# Really lousy Christmas presents. **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 30, 2008, 10:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040 "2008-11-30T10:30:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Abraca\_Deborah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e495f1/32.png) [@Abraca\_Deborah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abraca_Deborah)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/81 "2008-12-03T03:10:44Z")
One year my husband’s mother, his aunt, and his grandmother all pitched in and got him an ironing board. Apparently they thought this is just what evey bachelor wants. ---
**Author:** ![gravitycrash](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/977dab/32.png) [@gravitycrash](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gravitycrash)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/82 "2008-12-03T03:27:25Z")
Or even a married man. I specifically buy things that only the Hulk could wrinkle. I use my dryer time wisely. Take the garments out when they are still slightly moist and hang them up and magic happens… no need for the dreaded ironing board. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/83 "2008-12-03T04:00:26Z")
> [@Abraca\_Deborah](#): > > One year my husband’s mother, his aunt, and his grandmother all pitched in and got him an ironing board. > > Apparently they thought this is just what evey bachelor wants. Three people _pitched in_ to buy an ironing board? Was this in the Depression? That aside, I might not mind a nice ironing board that doesn’t screetch like a metallic bat out of hades every time I open it. ---
**Author:** ![Duke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e8c25b/32.png) [@Duke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Duke)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/84 "2008-12-03T04:24:12Z")
> [@Heffalump\_and\_Roo](#): > > That website gave my anti-virus fits in case anyone else is thinking of opening it without an anti-virus. > > My anti-virus said, Danger, danger! and flailed its arms about. Sorry about that ☹ That site usually doesn’t cause problems. I’ll alert a mod. ---
**Author:** ![Cyberhwk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7993a0/32.png) [@Cyberhwk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cyberhwk)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 10:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/85 "2008-12-03T10:04:56Z")
Had this same thread on another message board. One woman’s mother gave her an **ironing board cover**. Nobody else posted. ---
**Author:** ![Abraca\_Deborah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e495f1/32.png) [@Abraca\_Deborah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abraca_Deborah)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 2:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/86 "2008-12-03T14:00:43Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Three people _pitched in_ to buy an ironing board? Was this in the Depression? Hee hee… no, it was much later. They had each given him a gift individually (shirts, ties), but they all thought it would be nice to give a group gift! Maybe he could have helped out the girl who received the ironing board cover!! Great thread! The laundry hamper story is hilarious. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 2:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/87 "2008-12-03T14:41:15Z")
When I was a teen in the nineties I had a pair of aunts who were permanently stuck in the seventies and would constantly give me gifts of bellbottoms and tartan and all kinds of stuff that should never have made it out of that decade. I can’t remember a “worst” gift, but I’ll keep thinking about it. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/88 "2008-12-03T14:47:13Z")
Oh, yeah. My cousin, who must have been no older than 10 at the time, got a smoke detector. I’m sure she got other stuff, too, but she did get a smoke detector. Robin ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/89 "2008-12-03T14:56:14Z")
> [@MsRobyn](#): > > My cousin, who must have been no older than 10 at the time, got a smoke detector. I’m sure she got other stuff, too, but she did get a smoke detector. Oh. Sweet. Jesus. ---
**Author:** ![taxi78cab](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47c2d/32.png) [@taxi78cab](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/taxi78cab)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/90 "2008-12-03T17:30:38Z")
When I was ~15 (so awkward teenager stage) a guy who had a huge crush on me and who I mostly tolerated gave me a cheese ball. In front of our whole class. I really tried to smile and show appreciation, but how do you show appreciation for a cheese ball? ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/91 "2008-12-03T17:38:43Z")
> [@taxi78cab](#): > > When I was ~15 (so awkward teenager stage) a guy who had a huge crush on me and who I mostly tolerated gave me a cheese ball. In front of our whole class. I really tried to smile and show appreciation, but how do you show appreciation for a cheese ball? Was it rolled in crushed nuts? ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/92 "2008-12-03T17:56:38Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > Any present that’s about Christmas is generally a bad idea. Grinch ties and reindeer sweaters come to mind, as do tree ornaments. Great, you can enjoy it for maybe two or three days, then you have to wait 11 months for it to become useful again. And that’s assuming it’s not tacky. I love to get ornaments! I can bring them out like a little surprise each year and think of the person. And the rest of the year I don’t have to fell guilty about not having them on display to catch dust. Of course, conditioner\* and an iron board cover would be greatly appreciated too. \*mine’s $25 ---
