Hey no need to be sorry.
Nah, the received hours/date is stored in the save. Only a record of receiving the gift is stored in the save.
Changing that record won't make it redeemable in-game tho.
Also, nah, if I'm not mistaken the meta is merely information the BCAT uses, and we won't need it for anything.
Well, just to be clear, if you wanna modify the records, it's gonna be save editing. While PKHeX can view the date/time under their block editor, I don't think you can edit them just yet. (there's no plugin to edit them right now as well)
I would say any date/time is likely fine, since it follow's Switch's date/time, not server's date/time.
I'm under the impression you're referring to meta editing, and no, that's not what I'm referring to.
The 'record' that effectively shows that you've performed the act of receiving the gift, is stored in the save.
Like if you go view the Mystery Gift album now, you should see a few entries (if you've received gifts before)
But it's just a record, nothing else. There's no editor for that yet.