Gee Thanks... holiday gift no-no's

[Janet H]

Each year my friends and family ask that dreaded question....What do you want for Christmas? I rarely have the gumption to tell them the truth (wildly spendy car, vacation getaway overlooking the Champs-elysees, youth, world peace, etc) and so foolishly leave to their whims, these seasonal decisions. Maybe a list of stuff not wanted or needed would be useful instead?

Here's this years list topper - a bathroom scale that broadcasts daily results to the internet via twitter. Yup - I want everyone to know that I had pie for dinner and dessert

Do not get me one of these!

YouTube - Withings:The connected scale

What's on your 'don't want don't need, leave it at the store' list?

[gettingthere]

Hope the person who gave me this doesn't hang out on this forum -

How about a life-size ceramic armadillo? I'd have been happier if that one had been left at the store.

It's so hard to come up with a nice response when receiving something lilke that. At least I must have looked surprised!

[Amethyst]

--One time, my grandma stated that she did not want to receive any more gifts of soap from her grandchildren, of whom she had a great many. She said it made her feel as if people thought she didn't wash. She had a good point.

--I see that nobody's jumped on the make-fun-of-fruitcake bandwagon yet. I happen to love good fruitcake, and make a mean home-made one. Good homemade fruitcake is a very elegant gift, in my opinion.

--If it really was the thought that counted, wouldn't we just give one another thoughts?

A.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gettingthere Hope the person who gave me this doesn't hang out on this forum - How about a life-size ceramic armadillo? I'd have been happier if that one had been left at the store. It's so hard to come up with a nice response when receiving something lilke that. At least I must have looked surprised!

"WOW!!! I have never seen anything LIKE this! Thank you so much. This is just amazing!! It will look great on the desk at my office. "

Then, give it to someone at work for a Secret Santa present next year... Or, if the person is a co-worker, tell them it will look great on your desk at home.

[gettingthere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R "WOW!!! I have never seen anything LIKE this! Thank you so much. This is just amazing!! It will look great on the desk at my office. "

Thanks, W2R. I am starting to practice this line just in case I need it this year.

Unfortunately, we don't do Secret Santa at my w*rkplace, but I'm hoping for a good regifting oppotunity to come up.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst --I see that nobody's jumped on the make-fun-of-fruitcake bandwagon yet. I happen to love good fruitcake, and make a mean home-made one. Good homemade fruitcake is a very elegant gift, in my opinion.

You should have been my late mother's child. She made an especially elegant fruitcake every year and would give one to each of their friends. We in the family all hated fruitcake, but would never tell her that since she was such a sweet person and trying to please. I would usually turn it down, citing weight loss efforts. My brothers would say something like they would love to stay and eat a piece but they were late for football practice. My father would dutifully eat his piece and tell all of us how wonderful it was, and then would pressure us into eating more (probably so that there would be less of it left for him the next day). He didn't like it either but that was his secret.

[kaneohe]

Maybe it might be better, if you know poison is coming, to pick your own rather than let the givers decide. Maybe it's a generational thing.......DD and SIL and their siblings and their kids (including infants) have wishlists on Amazon (which, we recently learned , can also include stuff from other sites). Sounds kind of tacky at first, but it makes it easy to shop for something they could actually use and appreciate. Just hope that they have enough sense to include some dollar stuff in addition to the $600 grills, etc.
Not sure who they know who would spring for the latter except themselves.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by kaneohe Maybe it might be better, if you know poison is coming, to pick your own rather than let the givers decide. Maybe it's a generational thing.......DD and SIL and their siblings and their kids (including infants) have wishlists on Amazon (which, we recently learned , can also include stuff from other sites). Sounds kind of tacky at first, but it makes it easy to shop for something they could actually use and appreciate. Just hope that they have enough sense to include some dollar stuff in addition to the $600 grills, etc. Not sure who they know who would spring for the latter except themselves.

Maybe they included the $600 grill for the psychological effect. When you buy them the $300 thingamajig instead, you don't feel like you are buying the most expensive thing on the list and spoiling them.

[Orchidflower]

...still in shock over the ceramic armadillo...

[ksr]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Orchidflower ...still in shock over the ceramic armadillo...

Ditto.

Also, wondering if that gift might have been a "re-gift" to you...

[Moemg]

My daughter who I love dearly went through an artistic period and gave me artistic photos she had done in frames so I had to hang them . Exactly where do you hang a close up of people's noses ??

[calmloki]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg My daughter who I love dearly went through an artistic period and gave me artistic photos she had done in frames so I had to hang them . Exactly where do you hang a close up of people's noses ??

Bathrooms? kitchen?

[Amethyst]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R We in the family all hated fruitcake,

Maybe they would have liked it better if she used my recipe, which involves copious amounts of brandy!

I never touch the hard stuff unless I'm putting it in something I'm cooking - and then I see no sense in holding back. You could light that baby with a match.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Amethyst Maybe they would have liked it better if she used my recipe, which involves copious amounts of brandy! I never touch the hard stuff unless I'm putting it in something I'm cooking - and then I see no sense in holding back. You could light that baby with a match.

She put so much booze in that fruitcake that I think it was the main ingredient! I think she put a lot of rum in it. That, plus imported candied fruits of dozens of kinds and in all sorts of pretty colors, but they didn't seem to go with the booze.

[gettingthere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Moemg My daughter who I love dearly went through an artistic period and gave me artistic photos she had done in frames so I had to hang them . Exactly where do you hang a close up of people's noses ??

Near the tissue box.

[kaneohe]

Quote:

Originally Posted by W2R Maybe they included the $600 grill for the psychological effect. When you buy them the $300 thingamajig instead, you don't feel like you are buying the most expensive thing on the list and spoiling them.

Hadn't thought of that.....but if that's the strategy, it's still not working. Must be the PT$D from the wedding a few yrs back.

[gettingthere]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ksr Ditto. Also, wondering if that gift might have been a "re-gift" to you...

You may be on to something there...

[freebird5825]

Quote:

Originally Posted by gettingthere Hope the person who gave me this doesn't hang out on this forum - How about a life-size ceramic armadillo? I'd have been happier if that one had been left at the store. It's so hard to come up with a nice response when receiving something lilke that. At least I must have looked surprised!

a- HA I knew you hated it!

Just kidding.
Exactly how high IS an armadillo ?

[Meadbh]

Has anyone tried a regifting party? I heard about this idea at work. I would say it requires a lot of trust, and good long term records on donors. This is one situation where your various social circles wouldn't want to overlap!

[Moemg]

Years ago we had a holiday party and one of my friends was unhappy with her gift . It was a chandelier and pretty ugly . Well since the party was at my house I gave her my present and kept the ugly chandelier . It would then show up at all the following parties as a gift .Sometimes embellished . We got a lot of fun out of that present . I still chuckle at the memory !