Question of The Day. Saturday The 13th of December

Hello.

It's nearly Christmas and everyone is going gift shopping crazy.

So I want to know What was the best gift you ever got? What was the worst?

The best gift I ever got was a 10th Birthday present from my parents, a voucher to exchange for 12 riding lessons.

I'd been pestering my parents to let me learn how to ride for ages, but I was a small and weedy child and they wanted me to "fill out" a bit before they let me near a pony.

The worst gift was from a boyfriend.....a big box......of tampons. 

 

I mean, seriously? Something I'll use for sure, but not exactly romantic is it?

How about you, any memorable gifts?

I'm not sure what I would consider the best gift I ever got...I have favorites that I associate with different loved ones.  From DH, a cobra ring.  I saw it in the jewelry store, fell in love, and he wrapped it up in a series of big boxes so I wouldn't know it was him (the cobra, I mean).  

The worst gift I ever got has a bit of a story behind it.  I was at an auction with my dad and my uncle.  I separated from them and found a place to sit, as I wasn't really interested in the auction.  I heard it announced that the next item up for auction would be several sandwich toasters, none of which were in working order. Who would buy something like that, I thought.  Then I heard someone bidding.  It turned out to be my uncle.  Being mechanically-minded, he thought he could make one sandwich maker out of several junk ones.  I laughed and laughed.

At the family Christmas party, there was a huge box under the tree for me.  I was getting married, so I thought it was china!  A big heavy box...it had to be china!  I was so excited.  I unwrapped the box and it was those broken sandwich makers.  My uncle gave them to me as a joke.  From then on, we gave each other gag gifts for Christmas until sadly, the parties came to an end.  But the worst gift ever, the sandwich makers.

I think the best was a Birthday gift.  DH bought me a small telescope one year.  It was awesome not just because of what it was; but the fact that he picked something out of what he knew I had an interest in.  I never asked for one; I never even thought of it!  But he did.     

My worst gift was a china doll when i was a teenager.  It was dressed and styled after Snow White.  One eye had the eyelashes glued on upside down.  The dress was cut as if the doll had a bit of a bust; except it didn't.  I ended up taking off the eyelashes and stuffing the bust with a little bit of bubble wrap.  Then my Mom gave the doll to a co-worker's daughter.  It wasn't so bad once it was fixed up.  But it wasn't the best choice for a teenager either.  

I also received some 2nd hand, embroidered pillow cases as a wedding gift.  They had farm animals on them.  The embroidery was neat; and I'm sure someone spent a lot of time on those.  But they had yellow stains on the pillow cases.  I couldn't even use them as a decorative piece.  I kept them; because they came from a great-aunt I never met in person.  She was quite elderly when she sent them.  I do appreciate the thought.  

The weirdest gift I ever got was a clock that sang Christmas carols at the stroke of the hour. We never even put it up. Anywhere.

One of the neatest gifts Rick gave me was a picture of a lion. Gorgeous. It's probably about 35 years old now and I still love it. I have a thing for lions and loved this from the day he gave it to me. It's hanging in our foyer as you go up the steps from the front door to the living room. 

Here he is: I took this picture this morning and had to have the light on, so there's a lot of glare. But it really is a neat picture. 

Oh, and on the other wall is the cat gargoyle. Rick gave him to me a few years ago for Christmas, along with a gargoyle called Double Trouble. I love gargoyles (I guess the correct term is grotesque, as there's no water involved).

Worst gift wasn't that awful in a scale of terrible but it was the circumstances.  It was my first wedding, and a relative of the ex's gave us a 4-set of coffee mugs.  Seriously ugly coffee mugs.  Brown and clunky looking.  With the little sticky price thing still on the bottom of them.  It was like she went shopping on her way to the wedding and couldn't be bothered.  Came out to $25.  Incredibly cheap and ugly.  We couldn't even return them as they came from a store we never heard of and this was way before the internet was around. 

Best gift?  Probably many over the years.  But Tom in general has a knack for getting me what I really want and enjoy.  None are lavish, he hasn't been in the position to do that but I've learned expensive doesn't necessarily mean I want it.  Perhaps one of the most special was a necklace he got me, the charm on it is a flower with a small diamond in it.  It looks like a rose on the stem.  I grow roses, so he really found something which would have meaning to me.  I haven't taken it off in the years we're together.  I have much nicer and pricier jewelry, but this one means too much to me.

