Gifts you've gotten, but didn't really want

[franksolich]

Okay, that's too cool.

This isn't quite the same thing, but as it's coffee mugs, it'll fit in.....somehow.

In a closet here, I have 22 coffee mugs with my name painted on them.

I'm very superstitious about this; I don't want, and have never wanted, anything with my name on it, or even my initials.  It's bad luck, at least for me.

I've been presented those coffee mugs ever since I was a teenager, and hurriedly stashed them away as soon as I got them.  Usually things with my name on them, I give to thrift stores, but thrift stores are generally way overloaded with personalized coffee mugs, so I just hide these out of sight.

The only thing I use with my name enscribed on it are the checks in the checkbook.

Along the same vein, when I was working at the Nebraska Department of Health, for a Christmas present, my favorite co-worker gave me some wooden Christmas tree ornaments, toy soldiers, six of them.....without knowing I really despite anything other than glass ornaments on a Christmas tree.  No plastic, no foam, and most of all no wood.

The fiance of my then-best friend noticed the half dozen wooden toy soldiers, and as she liked me (not so much any more, but this was back then), she presented me with four somewhat larger, somewhat more intricate, wooden toy soldiers.

Those were still on the dining room table (I didn't have time to hide them) when a niece-in-law spied them, and immediately thought, "oh, he likes wooden Christmas tree ornaments....." and then gave me a whole lot of wooden violins, drums, basses, trombones, oboes, whatever else.

The next-door neighbor had heard about that, and soon thereafter gave me three antique wooden Christmas tree ornaments (they weren't heirlooms, no).

Damn.

The then-girlfriend became aware of this, and erroneously figured I wanted wooden Christmas tree ornaments, and gave me four of them.....5"+ tall, and actually wooden marionettes, although meant to hang on a Christmas tree (I always have large Christmas trees, no matter where a live).

Of course, the thoughts were touching, and I appreciated that, but damn.

I would've rather had the thoughts alone, and not the wooden ornaments too.

[franksolich]

Thanks for splitting this off from asdf's original thread, madam.

I didn't mean to detour his most-excellent thread, but wasn't thinking at the time, being preoccupied with the cats Harold and William slumbering on the dining room table.

[jtyangel]

No worries, frank!

[Wineslob]

My mother gets me dress shoes. Hate them.

[Toastedturningtidelegs]

An air popcorn popper! It was way too much work!

[BEG]

A bottle of sprinkles (the kind you use on cupcakes) from my mother-in-law. 

[Chris]

A bottle of sprinkles (the kind you use on cupcakes) from my mother-in-law. 

I got some Marty McFly-looking vest from my stepmother a couple years ago.  I have never worn a vest.  Ever.

[Chris]

I got some silly thing from my sister a couple years ago... it's sole purpose was for making enchiladas.  It looked like a cheap waffle iron with a Taco Bell logo on the top.

[BEG]

I got some Marty McFly-looking vest from my stepmother a couple years ago.  I have never worn a vest.  Ever.

My sprinkles came with a gift tin of homemade chex party mix and a pillow she made that was ugly as sin.  My sister-in-law (now my ex SIL) got the same thing.  We always joked about the "sprinkles" christmas.  This was about 15 years ago.  

[guest]

For me, there has never really been a gift that I disliked.  My family knows better, anyway.

However, there is one gift that does cause trouble:

  My step-grandmother knitted a beautiful blanket in various shades of green to compliment the silver sage color (a light shade of green) of my bedroom walls.  Everyone I know thinks its ugly, but I love it, and it keeps me warm.  Any gift that takes time to make should be appreciated, not scorned.  It upsets me every time a rude family member or "friend" makes a pathetic remark about the blanket, or the artwork my sister created for my bedroom.

[Chris]

What about a bacon-and-egg scarf or a knitted moustache and beard?

[Chris_]

What about a bacon-and-egg scarf or a knitted moustache and beard?

Well, that's certainly...creative.       

[franksolich]

I had an older brother who always used to give me fluorescent-colored socks for Christmas, when he knew damned well I never wore anything other than black or dark blue or dark brown socks.

It kind of strained our relationship.

