etiquette: exchanging a gift

This is a very touchy subject: What to do when someone you love gives you a gift that begs exchanging. We're not talking full return, as in "I'd rather have store credit or nothing than this disaster." But rather, a simple trade. 

This is a hard one.

My lovely boyfriend surprised me this holiday by traveling hours by plane, showing up at my doorstep dressed in a suit (and he's not a suit-wearing kind of guy, so the very act of wearing the suit through the airport and on the plane was a gift in itself). He was carrying a dozen pink roses, and he somehow--in a single motion--handed me the flowers AND scooped me up into his arms...

Then he whipped out the Tiffany's box. 

(No, Mom. Not a ring-sized box). 

Anyway, (fair warning: the ending of this story is kinda anti-climactic) he gave me the signature heart-toggle bracelet--beautiful!; but, after much thought, I decided that another, similar bracelet is more my style. So I even-exchanged, and we all lived happily ever after. 

 

The moral of the story is this: if someone gives you a special (read: expensive) gift, with the intention that you will wear/use it often, then I believe you should honor their intention, with honesty and sincere gratitude. 

Thank you, darling. I love you, and I love the bracelet.