relationships
Once, I invited my friends to a birthday lunch with the message: ‘No presents please,’ and added, ‘but you can all say one nice thing about me!’ Needy, I know! But, there is a tendency for people to feel they must do something on a birthday, and I didn’t want them to feel obliged to buy a gift. I thought the compliment idea was a great alternative – but, towards the end of the meal, no one had volunteered anything.