A to Z Dear Jack 28 | "In a Holiday Gift Quandary"

Dear Xochitl and Jack, I hope this email finds you ASAP. I find myself in a bit of a sticky situation, and I'm desperately seeking your wisdom to get me through this unexpected conundrum. So, I'm currently on a Christmas date with my incredible boyfriend at this insanely fancy restaurant. The ambiance is magical, and he just surprised me with an unbelievably expensive Christmas present. I'm talking about jaw-dropping, multiple-times-more-expensive-than-what-I-got-him kind of surprise. Now, here's the kicker—I had to excuse myself to the bathroom not once, but twice to collect myself. I didn't want him to see the internal struggle I'm going through right now. I'm genuinely touched by his generosity, but it caught me off guard, and I'm not sure how to handle it. Should I give him the gift I got for him, even though it feels like pocket change compared to what he gave me? Or should I come up with some elaborate excuse to avoid the whole exchange and prevent any awkwardness? I'm typing this from the bathroom on my phone, and I can feel the seconds ticking away. Your advice means the world to me, guys. I need to make a decision, and fast! Sincerely, In a Holiday Gift Quandary Transcript: 00:00:00 Jack Dear Jack. 00:00:04 Jack Welcome to the A-Z English podcast. My name is Jack and I'm here with my co-host social. And today I have a dear social and Jack e-mail from one of our students. Actually, this is a a text message. I don't think we received it in time to help this person, but. 00:00:22 Jack We can try to give them a little help. 00:00:25 Jack After the situation, so let me let me read the e-mail here really quickly and then you'll understand what I'm talking about. Dear, social and Jack, I hope this e-mail finds you well. I'm in a bit of a pickle and could really use your wise counsel on how to navigate through a delicate situation and for our listeners. 00:00:46 Jack There, when you say in a bit of a. 00:00:47 Jack Pickle means I'm. 00:00:49 Jack I have a problem. I'm in a pickle. I have a problem. 00:00:54 Jack Last night, my boyfriend and I went out for a special Christmas dinner at a fancy restaurant. Everything was going well and the atmosphere was perfect. 00:01:04 Jack He surprised me with an extraordinarily expensive Christmas present and I was truly taken aback by his generosity. 00:01:15 Jack The thing is the gift he gave me is many, many times more expensive than the one I got for him. 00:01:24 Jack I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed. I excused myself to the bathroom a couple of times during the evening to collect my thoughts. I didn't want him to see that I was struggling with this. 00:01:38 Jack Unexpected turn of events. Now I find myself confused about what to do next. Part of me feels I should give him the gift I got for him, even though it's not as good as the one he gave me. On the other hand, I'm afraid that it might make the situation. 00:01:58 Jack Awkward or hurt his feelings. I genuinely, genuinely appreciate his thoughtfulness and generosity, and I don't wanna do anything that might over shadow the joy of the moment. 00:02:10 Jack So social and Jack, I'm turning to you because I respect your opinion and would love to hear your perspective on this matter. How should I handle this delicate situation without causing any discomfort or making him feel like he went overboard? Thank you so much for your time and guidance. Sincerely caught in a gift. 00:02:37 Xochitl That can happen. 00:02:39 Xochitl And I think it's OK I think. 00:02:41 Xochitl A lot of there are a lot of factors to consider. One does he make significant? 00:02:45 Xochitl Gently, more money than you or like, do you. Are you having any financial struggles or anything? Because in that case I think it's perfectly excusable. And he'd probably understand and expect that you won't be giving him some lavish gift. 00:02:59 Xochitl Two, how thoughtful was your gift? Maybe it wasn't as expensive, but was it something that you put a lot of thought