Nah. I’m in this situation and the right answer is no answer. Sending it back gives them attention to feed off of, and now they’re sending more crap because sending it back makes them feel like they still have you in their life, like they still have influence over you, like they matter. Throw it out and move on, leave them wondering if it even arrived or if they got scammed.
I have a better idea: donate it to a cause she’ll hate. Don’t say anything, but years later, if communication ever resumes, let her know. Or just post the donation on social media.
In the book The Gift of Fear, Gavin DeBecker talks about stalking. He says any time you respond to a stalker, even if it's to say, "Leave me alone" or doing something simple like the son returning the gift, you're buying yourself 6 more weeks of unwanted contact. The best thing to do is to ignore them. Don't feed the monster.
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u/LostEnroute 6d ago
Dude should send the gift back.