What Was Your Best or Worst Gift You Either Gave or Recieved.

I got the best gift ever for this Christmas. My husband got a sketch made of my dad and got it framed. He gave it to me the Christmas morning. My dad passed away suddenly 3 months ago. This was the most touching gift ever. I was just bawling as though dad came back. It has been hell of emotional roller coaster.

I can laugh at this now but years many years ago I dated a total jerk who gave me a dart board because he loves to play darts (I am not into that) so in essence he bought it for himself! Glad that's in the past lol

Oh Ratna. That was so sweet! I'm thinking of you. I'm sorry about the loss of you dad. My husband died suddenly s year ago and it's just hell going through it. Best wishes to you!!!

My daughter's BF gave her a camera for her condo that de controls with her phone and she can check on her cat. Great idea and spot on for her!

We spent Christmas at Disney. It was beautiful and it had been a few years since we'd been. We wanted to go somewhere with special memories and it was perfect!

As far as gifts, there's nothing we really need and I love getting handmade soaps and unique stuff I'd never buy for myself. It was tough but we did enjoy Christmas. Last year we slept through it.

No stinkers here, just good stuff. My guy surprised me on Christmas Eve; we were walking by a favorite local hat shop when he told me to go in and pick out something. What a treat... I'd been eyeing a dark green fleece cap, and now I have it!

I had a fabulous Christmas. No bad gifts...money from my parents and in-laws and my husband got me and our girls Mama Mia tickets and tickets for a Bruce Springsteen tribute band. I got earphones and 3 "normal" radios. (Our old radios were internet radios and the software is no longer supported so I couldn't use them the last few months)

The week before Christmas I was washing and cutting chicken and my scissors were so dull I was practically ripping the chicken apart vs. cutting it. My husband ended up getting me scissors for Christmas. On Christmas Eve he came downstairs with my wrapped presents and told me not to peak or try to guess what he got me. He had put the wrapping paper around the handles of the scissors so the shape was easily recognizable...it was so funny and I just love how he makes me laugh.

For Hanukkah a few years ago, our son gave us a book made up of photographs from some great trips he had been on or great moments he had but we missed: a high school camping trip to Colorado, some running photos from college, etc. It's a hard cover book he made through Apple (I think) but you can also do them through Shutterfly. He wrote a preface, made the title page, made comments about us giving him opportunities, etc.

We did something similar for a significant birthday for my mother - you know, the gift for someone who has everything or needs less and less? As her memory fails and she worries about not being useful, we wrote a list of things we love about her (including great memories from days past - which are often easier to remember than what she had for breakfast), included photos, etc. Each of us wrote our own list, and then we collaborated on a group list for things we all shared. It's something she treasures.

Worse gifts? My great aunt used to give us coloring books when we were in high school - and she had colored some of the pages herself! And this was before adult coloring books had been thought of. She often gave us used stuff. My mother in law gave us stuff from her closet every year - ancient silver pieces loaded with tarnish and wrapped in old pillow cases (no idea why), and she gave me a necklace from which she had removed the diamond so I just got the empty setting! But these were idiosyncrasies of both women and I still wish they were around to give me stuff I could roll my eyes at!

My brother and his wife put little thought into anything - they would buy a bunch of copies of the year's best seller and then give it to everyone on their list. And everyone sat there saying "thank you for the same thing you gave the person next to me." They often supported causes they knew we hated and gave us something that represented it ("a donation has been made in your name to something that's anathema to you" - it was a holier-than-thou slap in the face). These had nothing to do with money - they had plenty, and spent it - but put no consideration into any of it and made it all a statement about them. We don't exchange gifts with them anymore.

I'm too old to really stress about what I'm getting or giving for Christmas. I get things I like and can use and I don't think I've given a bad gift to anyone, at least I hope not. LOL

My husband is always very good about getting me nice jewelry and he now even shops sales so I feel better about that since I don't like to spend full price for anything. =0) And he got me the 4 slice toaster I really wanted. lol

I try to get the kids the things they really love but not everything they ask for. They are teens so they are more expensive now. My son got a new xbox one S (the used one my ex bought him broke 8 months ago) and my daughter a DS2 and a couple games. They are so happy!

Next year I'm going to try to make it a point to focus more on people that don't have as much as we do. I'd like to find a soup kitchen or charity that delivers to the homeless or sponsor a family or even an Angel Tree. Focus more on giving to people who need things than us who already have more than we need.

Happy New Year to you and your family!

my husband and i got each other the bowflex max trainer 14 minute workout thingummy. i call it the Soul Crusher, and it's easily both the best and the worst present of this year.
beyond that, i must say that while it was a busy, stressful and grief-filled christmas, present-wise it was stellar. i picked presents that were super well received pretty much across the board, and got showered in things that surprised and delighted me. and i spent less than usual!
khairete
S.

Best gifts - a gift card for a massage and a roomba.

Worst - I honestly don't have anything for this. If I had to choose it would be only that I had dropped significant hints that I wanted a particular Christmas movie on DVD because I rarely see it on TV. DH forgot which movie and got me a different one by mistake. The one I got is still good though.

