Gifts you still get good daily use out of years later

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I was just thinking today of a couple gift items that I still use all these years later. I don’t remember who gave these gifts to me, so I feel bad that I can never tell them that I still use their gift and thank them again.

As a bar mitzvah gift, I got a wallet with my initials embossed on it. 10 years later, the initials are barely visible anymore and a couple of the interior pockets are ripped, but it still has a place in my pocket every day.

Another bar mitzvah gift, personalized book-ends. They’re not really something I actively use in my daily life, but every so often I’ll notice them dutifully keeping my books upright on the shelf and be thankful they’re around.

2

When I graduated from high school in 1982 my grandmother gave me a pair of RayBan aviator-style sunglasses. I still wear them every day. I’ve had the temples replaced once, but other than that they’re as good as new.

25 years with the same pair of sunglasses must be some kind of record.

3

I’m surprised you don’t need prescription lenses in them yet, ya old fogey. :wink:

Hmm…bifocal Ray-Bans for reading…

4

My Ray Ban’s are in the bottom of Lake Michigan, along with at least 10 other pairs of my own (from the dollar store - I wised up), at least that many belonging to my friends and family - probably tens of thousands of paris are down there if the rest of the folks in MI, IL, WI and IN are anything are anything like my people.

Anyway - to address the OP, I use the chip and dip set ALL THE TIME that I got as a wedding gift. I also wear various jewelry gifts quite frequently.

5

When we got married four years ago, I got two gifts that I use nearly every day. I believe they will last me the rest of my life. One is a KitchenAid stand mixer. The other is a huge, deep, nonstick skillet. I think fondly of the givers every time I use them.

6

Thirteen years ago, we got the perfect six inch chef knife as a wedding gift, and it’s still great today.

7

Who said I don’t need bifocal lens yet? I’m having them retrofitted with bifocals and a hearing aid as soon as I can find someone who’ll do it at a reasonable price. Until then, I’ll just keep driving around in a bit of a haze.

8

My mother has a big old metal laundrey basket (only it’s not very basket-like) that she received as a wedding present when she married my father over 50 years ago. Still in daily use. When we were kids we’d sit in it and pretend to be sledding, or we’d pull each other around the floor. needed to contain the puppy while you were trying to scrub the floor? Stick him in the tub. Just a handy, durable thing.

StG

9

For Christmas 1989, I got a kitten as a gift. Even at 17 years old, Bo is still used every night to warm my feet/neck/head.

10

I bought my Ray-Bans in 1976. Beat that!

As for real presents, I still use the cast iron my mother bought me when I first moved out. That was almost 35 years ago.

11

Quite a few wedding gifts are still used and appreciated - silver serving dishes, vases, the good set of dishes and crystal my in-laws finished as well as the set of Paderno pots. Then there’s the Arcoroc fleur salad set - side dishes and bowls - that I use daily for my breakfast and lunch and as condiment dishes. I remember the couple that gave it to us fondly and wonder how they are - it’s years since I’ve seen them. I still have linens I got at my wedding shower, too.

There’s a crucifix on the wall that I was given by the parents of my Sunday School students when I was still in high school. My aunt gave me a clock for my high school graduation that still works. Dumb thing is pink - a colour I’ve never liked - but she died just before my graduation and I keep it as a memento of her.

I have jewellery from the former spouse and his family and his mom used to buy me awful clothes and mugs but I still have most of them and use them and think of her (she died several years ago, too young). I just don’t wear the clothes outside. My spouse’s grandmother gave me a beautiful little ballerina figurine when he and I were only dating. We were at her place and I admired it and she gave it to me. She, too, is gone but I treasure it greatly.

My stepmom gave me a gorgeous Art Nouveau sculpture done by her father, who was an artist of minor note in England, and I love that.

My dad gave me a camera as a wedding gift and then he gave me all his camera equipment when he became a camcorder fan and his old video camera when he bought his Palmcorder.

Then there are souvenir mugs - I’ve been a mug collector for a while and I remember several but not all, of the givers of many of my mugs.

