OT - What's the worst or strangest holiday gift you have ever received?

[momathome]

As I start tackling my holiday shopping and have been thinking about holdiays past, my SIL reminded me of the ridiculous gift that my inlaws bestowed on us last year - they gave us a letter saying they purchased $100 worth of stock in our name that we could "cash in" on whenever we wanted. The company they invested in went under 4 months later. So, what "gift" have you received that left you scratching you head???
-Lauren

[KUvsOU]

My SIL and IL bought me maternity clothes after I specifically asked them not to buy them. I had to return them all as they were winter clothes and I didn't really need any maternity clothes until spring. They also gave me a subscription to Fit Pregnancy magazine, which I guess was ok.

Shawna
Mom of Cade 6/16/02

[Calmegja2]

Well, there would be the big Bible I was given by my mother, knowing that I'm Unitarian, and atheist. That was odd.

The huge ceramic pig from my grandmother was unusual.

The weirdest gift I have ever been given was a set of his and her razors from my SIL/BIL.

They were shaped like genitalia, respectively, and fit together for convenience sake in the shower. I needed a shower after I unwrapped them, they ooged me out so terribly..... ;-)

[momathome]

OMG, Jessica, that is disgusting!!! Creative, but DISGUSTING!!!
-Lauren

[Calmegja2]

You know, coming from my SIL, I cannot say that I was all that surprised.... ;-)

She routinely buys my husband underwear as a gift.

It's just strange. Really strange. Thankfully, they live far away....so we can say our thank yous over the phone instead of face to face....

[mharling]

I went home with my college boyfriend for Christmas Eve and his parents gave me a big pair of white furry kitty slippers. Not my type of thing at all!! Especially when I was 19.

Mary & Lane 4/6/03
http://www.shutterfly.com/osnt.jsp?i=67b0de21b356c32425b2 - Halloween Pics!

[momathome]

Dh's grandmother, who is more than a little out to lunch, gave my BIL a jar of peanut butter a few years ago for Christmas - we keep wondering when he is going to get the jelly. That same year, she gave my SIL a plate that she claimed was a family heirloom - it had United Airlines stamped on the back of it. Did I mention I have weird inlaws???
-Lauren

[MelissaTC]

My In-Laws tend to buy some unusual gifts. Last Christmas, they gave my DH like 3 of those store food sets. You know the kind, the ones they sell at K-Mart that you buy for someone you have no clue what to get. And it wasn't even like it was the cool Smuckers sundae set, or the family pancake set or even gourmet. No. It was the Jack Daniels BBQ set that came with a few BBQ tools, 4 mugs that said Jack Daniels on them and a bottle of sauce. I thought it was a little insensitive to give it to him considering our deck & grill was demolished by a fallen tree during the ice storms here last December. They also gave him a NASCAR hot cocoa set with 4 mugs. DH doesn't even drink hot cocoa. I guess I should be happy with my old lady plastic wallet then...LOL...

They are sending us a nice check for Christmas this year. THANK GOD!

[Meatball Mommie]

This isn't a gift I received myself, but it's definitely the strangest I've heard of. My husband's grandmother gave his aunt (her daughter) a TONGUE SCRAPER kit for Xmas one year!! What kind of message was she trying to give? We always tease his aunt about it! My DH's grandmother isn't that old (so not senile yet) but she is a little strange. She gave my DH a pocket watch one year for his b-day but it was broken!

[Sandy]

hmmm.. That would be from my husband. One year he asked me what I wanted and I didn't really have a lot that I wanted at the time except maybe a nice pair of new shoes. I figured he could call my best friend and take her shopping or get me a gift certificate. Anyways I guess he went to Nordstroms to get the gift certificate and they advised him that I would not be able to cash it in for cash in case I did not find a pair that I liked there. His solution. Buy me the most outrageous gifts that he could find so that I could return it. This is what I can remember but I may have forgotten a few of the items:

A size 48 G Bra. (Not my normal size. He asked for the biggest one they had and honestly my head could have fit in one of the cups.)

A red velvet thong teddy with fur. (not my style)

A pair of lime green fuzzy slippers. (think sesame street puppet fur)

Oh yeah, I also got my shoes. A pair of Mens Clarks Sandals size 14.

