Got expensive knife set from parents… that we don’t like

I've never heard of Cutco and did a quick Google search. They are a MLM and are average knives that are overpriced. They cannot be bought at stores, and your mom was probably pressured into buying the set from a friend.

Thus said, you did the research and put knives that you actually wanted on your registry. Knives are a personal preference, and all the brands that Crate and Barrel sell are good quality. Your parents knew that you had a registry and could have easily seen the knives that you wanted. If you cook at all, you should get the knives that you want.

I would call/text/email your parents asap and explain what you did here. You appreciate the gift, however you and FH put a lot of time into selecting the right set for you, and the ones given by your parents are not your preferred style. Tell them you'd like to return them and your parents can purchase the less expensive set that you've chosen if they like. If not, they can buy whatever else they'd like for you.

As Emily said, knives are a personal preference. No point in keeping something you don't like and won't use!

Here's hoping there's still time to return them.

I ended up talking to my parents yesterday. They were definitely surprised and a little disappointed/hurt when I said we might want to return the knives. But they said not to worry about it and they will figure something out. They said we can wait and see if we get the knives off of our registry from someone else, and if we don't, we can choose whether to take the Cutco knives or no knives (this was said in a practical tone, not with anger). I can't remember a time I have ever "declined" or asked to return a gift, other than a clothing item I exchanged for a different size. They can definitely tell that it's mainly my fiancé who doesn't like the knives (I mean, I like our choice better, but if it were me alone I would've just accepted the Cutco knives and used them — he cares much more about the style). So I worry that even though I was the one to break the news and I framed it as "we," they will still think fiancé is ungrateful because we essentially rejected the first gift they tried to get us as a couple when I've never done that before.

I made sure to reiterate how grateful we were for their generosity and how much we appreciate the gesture. But that all felt so weirdly formal and scripted coming out of my mouth to my parents. They acknowledged that they knew this was hard for me to do. It's just such a different relationship than what my fiancé has with his mom, who always makes a point to say "If you don't like it we can return it," etc., and my fiancé usually just asks his mom for something specific for gift-giving occasions. On my side, we're the type of family that has always tried not to be too transactional, we never really did Christmas "lists" or anything, so the whole concept of registries feels wrong to me!

P.S. Turns out the bought the knives a couple of months ago, so we're past the return deadline, and they did get them from a door-to-door salesperson, so they may not be returnable. They may try to give them to my older brother or something. They said they didn't think about checking the registry (in part because we didn't even make a registry until just a few weeks before the shower, so they may have even bought these before the registry existed).

Ugh. I don't feel much better