I asked my parents in law to buy me a nice watch from Macy’s in the $50 range. They insisted on spending many hundreds! I told them that I never wear a watch anyways but they insisted. It is sitting on the shelf and get used about once a year!
I didn’t want a Chassan Shas, so I got a small Peninim Shas ($120) and the Mesechta that I’m learning, I buy myself one of the new ones (Oz Vehadar etc)
I didn’t want Meggilah, Esrog holder etc etc.
I told the wife, why do your parents have to buy stuff to create love between us (isn’t that the reason, or something like that!), there is no love created between US, from THEM buying me presents.
Rather let us wait till we get married and when I’m learning and we have no money, you go and spend a few pennies on a gift for me (sefer or something like that) and I will appreciate it 1000 times more. And that’s really true. Her cheap gifts (sounds funny!) mean the world to me.
Having said that, I declare my In laws to be extremely generous people, and have hearts of gold. They give us a lot.
But I just didn’t feel that it was worth them wasting there money on things I don’t want them to buy for me