Worst gift, 2008

Ms. Slappy got two Bones, Third Season... One I bought for her mother to give to her, the other was from her SIL...

 

Better days ahead, f_t. Keep the faith. And as for your previous employers ... gently, with a rusty chainsaw. (I think that's already been mentioned.)

Me? No complaints.

 

We draw names for the adults (and everybody buys for all the kids) in my immediate family. So my two sisters draw me and my brother and they decide to get us both the same thing ... a miniature leg lamp from "A Christmas Story." I like the movie, but didn't really need the leg lamp to prove it!

Needless to say my reaction was not the same as the old man's in the movie. WTF do I do with this thing? I don't have a bachelor pad ... I'm a 30-something with a wife and two kids ... and the wife wasn't amused either. So this thing goes in a closet or something I suppose. I figured with the sister who had my name, I could count on the usual Border's gift card ... but no, it's a fucking leg lamp!!!

F_T ... sorry to hear about your situation. You can and definitely should fight for the unemployment. As I recommended to another poster recently, sans an income now, you can sometimes get free legal help to hit back at your former employer. If you feel you're really entitled to it, I say fight it man.

 

Only bad gift was a re-gifted bottle of Beringer White Zinfandel. There's a story there, one of me spending one Thanksgiving at my sister's house somehow downing about four bottles of this dreck. Hilarity ensued. My nieces are still laughing ...

 

Craig: "We're kin and all, but don't be hooking me up with the LITTLE sister that's bigger than the BIG sister."

Day-Day "Fat girls need love, too, Craig!"

 

Cousin in laws bought Uncle in Law the big leg lamp, but they did it right. They got ahold of a big wooden crate and put it out in the garage and painted "FRAGILE" on it (You know, "Ooo, must be Italian"). He got a huge kick out of it.

 

My brother got me a very nice sweatshirt. Unfortunately, it's the same sweatshirt he got me last year.

Also, my uncle thought my brother and I needed an outhouse santa which farts and vibrates when the button is pushed. It's good for shits and giggles, I suppose.

 

Hilarious.

How does THAT happen? Did he forget? Was the gift meant for someone else?

 

This was both an awful gift and a decent pick. ...

For years, I've been handing my favorite pair of pants to the somewhat welcoming arms of my grandma, ex-girlfriend and sister, who promised to sew the holes and perform transplant surgery. My ex sewed about an eight-inch hole on the butt right before college graduation, and my grandma used another pair of pants -- Salvation Army special -- and cut strips to patch my favorites.

Two years ago, though, they got pretty ragged. There were holes outside and in each front pocket, the bottoms were completely frayed, there were holes in the crotch, the rear -- not on the already-sewed part; she's good at it -- back pockets, thighs, etc. So they sat on grandma's sewing machine for about a year. She gave them to me last Festivus to give to the ex. She put them in her closet and thought about ditching them, but instead left them there until my sister asked for them. The exchange was filled with high hopes; sewing is her new hobby, and she's quite good, too. It'd been about six months since, and I really had forgotten about them. Until last night.

Everyone knew what I was getting except for me. I opened a couple books from my sister and brother-in-law, so I wasn't expecting anything else. But she brought over this pretty big box, and everyone watched as I slowly opened it. When I saw the insides, I almost cried -- and not in a good way. I saw one pocket, and then another. Out of the box, I pulled a blanket made from my cargo pants -- all six pockets and a bunch of the seems.

It really is nice. But I was a little heart-broken. It's a good way to remember them, I suppose. She could have thrown them out; they all could have and wanted to do so. My first girlfriend threw away a pair of pants she'd sewn repeatedly, and that was a big deal to me. (Not enough to get me to learn to sew, however.) My brother-in-law told me, "(My sister) wanted me to make the first cut, and I told her, 'I want nothing to do with that gift. You're on your own.'" I like him.

 

He says he doesn't remember. He's 26... engaged, but still living at home. Doesn't plan to move until he ties the knot. Maybe that makes the picture clearer?

It isn't the EXACT same sweatshirt. Same color and logo, sure. But nike moved the swoosh from the collar to the top of the hoodie pocket.

 

I can see why you're conflicted about it.

Still, that's a pretty cool (and unique) gift.

 

I know. I can't blame her. I'll always have them, and it was a good laugh -- although a bit after the incident.