I picked “a few”; my husband and I got one from his parents, and we still have to see my mom and sister this weekend. (I don’t expect any duds, but there’s always another random Applebee’s gift card possibility; we don’t have any near us.)
A week prior to Christmas, Monday morning, I open our front door on my way out to work and find a plain cardboard box with a plain “To Junior & Ferret / From Mom & Dad” address label on it, written by my father-in-law. I realize they must have driven by our house the day before to drop this off, but we were out part of the day.
Inside? A full 20-some piece set of Ronco Ginsu knives.
I’ve been with their son for over 20 years, and he and I each have our own, awesome select knife sets (various brands for me, some Kyocera ceramic knives for him). We’re not just starting out. Plus we have a teeny-tiny kitchen and have had to be creative just to fit the stuff in that we do own. (Whenever I’m looking at something new in kitchen gear, my husband not-jokingly asks what I’m going to throw away first.)
My FIL finally asked my husband if we got the knives. He said yes and (politely) asked why he sent them. As we expected - he saw them on TV and “thought you’d like them.” :smack: They’re still in the box.
None. It probably has a lot to do with the fact that one of my husband’s aunts floated the idea that we not do presents for adults this year at the big family dinner - just for children. I was all for it because I have all the scented candles and body washes I need. It also cut my shopping list by about 10 people - all I needed was a bottle of booze for the hostess.
It was a strange Christmas, as far as gifts coming in went. My parents sprung for new tires for my Stang so that was the big ticket item – and much appreciated.
So it was down to stocking stuffer type things to round out the haul. And that included two DVDs that I already own, one DVD that I didn’t really want anyway and a book by Stephen King - I hate Stephen King.
BUT … I’ll give the book a shot. It sounds a little dopey, but what the hell (something about going back in time to stop the JFK assassination). And my sister gave me the receipt for those three movies which I promptly went out and traded for Civilization V … which has been one major time suck so far.
Just one "WTF, have you ever met me? " gift, and in all fairness I’m pretty sure it was in fact bought by someone who has never met me. It’s a purse from one of the leather stalls in Florence, and it’s a really, really nice purse…for someone else. It’s one of those baby backpack purses with the dividable strap that’s exactly the wrong length for every conceivable method of carrying the thing. And the lining is satin, which I will have destroyed in a matter of weeks. Also, it’s not very attractive.
I don’t know if this is the book that will change your mind about King, but I applaud your willingness to try it!
I did fairly well except for some tealight candle holders, a battery-operated desk fountain, and some scented soap (I have no sense of smell). I also got one too many cat calendars, but I already found someone who could use the spare.
The same uncle who got CrazyCatLady’s present above got me John Besh’s My New Orleans, an excellent cookbook and an admittedly terrific gift for me. So good, in fact, that he got it for me two years ago. (I suspect his ex-wife actually got it then and it’s likely that he never saw it.) What’s more, the price was marked out with a pen so I’ll never get anyone to take it back.
Another aunt got me some Tim McGraw cologne, which is great except that I pretty much hate both Tim McGraw and cologne.
My in-laws got me a Rev-a-Shelf cabinet cookware organizer for the kitchen. We’re currently remodeling our kitchen–a down-to-studs renovation. Problem is, we’re using drawers for the cookware, not cabinets, so there’s not a single cabinet I can put it in. It was a very thoughtful gift that I have no use for. Hopefully Lowe’s will take it back. I’ll probably trade it in for paint.
My parents got me a probably expensive weber grill with a set of propane tanks, the rolling stand to put it on, and other accessories. I have never in my life shown any desire to grill anything. And I still have none. Sis got me a panini press and panini cookbook. It’s more tempting, but keep in mind that I’ve never even made a grilled cheese sandwich. The paints and brushes she gave me were in theory very appropriate except that it’s not a paint I use and the brushes are WAY too big.
I’m still wondering what to do with the grill and press.
twickster, thanks for the clarification on the true authorship of the thread.
Just adding the note here that I’m not sure why we got it hand-delivered, as we were going to be seeing them on both Christmas Eve and Day. Maybe they didn’t want anyone else to be “jealous” that we got an extra present. Frankly, I would have handed it over on the spot to anyone else who showed the least amount of interest and thus had a justification for offloading it that didn’t involve being ungrateful.
