The most baffling gift this year?
It was from my aunt: this two piece thing to sit on a mantle or something - it’s got this gnome like thing sitting and smoking a pipe. When set on the other part it rocks back and forth.
A flea collar.
I have no pets.
Yes, I’m serious.
The past few years from my mom I’ve gotten Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (the movie) related things. Last year I got a whole set of miniature figurines and this year I got two bobbleheads. I mean, I guess I like the movie, but what am I supposed to do with this stuff?
Also this year and last year I’ve gotten M&M related things. Last year it was an M&M portable FM radio that she also got her cousins’ kids, that we rarely see. This year it was an elaborate M&M dispenser, with the red and yellow M&M sitting in a hot rod. I guess I had a look of confusion, so she said “It’s a collectible.” Umm, what? I can’t imagine this being bought for anyone over the age of three, but it says it’s part of a series on the box. I wonder if this means I should expect more in coming years.
She got me some good things, but mostly some clothes that I’d pointed out. I mean, I appreciate her going out and trying to find a bunch of gifts for me, but I would have rather she just saved her money if she couldn’t find me anything that I would like, even though I live with her and she sees the types of things I buy for myself.
The flea collar is for you, dear.
Seriously, wear it next time you go out with the “gifter” and see what they say… 
Not baffling in the sense that most of the gifts are, but…
I have an older brother. He’s mildly autistic, a walking sports encyclopedia and is notorious for buying gifts that he himself would like, and then asking to borrow them. I was expecting this to be the third or fourth year where he got me a subscription to Maxim or FHM or something and came over to borrow them once a month or so.
This year, he gave me an absolutely beautiful varsity-style jacket from my university. It’s black artificial leather with blue artificial leather sleeves, the university logo stitched on the left chest and the mascot embroidered on the back.
Baffling because not only was it thoughtful, but I have NO idea where he got the money for it. I have no doubt that it was bought at a significant discount - he doesn’t have any money to speak of - but it doesn’t LOOK like a second or an irregular.
Well, here ya go Pay particular attention to question 8
I’m a Kiss fan . So, my mother gets me something Kiss related every year.
This year…
A KISS concert t-shirt from '78 “live at Cobo hall”
KISS incense And a KISS incense burner ( smoke come from Genes mouth.)
Cool huh?
One year, the only gift I got was from my mom. It was a little white plastic tweezer-like gizmo with various size holes for holding onto nails while you hammered them.
Since I was married with kids that year, the fact that that was my only gift is particularly sad.
My grandmother gave me the world’s ugliest plush cat.
I am beyond the age at which it is appropriate to give a girl a stuffed animal for Christmas, especially as the sole gift. My boyfriend buys me stuffed animals, but he knows my tastes and buys things that are of animals I think are cute in a style that is cuddly. This is ugly.
I do not like cats. I do not own a cat, I do not want to own a cat, I have never given anyone reason to think I love cats, I have nothing to do with cats at all.
I don’t get it.
A magnetic backgammon set for my fridge.
I don’t know how to play backgammon, and if I did, I’d most likely not want to play it on my fridge.
I didn’t get any particularly ‘meh?’ gifts but my SO (that’d be sleightofhand who just recently joined the boards :D) got one spectacular one from her Grandparents.
A porcelain clown doll…which plays a tinny little fairground tune…and whose upper body jerkily rotates veeeery slowly.
Its been a good long time since I’ve seen anything quite this creepy, I’m telling you folks, this is the stuff horror movies are made of.
It sounds like we need a SDMB White Elephant Party because I could use
- a good meat cleaver
- those pizza flavored sunflower nuts would please mr kiffa
- gas card would be nice
- cd repair machine [three teens with gazzillion CD laying around the house
- qtips would be gone in a month
I can understand the chocolates [my family sent tons of See’s candies, Belgian chocolates, multi flavored candy canes], but I am also a diabetic so my family gobble those down…
So what’s my contribution to this White Elephant christmas party?
How about another pair of gold earrings? That’s about a creative as mr kiffa gets… I have a ton of gold earrings and haven’t changed the ones I wearing since last Christmas. Or the Ethiopian shirt that one of my staff bought while attending a conference… I love Ethiopia patchwork. I like the bowl and coasters my brother and his family sent but I didn’t see them until Friday when I asked mr kiffa if he saw anything.
Another sigh that didn’t make this Christmas was that all the Christmas trimming [wrapping paper, ribbons, sacks, gift tags] couldn’t be found anywhere. I think they were thrown out because I found boxes that I saved from last year in the laundry supply room.
I guess all this makes me sound like I’m a seasons grouch. No, it just reminds me that I still tend to see Christmas thru kids eyes… no hassles, gifts that I truly love and need, that I have given gifts that are truly appreciated and that someone else does the Christmas dinner dishes other than me.
A S&W .38 with one round and a copy of Russian Roulette For Fun And Profit
A check for $20. This from one of my best friends–someone I’ve known for 25 years. I’ve always subscribed to the old saying “It’s the thought that counts”. Well, I hate seem ungrateful, but throwing a check in a Christmas card doesn’t really imply that a lot of thought was put into it.
I’ll trade you my Post-It notes for your check, chum.
Ah, I just checked. They’re not even real Post-It notes. They’re generic StickOn Notes.
Nothing says love like generic Post-Its.
Can I sign up for the Pirates of the Carribean DVD?
My contribution is a stocking stuffer from my mother. A small, pink, lacy, frilly pillow-thing, about eight inches across, stuffed with various herbs and things and polyester batting, with a note attached describing it as a “victorian dream pillow.”
Note: It’s too small to use as a throw pillow, actual pillow, counter trivet, draft blocker, cat bed, or any other conceivable use for a pillow-like object. It’s not smelly enough to use as a sachet. I hate pink. I hate lace, and I really hate frilly, kitchy, knick-knack crap.
This was from my mother, who is, in general, wonderfully skilled at the art of practical and accurate gift-giving, a woman who nearly always gives perfect gifts, and who is well aware of how un-girly I am, and how much I hate pink, frilly crap.
PS the price tag was still attached. It cost $30. WTF?
Glad I’m not the only one who got office supplies. My husband’s uncle gave us 50 blank CDs. At first we thought he had forgotten to get us anything at all, and so rummaged around in his home office and came up with the CDs. Then we found out that all the family members got blank CDs from him. To be fair, his kids had been sick and he hadn’t had much of a chance to go shopping, but it’s still rather puzzling.
My sister, who doesnt have a lot of personality, and is hard to shop For, always get terrible presents. like my cousin and his wife gave her a hot topic gift card, and she is the least hot topic kinda person I have ever met ( i mean she doesnt even own a black piece of clothing not even black pants) and my cousin had known us all our lives and we’re usually close but we actually laughed when she unwrapped it cause hot topic is her least favorite place in the world.
Good thing I do like Hot topic as she gave me the card as a christmas present.