Pillows! The recent ex-bf gave me a goofy heart-shaped pillow for Valentine’s day. I don’t keep it as fond remembrance (that one didn’t end so well) but the dang thing is handy to put on my lap when I need it under a clipboard to write on or when I’m eating on the couch with a tray. And my best buddy gave me a silly Taz pillow. I wondered what the heck I’d do with it but it turns out it’s perfect as a back support against the pillow on my couch so I use it all the time.

Oh, and the former spouse gave me the family vehicle, which is still going strong. (It was an amicable divorce). It saved my bacon when I had to leave an abusive guy and I figure I’ll keep it until it finally gives up the ghost, which, since it’s a Honda, could be years from now.

There’s more but you can see I’m a sentimental critter - I like to use things I have and hate tossing things that are still handy. It’s just this week that one of the sheet sets given me by the in-laws after one of their shopping trips to the US has worn through - I’ll have to discard a fitted sheet.

Thing is, the entire parental generation is gone - several died years before their time. When I use the things they gave me, it’s a reminder of their consideration and I’m still grateful for having these things which are so useful. That’s why I don’t mind at all getting useful gifts; often they keep on giving in ways that less practical gifts don’t.

12

When I moved into my house 11 years ago a friend gave me a self-inking address stamp

I’ve told her it’s like the energizer bunny. So each year I write on the envelope of her christmas card, pointing to the stamp of course, “and going, and going…”

13

My wife’s grandma is a really nice old lady, although she has little in the way of gift-giving skills. For instance, last Christmas she gave us an onion chopper. Whuh? Well, it turns out that it’s incredibly useful. We use it all the time. It dices them into squares, and with the lid on, there are no fumes. Way to go, grandma!

It’s a lot more useful than the fiber-optic angel doll we got one year.

14

One that springs immediately to mind is the Swiss army knife my brother got me for Christmas about 10 years or so ago. It’s tiny; it has one blade that’s maybe 2 inches long, a file, and scissors. The outer body is sterling silver, so it’s very durable. It’s attached to my keychain, and hardly a day goes by I’m not using it to open a package, or that I don’t whip out the scissors when scissors are not near at hand. Very, very useful.

15

My parents bought me a cloak/ruana almost 20 years ago. I don’t use it daily, but I do use it every time I venture out into cold weather. It zips up the front, and has buttons on the sides, so I can choose just how warm it is. It’s loose fitting, so I can wear a sweater or vest or some other wrap under it, if I need it to be warmer. The color is not one that I particularly like, but I wear the thing anyway, and am glad to have it.

16

For my bar mitzvah, one relative gave me a suitcase. I thought it was dumb at the time, but I used it for nearly 20 years until it literally fell apart.

Another relative gave me a clock radio for my high school graduation. Used it into my mid-30s.

I still use some wedding gifts we received (I’m divorced, though) 25 years ago.

My brother gave me a ski boot bag that I’ve used for 15 years.

My parents gave me a bicycle (Raleigh Super Course) for my college graduation. I had that bike for 22 years and owned three other bicycles before I finally gave it to a deserving person.

17

I got a leatherman micra as a gift about 4 years ago. I use it often.

My daughter was born around Father’s Day last year. Best gift I ever got.

18

I saw the thread title and thought of my wallet. I got it 11 years ago from my first girlfriend, and while I’ve happily left her behind, I never got around to ditching the wallet - it’s simple and black and I like it. It’s still in good shape, too. But I’ve asked my girlfriend for a new one for my birthday, so it’s in its last couple of weeks of use.

19

I got a chocolate fondue set as a Christmas gift once. It was really unexpected at the time because most people (who are at that peculiar social level somewhere between “acquaintance” and “friend”) get me “guy stuff” (wallets, razors, sporting goods). Back when I was dating, it made me the smooooooth operator. Nothing impresses a girl better than a guy making her a home cooked meal followed by chocolate fondue.

Nowadays, my finacee and I use it several times a year and almost always when we have dinner guests.

20

No contest–my mom gave me a Waring coffee grinder something like twenty years ago and the thing still works perfectly, every single morning!

My bike was a gift and I use it all the time. Same guy gave me the boombox I still use fifteen years later (it plays burned CDs!) and my little Leatherman tool with the scissors. He really knows how to give a gift!