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Worst gift ever!
A toilet seat? How about a carrot? Lodians share the worst gifts they've been given during the holidays.
Getting the gift of a warm tush
Gifts from friends are always fun. You usually get the things you won't buy for yourself, like candles that smell like baking bread, expensive bath gels and pretty photo frames. Those are the kind of gifts Sharon Harris of Galt usually gives her friends.
But Harris has a friend, Linda, who doesn't so much believe in the little treats.
"She's very practical," Harris said.
So one year, about 10 years ago, Harris unwrapped her Christmas gift from Linda, and lo and behold, it was a padded toilet seat.
Though Linda didn't mean it as a joke, Harris knew why she was being given a toilet seat.
Once at Linda's house, when it was very cold, Harris commented that she was pleasantly surprised that she wasn't chilled by a hard, cold toilet seat because Linda's seat was padded.
While it was an unconventional gift, Harris used her new gifted toilet for years after receiving it.
Linda continued to give practical gifts in the years to follow, including a tool chest.
Stocking stew
When you're a 7-year-old boy who likes to play with things that move, fly, shoot and spin, there is no bigger disappointment than a Christmas stocking filled with vegetables. It may as well be filled with coal.
But when Jeff Johnston was about 7, he went in the living room to check his stocking early Christmas morning and found nothing but veggies.
"My parents wanted to teach me a lesson in humility," he said.
On Christmas Eve, he says he put out the usual milk and cookies for Santa and his list, and went to bed eager to wake up to a stocking full of presents.
"I woke up to the makings for stew — carrots, potatoes, celery, the works," he said. "And stew is exactly what she made with them too."
Did you get a bad gift from a close friend, something like an expired can of Maxwell House coffee? Does that make your question your relationship? Don't sweat it.
But, you should tell the giver how you feel. If this person is close, it's OK to say (or, better, joke), "What was up with that expired coffee you gave me?"
The important thing is to deliver your lines in a lighthearted way because, friend or no friend, no one owes you a gift. Maybe there is a good reason your friend gave you an expired can of coffee. Perhaps she didn't know it had expired. Maybe she wasn't expecting to exchange gifts so she just looked around for something — anything — to give you. Or maybe she was just being thoughtless. In that last case, it's understandable if you considered ripping that new blouse right off her back.
But you suppressed your anger at the time. Good for you. Whatever her reason for the bad gift, you should base your friendship on stuff that matters. Has your friend been there for the important events in your life? Has she talked to you until the wee hours of the morning after a bad breakup? Don't throw a good friendship away because of a bad gift.
Source: Washington Post business columnist Michele Singletary
But, you should tell the giver how you feel. If this person is close, it's OK to say (or, better, joke), "What was up with that expired coffee you gave me?"
The important thing is to deliver your lines in a lighthearted way because, friend or no friend, no one owes you a gift. Maybe there is a good reason your friend gave you an expired can of coffee. Perhaps she didn't know it had expired. Maybe she wasn't expecting to exchange gifts so she just looked around for something — anything — to give you. Or maybe she was just being thoughtless. In that last case, it's understandable if you considered ripping that new blouse right off her back.
But you suppressed your anger at the time. Good for you. Whatever her reason for the bad gift, you should base your friendship on stuff that matters. Has your friend been there for the important events in your life? Has she talked to you until the wee hours of the morning after a bad breakup? Don't throw a good friendship away because of a bad gift.
Source: Washington Post business columnist Michele Singletary
The "good intentions" gift:
• A gift certificate to the newest diet craze.
• Coaching CDs on how to become successful to someone who is unemployed or in a dead-end job.
• Hypnosis CDs for overeaters, smokers, aggressive Type A personalities.
Worthless gadgets:
There are a million worthless gadgets out there that you may be tempted into believing will make the perfect gift for someone on your list who has no hobbies, no particular talents and who doesn't seem to need a thing. No doubt, such an individual is hard to buy for, but don't believe for a second the Orb Mood-Detection Device will end up anywhere but in the bottom of a drawer or more likely, the trash.
Gifts with a message:
When the impulse hits to buy your pregnant sister-in-law the T-shirt with the huge arrow pointed at her stomach and the words, "bun in the oven" scrawled on it, just keep walking. If the overwhelming desire to get lawyer Uncle Bob, a T-shirt with the words "I Sue, Therefore I Am" printed on it, do not do it. Unless the person you are buying for is under the age of 16, chances are your wordy gift will end up as a dust rag.
Themed Undergarments:
As tempting as it may be to buy the cute reindeer boxer shorts for your significant other, ask yourself where he can wear them? The gym? Nope. The office? Nope. At home? That's about it and for about three weeks out of the year. And for guys, avoid the impulse of buying the tiny slinky baby doll nighty unless she specifically pointed it out as something she would enjoy.