**Author:** ![Arglefraster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3bc359/32.png) [@Arglefraster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arglefraster)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/93 "2008-12-03T18:13:20Z")
One year, my mom had been eyeing a nice, pricy set of drinking glasses about a month or so before Christmas. So my dad bought her a set and hid them, planning on giving them to her for Christmas. Then my mom found a different set of glasses that she liked better, and she bought them, not knowing dad had already bought her the ones she’d been looking at before. So he gave them to me and my sister instead. I think I was about 12, which would have made my sister about 8. Drinking glasses. That had been bought for someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/94 "2008-12-03T18:25:46Z")
For your dowry! ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/95 "2008-12-03T18:45:50Z")
> [@Hazle\_Weatherfield](#): > > Anyway, the most fun part of being a collector is…COLLECTING! Don’t take it all away from us! > > As you were… On the other hand, if you can decide to “collect” something fairly specific, then you are seldom disappointed at Christmas time. Because I’m hard to buy for, I decided to start collecting silver bells for my Christmas tree. Wallace has one, Towle has one, Lennox, Lunt, Reed and Barton - I don’t really care. I’m now seldom disappointed in gifts, because my family gives me these - and there isn’t the thrill of the hunt for these things. If I get two of the same, they still look nice on the tree, if I’m missing a year, I don’t care. Granted, I’m not collecting in the true collector sense - I’m giving people something that they can go out and purchase without having to wonder if I’ll like it. ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/96 "2008-12-03T19:12:04Z")
> [@gigi](#): > > I love to get ornaments! I can bring them out like a little surprise each year and think of the person. And the rest of the year I don’t have to fell guilty about not having them on display to catch dust. That’s my take on the ornaments as well - even the ones where I think “this isn’t me” seem reflective of the person who gave it to me - and I can stick those on the back of the tree after I think “my step mother in law doesn’t have any idea who I am.” And there is always a certain amusement in “wow, what a miss” once a year. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/97 "2008-12-03T19:36:22Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > On the other hand, if you can decide to “collect” something fairly specific, then you are seldom disappointed at Christmas time. I can see that, but I’ll leave it to _you_ explain to my mom who Lisa De Leeuw is. ---
**Author:** ![Shirley\_Ujest](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/98 "2008-12-03T19:59:46Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > One year when my brother and I were young, a large gift appeared under the tree marked with both our names. We spent plenty of time before Christmas hovering over it and speculating about what wonderful thing would be in that big ol’ box. Maybe the fact that it was from our great grandma should have tipped us off, but no…we were filled with joyous anticipation. Finally the big day came. The gift was lugged out to the middle of the room and we tore into it together like greed-crazed puppies. > > It was a clothes hamper. > > We looked at each other. We looked at Great Grandma. She looked proud and said, “Now maybe you’ll pick your clothes up off the floor!” > > “Great” grandma my ass. I laughed. I cried. I laughed some more. I ( heart) your Great Grandma! My most memorable present came from my late brother, brother #3. Who was not late at that time, cause getting presents from dead people is just creepy. With his disability from Muscular Dystrophy slowly robbing him of his balance and his refuse to use a cane AND his refusal to park in handicap ( #3 was delusional, amongst other things, TYVM.) he was stagger into a store. Rest for a few minutes by leaning on the wall and then see the center aisle impulse shelves and go a-christmas shopping. ( This was before the Electric Cart Mafia brigade took over America, which has summarily has been taken over by Obese People in the Dorito aisle, but I digress.) I know and you know and everybody else on the planet knows that anything in the center aisle at Holiday time is GARBAGE and TACKY or JUST PLAIN CRAP, but as I stated, #3 lived in his own happy place. He was also on disability and broker than a broke ho. That Christmas I got a sausage log. Years earlier, I might have stabbed him with said sausage log because who in the hell gives a 10 years younger than you baby sister a Freakin’ Sausage log for any kind of present? I mean, c’mon!!!11!!! Somewhere along the road of life I must have grown up or lowered my expectations. Maybe I learned compassion. I don’t know. Knowing he was broke and struggled with mundane life chores, I just smiled at him and said, " You were hungry when you went shopping, weren’t you?" “Howja know?” “Care for some sausage log?” “Never thought you’d ask.” Quite possibly, the best worst present I ever received. ---
**Author:** ![Influential\_Panda](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Influential\_Panda](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Influential_Panda)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/99 "2008-12-03T20:16:06Z")
You don’t love log? Everyone loves a log. Come on and get your log. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [December 3, 2008, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-lousy-christmas-presents/475040/100 "2008-12-03T20:17:37Z")
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