-off as a happy camper.

[loup_noir]

Say thanks and then open up the magazine again. Look in the tiny print section in the front and find the subscription information. If they have phone number, you can use that to contact them; if not, use the snailmail address. Write them a very nice letter, asking them to please either discontinue the subscription or send it to a (pick one) battered women's shelter, homeless shelter, county jail or whatever. I've done that with "Reader's Digest" when my mother felt compelled to give us that insipid magazine as a present.

[madbaker.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I will do that. What a great idea!

[cvirtue.livejournal.com]

Recommended reading: The Gallery of Regrettable Food.

You could bring any issues you get to the local hospital waiting room, after handing them around at parties for laughs.

[wyterayven.livejournal.com]

Great answers you have gotten. I especially like the donating the subscription idea.

My Grandmother and I dont get along too well. I have never met a more rigidly religious person in my life. She usually sends me a subscription to National Geographic. Cool. I like NG. But then she follows it up with a card that tells me how miserable she is. She has been waiting to die for more than 20 years.

I really wish we could pick our relatives.

[maestrateresa.livejournal.com]

'Nother thought, if you can figure out how to word it (my brain just isn't in that place right now): sometimes those church-subscription things will allow you to append "another year" onto someone's extant subscribtion...that might be useful to you if you actually *have* any subscriptions, and if any of those are on the list (often they are....the lists are pretty darn long, speaks the victim/unwilling promulgator of *way* too many school-fundraising drives)