Passez à l'illimité avec Magzter GOLD
Obtenez un accès illimité à plus de 9 000 magazines, journaux et articles Premium pour seulement
Received an unwanted gift? Here's your guide to how to respond
The Guardian Weekly
|December 19, 2025
To paraphrase George Michael, last Christmas my friend gave her sister-in-law a book.
The sister-in-law opened it, immediately said, "Oh I've already got this," and handed it back. If you just winced, you are correct.
Common decency dictates that you gratefully receive a jumper, making multiple exclamations of how thrilled you are, even if you're wearing an identical one as you open it. The very next day, you give it away. That's how it works, and why charity shops are inundated in December and January.
This is the season of goodwill, not honesty - white lies are so festively appropriate, they're the colour of snow.
Ho-ho-hope you kept the receipt, said no one ever.
Cette histoire est tirée de l'édition December 19, 2025 de The Guardian Weekly.
Abonnez-vous à Magzter GOLD pour accéder à des milliers d'histoires premium sélectionnées et à plus de 9 000 magazines et journaux.
Déjà abonné ? Se connecter
PLUS D'HISTOIRES DE The Guardian Weekly
The Guardian Weekly
The Guardian Weekly team's small-screen picks of the year, from nature's wonder to a trip to 1970s Belfast
The final season of Jack Rooke's coming out dramedy Big Boys (Channel 4/Netflix/Apple) was as funny and filthy as its two predecessors.
4 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
THE YEAR THAT WAS
How closely were you paying attention to the news in 2025? The answers to these questions all appeared in the Guardian Weekly - see how many you can recall
2 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
COUNTRY DIARY
It has become an annual ritual, the cutting of branches from this shapely holly for a winter wreath.
1 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
PAINT IT ORANGE HOW A CHARITY TURNED ANGER INTO COMMUNITY PRIDE
Dashing through the snow with Father Chris... It does not get any more seasonal, even if it feels like there might be a final syllable missing.
2 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
EVERDAY HEROES
From a woman speaking out against state violence to a journalist killed in Gaza, here are some of the brave people who made a real difference in 2025
10 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
A Trumpian Kennedy Center is warning to all cultural institutions
Into the pale stone wall of the Kennedy Center, above its elegant terrace on the edge of the Potomac River, are carved bold and idealistic sentiments.
3 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
THE INTERREGNUM
Confronted with the 'mobster diplomacy' of Donald Trump, the world finds itself in a transitional moment as the rules-based global order, its institutions and value system face a crisis of credibility and legitimacy
12 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
Albums
From unspooling love to decadent fun, our critics' picks of the year's finest LPs
10 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
A PARIS SPRINGBOARD
The decade since the 2015 climate accord has been bruising for activists and the planet. Some experts insist progress is being made-but is it really enough?
6 mins
December 19, 2025
The Guardian Weekly
Tragedy foretold How the rise in antisemitic incidents led to Bondi attack
Shortly after the mass shooting targeting Australia’s Jewish community last Sunday, Rabbi Levi Wolff of Central Sydney Synagogue told reporters that “the inevitable has happened now”.
3 mins
December 19, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size