There were a couple of other things but I can't really remember what they were now. He also got me a gift I couldn't return. He had a jeweler custom make me a Platinum necklace with a charm (I had been teasing my hubby about his beer belly and said he was going to start looking like a sumo wrestler) so if you guessed that the platinum charm was a sum wrestler complete with the big belly and the little loin cloth thing they wear. I get a ton of questions whenever I wear it.

You gotta love his creativity and luckily I have a pretty good sense of humor. He also said that if he had just gotten me the gift certificate I might have accused him of not putting any thought or effort into my gift. Well he definitely put a ton of thought and effort into it.


Sandy mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02

[pritchettzoo]

That is so funny! I bet he had a blast. That's such a great idea.

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[pritchettzoo]

My dad, stepmother, and I got matching Christmas sweatshirts from my aunt and uncle one year (stepmother's sister and BIL). That doesn't sound very weird, does it? Well, they were all size small (and my dad and I are definitely not smalls and SM is a medium) and I was a senior in high school. And we got together after Christmas...

Those relatives usually win the prize. The next year we all got Honey Baked Ham gift certificates. What the heck is a college freshman living in a dorm supposed to do with $25 worth of spiral sliced ham??

When I was 13, I had to go to Christmas with my mom's new husband's family (now ex-husband, thank GOD!). I got one of those K-Mart gift packs of summer sausages...

This is a fun thread! Thanks, OP!

Anna
Mama to Gracie (9/16/03)

[parkersmama]

Sandy, that is so funny!! Your dh sounds hilarious to be around! Were you sort of freaking out as you opened these things?? "Is this really what he thinks my taste is? Do my boobs look this big? And what's the deal with these men's shoes?!" LOL!

[celfsh]

LOL! Thanks for the laugh, Sandy. Your DH sounds like a hoot!

celeste
mom to olivia 9/25/02

[lisaE]

OK-
My Mom is terrible about buying gifts. She loves to give me knick-knacky things, you can look around my house and tell that I hate things like that. Anyway...
Last year she gave DH a sweater that was size Large. He's obviously not a large- he wears XXL. Once we got home, we looked at the tags again and noticed that it was a women's sweater. Ha!
She also gave him one of those metal head-scratchers that fits down over your whole head. Totally random.

Lisa

[doubleL]

A used potty. Yes, MIL got DS, 18-months old at the time, a potty from a consignment store last Christmas. I love getting a good deal on used toys, but, come on...

Lou
~DS 5.01
~DD 6.03

[doubleL]

Anna,

You have me laughing out loud again!

Lou
~DS 5.01
~DD 6.03

[Sandy]

I always tell him that I didn't marry him for his good looks as he is always implying. DH is a incredibly funny guy and very creative and original. Which is a good thing if he didn't keep cracking me up I may have killed him by now. As it is I can't seem to stay mad at him because he makes me laugh so hard.

I didn't realize it but my MIL was taking pictures of me as I opened these presents and the look on my face was priceless.

Sandy mom to Alexander Thor 3/16/02

[alleyoop]

My MIL is famouse for giving me old stuff from her closets, and then asking for it back. One year, she gave me a whole set of "china" that was totally destroyed. The pattern was 1950's simple ceramic houseware, avacado green with pictures of prickly pear cactus on them. Yummy! The worst part is that just last year she asked for them back so that she could ebay the set!

Oh, but this takes the cake! She gave DH her great-great-aunt's ring to give to me when he proposed. On my wedding day, she grabs my hand and says really really loud. "Oh, this ring is so pretty. I wish I hadn't given it to Tim to give to you. I hope you get divorced so that I get it back!" :o

[mrmansmom]

My aunt and uncle aren't exactly up on the current (or even recently outdated) fashion trends, so I always get interesting gifts form them (as does everyone else in my family). Last year I got a couple of sweaters that just weren't up my alley (I've blocked the specifics out of my mind). I tried to return them a few days after Christmas last year and after the clerk scanned the tag he looked at me and told me that he could give me a quarter for each of them- my aunt had aparently purchased them on sale after LAST Christmas and they had absolutely no value anymore. I kept them and donated them to Good Will. What's really funny is that the same thing happened to my brother and my mother at different stores.

