Ring on Finger
The other day at a party I commented on the beautiful pendant my friend was wearing on her necklace. She touched it lovingly and laughed, “it was my push gift for my oldest son.” Another friend of mine, a bohemian writer, was given a beautiful ring after the birth of her daughter. Her also artsy husband had bought in advance of the big day at a local art fair. She was thrilled until a few months later when the New York Times published an article about the rise of “push gifts.” Then she was quickly horrified that she might have been the recipient of a marketing fueled push gift phenomenon.
Meanwhile my sister-in-law successfully lobbied for a gift in a little blue box which she got shortly after my niece was born. Lucky for her the hospital where she gave birth was just a few short block away from Tiffany’s.
Whether you think the “push gifts” are ridiculous and unnecessary or have been leaving hints all around the house in the hopes your husband will pop out with one shortly after you pop out a baby – there is no denying this gifts rise to prominence in recent years. Do you think the new economy will “push” the trend out or is this maternal indulgence here to stay? Are you for or against? Did you secretly want one, scorn the idea, or lobby full force?
While push gifts might not save the planet or the economy – you can in this Let’s Go Strolling Giveaway. Just for fun Let’s Go Strolling is offering this giveaway of two copies of the eco-friendly 1,001 Ways To Save the Earth. To enter, just comment on this entry about what you think about push gifts. The first one goes to a random winner – the second one goes to the entry who makes us laugh most!
And me. . . I’ve never gotten a push gift per se, but I’m never opposed to gifts of jewelry although I think my push days have passed!
push presents….hmmmm….well it’s like candy for kids, I’d love to be against it, I mean we all hate marketing ploys, fads, etc…I mean come on, not only is candy incredibly unhealthy but they have to stick it in their noses to taunt them at the register. But how can you be against something that makes a kid happy and buys you a minute of peace? Well, is the saying not true? When moms happy everyones happy? Anytime I am the recipient I am all for gifts. And men should be happy to get their minute of peace (or praise, bragging, whatever).
Me? I have 5 kids and 0 push presents, I didn’t even get one for delivering a baby in the minivan. Oh, but I did get a husband so full of himself with pride for actually catching that he forgot I actually did any of the work. It’s been 6 months and he still tells the story to anyone who will listen. But his pride is so cute I can’t help but smile about his Dr Daddy jokes and isn’t a smile the best gift of all, almost as good as the prescious little girl he caught.
Well, I think any excuse for getting a gift is great, but I didn’t get push gifts. With all the added expenses of a new arrival, I didn’t think it was practical to spend the extra money for a push gift. I was happy with my baby girls being my gift!
yzgirl4[at]verizon[dot]net
I won’t deny that I feel like I did pretty much all of the work during the pregnancy (and obviously during labor), so a present would have been nice. Even a bouquet of flowers that we normally wouldn’t have splurged on….I actually bought my husband something as a ‘birthing day’ gift, but it wasn’t very expensive. I usually buy myself everything I want, so if I end up getting a belated push present, I’ll probably be the one buying it.
I hate the idea that a push present is an expected rite of passage, though.