My favourite presents? My father always gives me the newest Jane Lawless Mystery by Ellen Hart every year. I've been reading them forever. My mother makes those little Jewish cookies - you know, the ones with the cream cheese dough wrapped around a chunk of chocolate and dusted with cinnamon and sugar? My grandmother used to make them, we called them "Granny's Cookies." Mum makes them every year now, since she figured out how. Granny never wrote anything down, kept it all in her head.

The worst gift ever? My room mate keeps giving me pyjamas that don't fit! Even though I tell her to stop. Every year! Oh well, we have lots of foster kittens and they like to snuggle up in the flannel so at least the get some use!

Best - My late Jack Russell of 15 years, got her on my tenth Bday. And my horse when I was 16, and still have him.

I also have many many honourable mentions!

Worst - Light bulbs

The worst: a former co-worker, who was rich, but cheap, would give other staff members used cards and gifts. I received broken costume jewelry that she told me she bought at a yard sale. Someone else (we have the same birthday) in my department got a half-eaten vending machine bag of Cheetos, which was an improvement over the paper napkin with some crusty bread slices the woman claimed were from the "bakery" in a local restaurant--which does NOT have a bakery (she took them from the bread basket on her table) that she received the year before. Compared to her, I made out like a bandit. I told the recipient that she should let the bread get moldy, and give it back to the woman for her birthday.

The best: 2 Christmases ago. DH surprised me by going to Macy's on Christmas Eve, and buying 4 pieces of fine jewelry for me--even though he had already bought the jewelry I asked for. That was so sweet and romantic of him! He knows how much I love jewelry and gemstones--and he has excellent taste! It was really nice, not so much for the actual gifts, but since I rarely get surprise gifts. Everything was perfect. He took the time to scope out what gems I liked. He finds jewelry boring, but he took it seriously. 

My favorite animal "gift"--Sarah Jane, the kitten. She was a sort of gift. An expensive one on my end (vet bills!), but worth every single penny. I love black cats, I love Halloween, and I was "given" a black kitten a week before Halloween! Does it get any better? 

Best:  My dad bought me horse when I was 12

          My husband gave me my engagement ring on Christmas Eve for his family Christmas (after he asked my dad, of course)

          My husband adopted all of my kittens, three of which I have and one my daughter has (they are all siblings)

          (He does re-gift them to me every holiday, birthday and anniversary)

Worst:  My MIL has bought me wrinkle cream in my goodie bag since I have been 22 years old.  It is good stuff from Macy's or Nordstroms, but still.             Really? Well, I may never have wrinkles.

@Cassiopea  @KittyMomma1122  you are both so  lucky. I've been pestering my parents to get me a horse for as long as I can remember but never got one. But I still go horse riding regularly, so I guess I'm not doing too bad.

@Norachan, Keep working on him. I was raised like an only child (my siblings were adults when I was born)  on a farm and my animals were my only friends. Dad felt sorry for me. He did not want the horse.  I had to feed him twice a day, clean him, keep his stall, clean and polish his tack,  we had a watering system so I did not have to do that. My dad made me understand the responsibility to have an animal. I ran off the school bus everyday to get to the barn. The hard work was worth it to have him.

Norachan- I can never top the tampon gift. That is the worst gift I ever heard of.

My mother-n-law used to give me a huge Costco package of toilet paper and a big sack of rice. I used to think that was awful until I began to understand that she thought that was a nice gift. She honestly did. So, I came to appreciate it and really miss it now that she is to old and unwell to give gifts. I had become a tradition.

I have received many gifts that qualify for the best gift. I always loved any gift my kids made for me when they were little. I have saved each one.

When I was very young I got the entire Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books from Santa and I was so thrilled. I remember it poured rain all school break and I sat on the couch near the fireplace with my mom. Each of us reading our Christmas books. I have 4 brothers and 1 sister. My mom was a nurse and worked a lot so, I rarely had special time alone with her. That Christmas season was an exception.I loved that Christmas.

When my husband and I had our first Christmas together he gave me a huge book of poetry. I loved that because he was the only one who had ever remembered my mentioning how much I loved poetry

Maureen Bradley said:

 
When I was very young I got the entire Laura Ingalls Wilder series of books from Santa and I was so thrilled.

