DEAR MISS MANNERS: I can a lot of our garden produce, and have branched out to create other canned goods that I like to give as gifts. Over the years, I have given out many jars -- several dozen, at least -- and have only ever had one empty jar returned.
I was always taught that jars from gifts of homemade canned goods should be returned, but I feel like this is an “if you know, then you know” type of situation.
The thing is, prices for everything are going up, including for jars. I wonder if there is a way to ask for empty jars back without sounding tacky.
GENTLE READER: The tradition you cite did exist, but has fallen into disuse, likely in step with the decrease in home-canned goods generally.
Never one to discard tradition needlessly, Miss Manners will assist its reintroduction -- so long as she is not required to do any canning herself -- by providing a few ground rules:
Phrase your request as a reminder, rather than an instruction: “If you remember to return the jar, I will happily reuse it.” Do so at the time of gift-giving, not months later, when the jar may well be at the bottom of a landfill. And limit the requests to informal situations, and to people with whom you are on intimate terms.
(Please send your questions to Miss Manners at her website, www.missmanners.com; to her email, [email protected]; or through postal mail to Miss Manners, Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106.)
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