Letters to the Editor
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He's not alone
My husband also received a dress shirt from his mother every Christmas for years. His brother also got one, as did the brothers-in-law. Just to show that her sons are special, she also got the sons underwear. To top it off, the shirt was always the wrong size.
Someone finally gave her the word to get something else, so she switched to casual shirts (although I think she has since reverted to the dress shirt). Meanwhile, her daughters get varied individual gifts. The daughters-in-law usually get nice gifts similar to each other (which makes good sense) but not the same thing every year.
Although it kind of hurt my husband's feelings to keep getting such an impersonal gift (it was always a really boring and clearly not pricey shirt), I don't think my mother-in-law meant anything bad by it. She has a large family and a lot of gifts to buy. But I think she just doesn't think of men as beings who think about gifts or care much about them. Certainly her husband never seemed to expend much effort on gift giving, usually buying whatever a daughter said their mother wanted. Also, I can't recall a time when my husband ever came up with the gift idea for my mother-in-law, unless she needed some technology. Maybe he reaps what he sows.
So, to the writer: maybe don't take it so personally. Second, how much thought do you put into gifts you get for her? And finally, do what we do: give the shirt to charity, still in its packaging, and take some pleasure in the thought that someone might enjoy wearing the fresh new shirt.