[nathansmom]

My brother gave me a used school copy of the play (Grease) the school held that year. Along with that I got 2 rolls of toilet paper and a candy bar. I've never figured out why he put that combo together. Maybe he gave me something to read and eat while on the toilet.

[ddmarsh]

My youngest sister cannot sleep without a fan on, a habit started while she was in college. The year this habit began an older aunt in our family thoughtfully purchased her a very small, personal-size fan. This personal-size fan looked very much like a very, very personal item if you know what I mean and my poor aunt was oblivious to that fact :). We laughed so hard that year!

[SeekerMage]

hehehe, this is a great thread!
LAst year my scatter brained aunt gave Angela (our first christmas with her no less) two cans of soup (cheap aldi's soup not even good campbells!) A huge soup mug, apple butter and some crackers! The look on Angela's face was priceless as she opened it all....it was clearly a what the? we got pictures too hehehe.....and of course, my sister, whom is in college and could have benefited from the gift, she got a stuffed bear, granted it came with perfume, but none the less! Oh, and my grandma gave her a used stuffed animal that she has had sitting in her living room for years! Definitly something to remember, we cant wait to see what the baby gets this year!~

[DDowning]

Great Thread!

The worst gift I ever got was from an ex-boyfriends mom. I received a bathroom scale. Ummmmm, thanks? I really didn't know what to say to that.

[August Mom]

The all-time worst gift came from my aunt and uncle for DS. It is a stuffed bear that talks and moves - Talk to Me Teddy by Avon. Nevermind that it's for ages 3 and up (and DS received it as a baby); nevermind that you have to be able to talk to activate it. This toy is RUDE. You have to say very specific phrases and then the bear will give a prefab response back. For example, you say "Teddy, I love you." Teddy replies "Your cave or mine." Nice for a child, huh?

I used to get strange, but very expensive, gifts from another aunt and uncle all through childhood. Maybe they were just adult gifts because once I became an adult, I thought the gifts got a lot better. In middle school, I got a silver travel sewing kit that was about the size of 2 thimbles. (In retrospect, this was really nice, but for a middle school student, it wasn't a big hit). In high school, they gave me an eel skin lipstick holder. I also got a sweatsuit hand painted with metallic bubble paints that hardened upon washing and started to crack. It was really strange and ugly looking, but probably cost a fortune. I can't even remember most gifts. I just know that I always dreaded opening gifts from them. The first year that DH and I were married, he got tobacco scented cologne from them. I thought this was weird because a) DH doesn't wear cologne and b) neither of us smokes or likes the smell of tobacco. Thankfully, he gets Barnes & Noble and Blockbuster gift cards now. LOL

From an older cousin, I got a package of those wheat cracker/processed cheese sandwiches and a wooden apple. Her mom, my great aunt, gave me a package of white napkins.

This was a birthday gift, but my mom got me a garbage disposal a year ago. At Thanksgiving, we did have a little backup problem with the sink/disposal, but still. I'm sure the pictures of me opening that would have been priceless.

[bluej]

DH got me a garbage disposal for Mother's Day last year. I was nine months pregnant and not too happy w/ it!

[jmofarrill]

Two years ago, my BIL (who was 21 at the time) gave his mom, dad, dh, and me a letter opener each. It would have been fine if the letter opener had not obviously been one of those freebies you can pick up at a dr. office or convention. They had big plastic handles with the drug company Effexor printed on them and three of the company's pills embedded in the plastic...

I do actually *use* the letter opener, so maybe it wasn't the worst gift I've received.

[NancyJ_redo]

Yep, got me laughing out loud also. A gift pack of summer sausage for a 13 year old?? Very funny :)

[McQ]

That one is a doozy but I would have to say that a close second would be the 4-pack of toilet paper that Plans gave you for your bridal shower. With it came a magazine subscription. She called the present Sh*t Lit.

Allison
~ mommy to Declan 3.24.03

[llcoddington]

My dad gave my mom pierced earrings one year (she doesn't have pierced ears) and a size 24 dress (she wears an 8 or 10).

I had a baby shower last week and someone bought gifts off of someone else's registry! Said she couldn't figure out who Brian and Sarah were! Poor Brian and Sarah are never going to get Playtex bottle set, hooded towels, yellow flannel blanket, white onesies, etc.!!!