Hostess Gift Blunders
Need a hostess gift? Avoid grabbing the sealed bag of M&Ms from your pantry on your way to the holiday dinner. Instead, stock up on a couple bottles of wine to take in the future.
Thoughtless Gifts
• Giving a country CD to a person who loves rap.
• Giving alcohol to someone who doesn't drink.
• Giving perfume to someone who is allergic to perfume.
Source: Donna Montaldo, retail columnist
• A gift certificate to the newest diet craze.
• Coaching CDs on how to become successful to someone who is unemployed or in a dead-end job.
• Hypnosis CDs for overeaters, smokers, aggressive Type A personalities.
Worthless gadgets:
There are a million worthless gadgets out there that you may be tempted into believing will make the perfect gift for someone on your list who has no hobbies, no particular talents and who doesn't seem to need a thing. No doubt, such an individual is hard to buy for, but don't believe for a second the Orb Mood-Detection Device will end up anywhere but in the bottom of a drawer or more likely, the trash.
Gifts with a message:
When the impulse hits to buy your pregnant sister-in-law the T-shirt with the huge arrow pointed at her stomach and the words, "bun in the oven" scrawled on it, just keep walking. If the overwhelming desire to get lawyer Uncle Bob, a T-shirt with the words "I Sue, Therefore I Am" printed on it, do not do it. Unless the person you are buying for is under the age of 16, chances are your wordy gift will end up as a dust rag.
Themed Undergarments:
As tempting as it may be to buy the cute reindeer boxer shorts for your significant other, ask yourself where he can wear them? The gym? Nope. The office? Nope. At home? That's about it and for about three weeks out of the year. And for guys, avoid the impulse of buying the tiny slinky baby doll nighty unless she specifically pointed it out as something she would enjoy.
Hostess Gift Blunders
Need a hostess gift? Avoid grabbing the sealed bag of M&Ms from your pantry on your way to the holiday dinner. Instead, stock up on a couple bottles of wine to take in the future.
Thoughtless Gifts
• Giving a country CD to a person who loves rap.
• Giving alcohol to someone who doesn't drink.
• Giving perfume to someone who is allergic to perfume.
Source: Donna Montaldo, retail columnist
Brotherly love
There's nothing like a love between brothers. They are there to cover for you when you get into trouble. You can beat them up without getting yelled at. They are the ones to play video games with when your friends aren't around.
When James Richards was in the Air Force and living off base, it was his brother who visited him for the holidays.
Imagine you are Richards. Maybe you're missing your warm bed at home. Missing homecooked food. Knowing your brother is visiting, you might expect him to bring some of mom's home cooking — a casserole or bag of Christmas cookies.
But it was during this visit between brothers that Richards received what he will remember forever as the worst gift ever.
"I was given a broom, dust pan, mop and other cleaning items to keep my apartment clean," Richards said. "He was serious about this and could not figure out why I was a little upset."
Ice, not ice cream
We all know the commercials and slogans: "Diamonds are a girl's best friend," "Every kiss begins with 'K'" and "Diamonds are forever," and so on.
So why is it that boyfriends and husbands always have such a hard time figuring out what to buy their special women on Christmas? Is there really meaning behind that "well-thought," "special" gift that they picked up at Longs Drugs at 8:57 p.m. on Christmas Eve?
Most would agree. No.
But, if you have Laurie Forst's husband, you might be glad your husband was able to find the last-minute coffee mug or box of chocolates at the drugstore.
One Christmas Eve, Forst's husband did not know what to buy (though he probably listened to the Kay Jewelers commercial on the way to the store).
Instead of diamonds, he went home with a half-gallon of rocky road ice cream.
"The bad thing about it is I hate ice cream," Forst said.
Apparently he paved his own rocky road because, Forst says, "He's been paying for it ever since."
When grandma calls it hip, it's not
When you're a child, you know it's a given — you can either count on grandma to give a great gift or a horrible gift. For Jen West, there are too many bad gifts to name. But the worst of worsts have been the clothes she's received from her grandmother.
When you're about 10, a hot pink turtle-neck sweater might not seem so bad. But West was 19 when she got the sweater.
"It was just horrible," she said. "She thought it would be cute."
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shannonlee05 wrote on Dec 21, 2007 10:01 AM:
to: Kat's Mom wrote on Dec 17, 2007 8:46 PM:
bella_777 wrote on Dec 17, 2007 1:07 PM:
nylodian wrote on Dec 17, 2007 10:54 AM:
nylodian wrote on Dec 17, 2007 10:49 AM:
dragonfaire wrote on Dec 16, 2007 10:01 AM:
To kat's mom wrote on Dec 16, 2007 8:30 AM:
kat's mom wrote on Dec 16, 2007 7:26 AM:
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