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I also got these, probably when I was about 10. 

When I turned 14, I moved out of my mother's house to live with my dad's family.  Unfortunately, the books (along with many things I had boxed up) were never shipped after me.  I suspect they were garage-saled.    I loved those books.  I also had a complete collection of Marguerite Henry's books.  Only a few of those made it back to me.

Best gift?  tough call:  The framed Michael Parks print we got for our wedding, the beautiful crocheted afghan my grandmother made me, the day my hubby proposed... I could go on for a while. 

I was raised to appreciate all gifts, small or large, for the spirit in which they were given.

In fact, it was this very principal that made me feel so terrible for the one gift that I really didn't like as a child (about 8 years old). 

It was a pair of grey corduroy pants that had pleats in the front.  I liked the grey, and had no problem with the fabric... but the pleats!  On a skinny eight year old tomboy, they were the worst. I remember trying to first consult with my grandmother (who was not the giver), about what I should do.  I was soon in tears, because I couldn't hide the fact that I really really really didn't like them, but I didn't want to hurt the feelings of the giver.  This eventually led to a new family rule:  clothing is the exception, return receipts were thenceforth discretely tucked in an envelope in the gift box. 

The best xmas gift I ever got was last xmas. I came home late from a Christmas eve party and right at the door to my apt building was my most beloved feral, Giuseppe. I had never seen him there or at that time. I ran up stairs, got a can of sardines and we sat outside under the stars enjoying the gentle snow fall. It wasn't too cold and the flakes were the big variety. They would land on his fur and take a moment to melt which allowed me to see the intricacies of patterns. How can such sweetness exist I remember thinking. But it does! And right in the middle of such brute carelessness that can be found in most urban setting. We officially claimed eachother for ourselves that night and eventually he became my inside kitty.

pocho said:

The best xmas gift I ever got was last xmas. I came home late from a Christmas eve party and right at the door to my apt building was my most beloved feral, Giuseppe. I had never seen him there or at that time. I ran up stairs, got a can of sardines and we sat outside under the stars enjoying the gentle snow fall. It wasn't too cold and the flakes were the big variety. They would land on his fur and take a moment to melt which allowed me to see the intricacies of patterns. How can such sweetness exist I remember thinking. But it does! And right in the middle of such brute carelessness that can be found in most urban setting. We officially claimed eachother for ourselves that night and eventually he became my inside kitty.

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That is such  beautiful story, I even got teary eyed.

KittyMomma1122 said:

 
Best:  My dad bought me horse when I was 12

          My husband gave me my engagement ring on Christmas Eve for his family Christmas (after he asked my dad, of course)

          My husband adopted all of my kittens, three of which I have and one my daughter has (they are all siblings)

          (He does re-gift them to me every holiday, birthday and anniversary)

Worst:  My MIL has bought me wrinkle cream in my goodie bag since I have been 22 years old.  It is good stuff from Macy's or Nordstroms, but still.             Really? Well, I may never have wrinkles.

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The wrinkle cream reminds me of another story about my stingy co-worker in my post, above.  She was 30 years older than me, and recommended a wrinkle cream (to a late 20's me), saying, "I know two little old ladies who use it, and their skin is like tissue paper." I almost said, "Then what's mine like? Twenty-grit sandpaper?", but I didn't say anything.

Another co-worker's MIL bought a burial plot as a wedding gift--only for my co-worker, not for her husband. Gosh, being too subtle much? LOL.

My best present was for my 13th birthday.

It was the day I got my baby, Malte. 

He's the love of my life and nothing can ever beat that birthday!

MargeCat said:

 
The wrinkle cream reminds me of another story about my stingy co-worker in my post, above.  She was 30 years older than me, and recommended a wrinkle cream (to a late 20's me), saying, "I know two little old ladies who use it, and their skin is like tissue paper." I almost said, "Then what's mine like? Twenty-grit sandpaper?", but I didn't say anything.

Another co-worker's MIL bought a burial plot as a wedding gift--only for my co-worker, not for her husband. Gosh, being too subtle much? LOL.

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Funny. I will take the wrinkle cream. I know she means well and I do use it every year.

Umm....I just got a very cool xmas gift. It is a cd of cat purring. I put it on a loop before sleeping. It is beyond calming and now I believe the studies that prove cat purring has healing powers for sure. Atleast on the nervous system.