Not really a Christmas present but it happened in December; cut for length and ugly family drama BS: [spoiler]FIL asked us to come over to help with some stuff around their house, then made a presentation out of giving us some monogrammed heirloom silver (place settings and a big ice bucket) from his parents. It was only after we’d finished expressing our gratitude and such that he revealed that at least one, maybe more, of my husband’s siblings desperately wanted this silver someday - which my husband had no idea existed before that day, but he’s a decade younger than his youngest sib so it’s possible - and that he intentionally gave it to us rather than anyone else.
Some past history: FIL and the family are alienated from the entire rest of his side of the family due to accusations of jewelry from their parents being taken by FIL/MIL. This has been going on for a couple decades and the cousins are only now starting to re-establish communications with each other, but not with their aunts/uncles. My husband and his sibs always thought the rumors were bullshit being spread by those who never did anything to take care of their ailing mother/grandmother, who ended up living with FIL/MIL until her death years later.
Yeah. So now we have family heirlooms that at least one of Hubby’s siblings wants, but that FIL would absolutely explode over if they got their hands on it. Not to mention considering the secrecy, I’m wondering whether this stuff wasn’t exactly distributed fairly, either. And because we can’t let anyone know, I can’t bring this out for family dinners.
I’m thinking about just waiting until after his eventual funeral and having the silver magically appear in the house.[/spoiler]
The closest I came to a dud was a box of Starbucks flavored coffees. My brother asked earlier if I needed a coffee maker and I said no. He thought I meant I had one and that’s what he really wanted to know. I assumed he was going to spend money on a coffeemaker and I’m perfectly happy with instant. So I ended up with a box of brew coffee and no coffeemaker.
However, I can use the coffeemaker at my office and my co-workers can enjoy it with me.
None. I got a DVD that I didn’t really want but there was a gift card that I definitely want hidden inside the front cover, so that doesn’t count as a dud. I got slippers, and I’ve never worn slippers (I don’t even like wearing socks), but I’ve found a use for them. The money, the mystery novels, the Red Sox t-shirt, and the iPhone 4S are all my style.
It’s the thought that counts. Yes, I got some stuff I would never in a million years use, but it was from people who genuinely wanted to give me something I would like and who did put a lot of thought into it, but who also happen to be somewhat clueless and tone-deaf about other peoples’ tastes. If I’d gotten crap from someone who was intentionally slighting me, or who just didn’t give a giddy goddamn, that would have been a different story. But all my “duds” were given out of sincere love, and that’s what I really received.
One that sticks out. For some reason, my mom’s boyfriend got my sister a lava lamp, and got me a fifth of Bailey’s I’m not even a big drinker, and I’ve *never *drank around him. They gave me a 6 pack of Mike’s Hard Lemonade that was leftover after Thanksgiving that I still haven’t touched. I would have loved a lava lamp, though.
But it was only a minor dud, in comparison to what he got someone else. Maybe he likes her better, or maybe my mom thinks I secretly drink like a fish, and they talk about it behind my back. I dunno! But my other gifts were all quite thoughtful, so I’m not letting it bother me too much.
I voted “a few” only because my mom decided to give me her Christmas dishes this year: service for 20 that I can only use practically maybe once or twice per year. But, it was kind of nice to be able to serve our feast without resorting to paper or plastic, and the dishes fit perfectly in the bottom of the china hutch, so maybe dud is too strong a word. Otherwise, I’ve learned to give my in-laws a list to choose from (to avoid the whole “scented crap I will never use, chocolates I don’t eat, and tchotchkes I hate but must display” thing,) and my mom gave me a piece of art pottery that I’ve admired for years. My awesome brother-in-law gave me books I love so far, and apologized for the toy that he chose for the baby*, parents-in-law gave us money (dad and stepmom) and kitchen stuff and new sheets that I asked for (mom and stepdad.) No complaints!
*If you happen to need a gift for a small child whose parents you hate, I recommend an evil little thing called a Singamajig. I told Tracy that he is henceforth required to babysit on day one of any toy he gives…
