'Every year I get a $15-$25 gift card for a place I don't go or never visited': Cheap father gives adult son a Ruby Tuesday gift card despite the restaurant not existing in their city

Author image for Emmy Pratt
Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor
Dec 30, 2023 7:00 PM EST

I understand that not everybody is a fantastic gift-giver. Most people are not like me…someone who heard my sister talking about drinking glasses she desperately wanted on the Monday before Christmas and had them wrapped and ready for her to open on Christmas Day. Most of us can't give gifts to save our lives, so we resort to buying gift cards for our friends and family. I don't have any real problems with gift cards as gifts, but I think they should be chosen carefully and not cheaply. It's okay to give a $10 gift card to your 10-year-old niece, but it better be to a store she'd actually want to shop at and not Golden Corral or Red Robin. However, if you give your adult child a cheap gift card to a horrible chain restaurant nobody has stepped into since the great recession, you're probably not trying hard enough. One father tried to pull this with his kid, and that's only the beginning of his indiscretions.

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  • 01
    r/mildlyinfuriating u/Nude_Dr_Doom . 1d Dad and step-mom got me a gift card for a place that doesn't exist in the city we both live in. (Story inside)
    via u/Nude_Dr_Doom
  • 02
    Ruby $25 Create your perfect salad at our Garden Bar! Ruby Tuesday
    via u/Nude_Dr_Doom
  • 03
    Context: My dad is a typical boomer who owns a home, has a retirement, a fishing boat, etc. He kicked me out at 18 in the late 90s because his "job was over" and never provided a cent of help as a father despite having all the opportunities. Stereotypical boomer storyline.
    via u/Nude_Dr_Doom
  • 04
    His wife for the last 20 years sees her family as his and me as the afterthought. This year, she had me and my daughter show up 3 hours before all her family came saying she wanted to stagger everyone to get pictures (me and my one kid vs 14 people 3 hours later). Also, food wouldn't be ready until her family arrived so we were welcome to come back and get a to go plate.
    via u/Nude_Dr_Doom
  • 05
    Every year I get a $15-$25 gift card for a place I don't go or never visited. This year the ante was upped to a place that isn't even in our city to add insult to injury. I go to the same 3 restaurants so there's no logical reason for this to constantly happen outside of proof of not giving af.
    via u/Nude_Dr_Doom
  • 06
    Abbysmum67 • 1d Regift it back to them next year. ... Reply 47.6k
    via u/Abbysmum67
  • 07
    hill-o. 19h But by mail. Stop going. This is a waste of gas, no matter how close it is. ... 5.5k
    via u/hill-o
  • 08
    ChiggaOG 15h Reading OP's story, especially this line Also, food wouldn't be ready until her family arrived so we were welcome to come back and get a to go plate. The Dad and Step-mom do not consider OP as a family on the same level as the Stepmom's family. OP should drop them and not show up next year. OP should make plans to go somewhere for next year during this same period. 41.9k G
    via u/ChiggaOG
  • 09
    menonte 19h ● Extra points if it expired in the meantime ↑ 572
    via u/menonte
  • 10
    FirstSineOf Madness • 19h Spend it first ;) : 4236
    via u/FirstSineOfMadness
  • 11
    NoAnaNo 22h YELLOW I didn't even know ruby Tuesday was still in business ... Reply 1.7k
    via u/NoAnaNo
  • 12
    ourbeautifulremains 19h my family's conspiracy theory is that they survive off of being ghost kitchens on doordash kinda sites. there's a few around here and the parking lots are ALWAYS empty 4796 ...
    via u/ourbeautifulremains
  • 13
    hotdogs-r-sandwiches 19h I'd give it back to your dad. I'd be honest and tell him that their lack of interest in having you be a part of their family is apparent and you'll be putting in as much effort to keep the relationship going as they have. 41.5k ← Reply
    via u/hotdogs-r-sandwiches
  • 14
    mechashiva1 • 19h I don't like doing the whole "this", but, this. This is the way. Stop wasting your time and energy on people who obviously dont care much about you being in their lives. If they as much as OP claims, it's likely they don't actually care to have OP in their life at all. They just don't want to have any gossip from neighbors/peers if OP doesn't talk to them. +379 + ...
    via u/mechashiva1
  • 15
    Որ Timed-Out_DeLorean 19h ● I've seen this play out a few times over the course of my life. OP, if you read this. It almost never gets better. Cut your losses and start a new family tradition. You'll be much better off ditching the drama. ... 4 70 +
    via u/Timed-Out_DeLorean
  • 16
    Nude_Dr_Doom OP • 18h I actually went about 15 years not talking to him when I left. Tried to let my daughter know her only blood relative on my side. He's generally harmless these days and not the abusive I grew up with, but he also doesn't shut his wife's nonsense down at all. 110
    via u/Nude_Dr_Doom
  • 17
    spacembracers • 18h I think you buried the lede here. The "come back and get a to-go plate" when they have dinner with her family part is seriously up. Edit: since this is r/mildlyinfuriating, the unusable gift card is fitting. The other part is flat out infuriating ... Reply 476
    via u/spacembracers
  • 18
    nervelli • 18h It is legitimately awful, but I would have taken her up on it. She is banking on OP being too embarrassed to do it, so embarrass her right back. Come back during dinner and loudly enter the house. Start loading up tupperware and tell everyone, "Oh, I'm his daughter, but she doesn't want to actually acknowledge that. They dont like having to remember that I am family, so I had to come early when no one else would see me. This year she was gracious enough to let me get some food to
    via u/nervelli

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ruby tuesday christmas family drama gifts presents present gift card gift reddit story christmas presents restaurant dad mildly infuriating restaurants family Reddit
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