ETA: I read this as what was your favorite and least favorite this year.

got my brother a glass chess set one year.. his response? "i don't need this." worst gift giving ever.. (and i thought i nailed it)
dh gave me a soda stream... then said not to buy any mixes wtih sucralose in them... all the mixes have that in them.. so i have a useless carbonbater on my counter.

the worst thing ever for christmas is sick kids.. it never fails, we get to attend half the parties and then the fevers and coughing or vomiting hit and were stuck at home for the rest of the holiday break.

best gift ever? my mom got me yarn. enough to make a sweater i had been eying but not wanting to pick a color scheme for. she picked perfect colors and it was one of the bast things ever.. then my son picks yarn as a gift for me every year too so i get to make myself more things in crochet. love my yarn!
best gift giving ever? hand crocheted afghans.. one for every member of the family. took several years to get them all made, but every one got one and they all love them and use them often. total win

Hard to say really. I think as long as you give something that isn't TOO personalized (without knowing for certain that it is exactly what the person wants) and it fits them then it can be great. Big or small. Nobody wants trinkets for their decor that they didn't choose themselves. They just don't. I'll decorate my own space, thanks.
But since we love coffee.. any coffee bean gift is welcomed. Or coffee mugs. Or coffee gift cards to a place we get get coffee. (Can we afford coffee out ourselves? yes. But it makes it a treat and guilt free when you splurge on the thing you normally wouldn't buy---the larger one, or the one with the extra shots of espresso maybe, or just on the way into work when you'd normally make it at home during the week.)
If you are a reader... good books. Or bookstore cards (same reason--yes, can afford to buy whichever books we want--but it 's guilt free-no thinking "I should be spending this on XXX.")

If you like wine or mixed drinks... never can go wrong with a decent bottle of something you know they like. If you know the type but not a particular bottle--go to a wine store and ASK.

Now that we are all grown ups (seriously, around 50--all the siblings), I don't need or want you guessing what sweater I'll wear, or what size, etc. A nice $10-15 bottle of a wine you know I enjoy or think I might enjoy based on my tastes is fabulous! I can experiment without worrying I've wasted $.

Mom gave me some decorative smelly seashell stuff this year. (why? It doesn't even match my decor at all.) But she also made my husband and me a quilt. MADE. Hand quilted on a quilt frame. LOVE!

I have young adult nieces who are mostly independent now. While we don't go overboard, I think it's nice to give them perks... ChikFila A calendar (with the calendar card that gives them one free item each month of the year) and a Starbucks card with enough $ loaded on it for 2-3 drinks (not plain coffee). It doesn't break the bank, and it isn't a poor guess about clothing tastes or musical tastes, or duplicating a gift concerns. They are nice little perks to brighten their day here or there next month (or once a month all year).

I like perfume I like and husband is pretty good at figuring out what scents suit me. But I am NOT a fan of the gift SETS that come with body wash or lotion in them as well. It's too much and I don't tend to ever use those parts of the set. They are a waste.

Best gift ever? Well, that's pretty tough... I'll go sappy and say hearing my teen kids playing a game at the breakfast table and one says, "We have to play it again! No, we're not done... I'm going to win this next one. Best 2 out of 3!"

I don't think I've given anything that totally missed the mark and if I have, the recipient was gracious enough to not let on. One of the better gifts I've given have been photo books. I made some a few years ago for my grandmother and grandmother-in-law and was able to get hundreds of photos going back to their own childhoods. It was a ton of work but both enjoyed showing them off to visitors and friends in the months after.

Worst gifts are from my ex. He tries to get me something "from the kids" each year. My kids are horrible at picking out gifts for me (here's another running hoodie that you won't wear because it's 3 sizes too small and you hate pullover hoodies because they feel claustrophobic and we'll ignore the fact that you've said this 100 times) so this year, I gave him some ideas to steer the kids towards including jigsaw puzzles, PJ bottoms (and noted the specific size), and a couple of things for the house. He got me PJ bottoms in the wrong size and a book that's supposed to be funny that isn't. Oh well!

IMO, there are no bad gifts.
There are gifts that don't suit my taste or my needs, but that does not make them bad gifts.
Gifts are an indicator that someone took time to pick out something specifically for me. THAT is the gift I treasure, regardless of what is under the wrapping paper.

I bought Sharper Image clock for my adult children. It did not work. I was so embarrassed. Thank goodness that they loved the other gift. Lol

I went to a gift exchange party at a friend's house. You were supposed to bring a gift that costs around $15 to exchange and everyone picked names out of a hat. I brought a cool looking coffee mug from a local art gallery. The gift I picked was maybe the worst gift I've ever gotten....a little rubber chicken that you use to stopper a bottle of wine! It's totally goofy and ugly!

Best gift ever? Tyler had a blanket made with a photo of my four boys on it! It's mine and I love it!

Worst gift ever? a broken anniversary clock. It was beautiful, but the globe had shattered and it was so shattered that the pieces got into the face of the clock. We couldn't get it replaced either. That's what made it the worst. My mom had thrown away the receipt and the place wouldn't accept the return without it.