[Chris]

I had an older brother who always used to give me fluorescent-colored socks for Christmas, when he knew damned well I never wore anything other than black or dark blue or dark brown socks.

It kind of strained our relationship.

My brother got me a completely-useless wooden Chinese puzzle.  It's still in the box and I've never used it. 

I have enough crap in my life... I don't need to torture myself with some damn stupid puzzle.

[Zeus]

I got a substancial sum of money from my fathers estate when he passed. Did with that what I've done with other gifts I didn't desire or want,regifted.

[asdf2231]

Robo Sapian.

I made the mistake of saying "That's kinda cool" in a store and my wife, the worlds WORST gift picker-outer (Though she has gotten MUCH better in the last few years.) nabbed it for me.

I also got an aquarium one year and I hate fish. Well most fish anyway. Our Betta Finn McCool is pretty neat.

[Lord Undies]

When I was a lad, my passion was cars.  When I was three years old I could stand in the front seat and name every car we encountered on the road.  I had every toy car you can imagine.  

For my fifth birthday my parents took me to Toy World in Wynnewood Shopping Center in Oak Cliff.  I picked out three scale model cars.  Two Chrysler Imperials and a Lincoln Continental.  I remember they cost $2.00 each (about $15.00 in 2008 $$).  I was in Heaven.

That's just for background.

Then for Christmas 1962, my parents got me a BIG-O Barbie Doll car.  I'm still traumatized.

Of course, to my parents, it was just another toy car for their son.  To me...well....I almost cried.  I was so torn.  I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.....and I damn sure couldn't be seen playing with a Barbie car.   The Barbie car had been advertised on television every five minutes for the last three months.  Every kid would recognize it.  I was so unhappy.

As an adult, my mistake was buying a ceramic elephant once....

[BEG]

When I was a lad, my passion was cars.  When I was three years old I could stand in the front seat and name every car we encountered on the road.  I had every toy car you can imagine.  

For my fifth birthday my parents took me to Toy World in Wynnewood Shopping Center in Oak Cliff.  I picked out three scale model cars.  Two Chrysler Imperials and a Lincoln Continental.  I remember they cost $2.00 each (about $15.00 in 2008 $$).  I was in Heaven.

That's just for background.

Then for Christmas 1962, my parents got me a BIG-O Barbie Doll car.  I'm still traumatized.

Of course, to my parents, it was just another toy car for their son.  To me...well....I almost cried.  I was so torn.  I didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings.....and I damn sure couldn't be seen playing with a Barbie car.   The Barbie car had been advertised on television every five minutes for the last three months.  Every kid would recognize it.  I was so unhappy.

As an adult, my mistake was buying a ceramic elephant once....

LOL I remember that story.  I also remember trying to google a picture of it.   

[Miss Mia]

My grandmother when she was alive was a huge shopper from Lillian Vernon and QVC.  I got for many many years this garish jewelry that had these big almost neon pink stones and were bright gold.  I had a whole set, earrings, bracelets, necklaces, etc.  I never wore any of it.

[Zeus]

I got the measles on my Birthday once,that was a bummer.

[Lord Undies]

LOL I remember that story.  I also remember trying to google a picture of it.   

It was orangy pink and big enough to sit on and break!

[Lord Undies]

LOL I remember that story.  I also remember trying to google a picture of it.   

Hey!  When I passed your house this morning, I waved.  I was in Corinth for almost 90 seconds.

[Hawkgirl]

The ugliest Christmas sweater that I donated the following year
And there is that one aunt the buys $2 gifts for everyone.  We each (cousins) have to open our gift in private so everyone doesn't laugh.

[DixieBelle]

My MIL buys the strangest things. One year I got a box that had: a hot pink ski suit (I've never touched a pair of skis in my life) a spatula set that was missing two pieces, a box of hummus mix and some birdseed. All of this was in one box as my Christmas gift.

She just throws things together at the last minute and pulls stuff out of her closets because she lives in a huge house and never throws anything away. She's not a hoarder, because it's all clean and hidden. But she certainly has a warped concept of gift giving.

[Chris_]

I have never received a bad gift.

I am invariably touched by the fact someone got me a gift and take it in the spirit of giving.