Care to share a gift-giving flop?

How about a gift-giving funny? Once upon a time, when the kids were little, we used to wrap presents in newspaper rather than wasting $ on actual wrapping paper. We often used the colorful funny section of the Sunday paper, but we were also creative in other ways.
One year, for Mother’s Day, my son, who was about 4, shyly and proudly handed me a gift he had wrapped all by himself in newspaper. Front and center was an ad, obviously the star attraction of this wrapping paper. It gave me pause for a moment…..then I realized he had chosen it because it had a picture of a very pretty lady on it, with very pretty eyes. Pretty like his Momma! Only, his Momma ran a day care. She wasn’t an exotic dancer at Jezebels. I laughed till I cried! ♥
I still have that “gift wrap” in my buffet.

I received bath beads from someone one year. That was pretty awkward since I don’t bathe myself. I didn’t think most people still did that instead of showering.
@Dutchess_III My whole mom’s side used to wrap their gifts in newspaper!

There’s something kind of special, looking through newspapers to find a headline, or story, or ad that’s pertinent to the person you’re giving the present to. :)

@Dutchess_III I always hoped I got the comic section.

Is nearly always goes without saying that a young child will have more fun with the package the gift is wrapped in. We used to have the missing battery issue, but now stores go out of their way to remind us.

Two of the older grandkids were here today. They went to sort presents. They graded them on A) How big they were B) How many each got and C) how heavy. They were a little chagrined to realized that their little cousin, who is just two, got the biggest present. (It’s a step stool that Dad gets to put together.)

My mother used to be very proud of her gift wrapping. We were always required to save the paper, and would often receive gifts in the same wrapping for several years in a row. In those days, wrapping paper was very sturdy, unlike the paper of today that actually tears as we try to fold it around the gift.

I’ve received some pretty bad gifts.
MIL once sent me sweat pants after I gave birth. Not only where they an ugly neon tangerine color but they were about 3 times my size, and made for someone who was over 6 feet. She had called before she sent them and asked for my size. So this was no accident.

Husband, Bought me a vacuum for my birthday. He didn’t live that down for some time. Even some of his single friends couldn’t believe it. He learned never to do that again.

My son. Asked me for money when he was away at school. Asked if I could send him a little extra to buy his sister a gift. Sure I said and told him not to buy me or his dad anything because I couldn’t afford to send him any more money. Well he gave a lot of thought into buying for his sister and 3 of his friends and his dad. Because he didn’t want to show up without anything for me, he bought a key chain at the airport. :( I didn’t have to say anything. His sister never let him forget that. She told him that nothing says I love you and was thinking about you than an airport keychain. LOL

Worst gift I ever gave was making a chocolate cake for a diabetic and making and eggnog with rye-whiskey for someone who was a recovering alcoholic.
Oh, and bought digital cards for a niece who had broken her 3rd camera and so her mom wasn’t buying her another one.

@Pandora Those are mean. The worst I went was growing my vegetarian brother in law a tray of grass. He thought it was hysterical.

@Adirondackwannabe , I just realized I forgot to mention something about my gifts. I didn’t know one was a diabetic and the other was a recovering alcoholic until after i gave the gifts. As for my niece, I also didn’t know that until she opened it and then said, if she only had a camera. I bought it because she was always taking photos. No one mention she broke the camera. The diabetic was a work mate and the alcoholic is an uncle through marriage. All 3 of mine, knew, I didn’t know.

@Pandora I meant the gifts you were given were mean. If you don’t know about a condition or something that isn’t mean, just a bit awkward. But still funny.

Last Christmas my husband said, “I saw this what-ever-it-was and I loved it so much I was going to buy it for you!” It wasn’t anything I would have wanted, though. :(

My husband doesn’t usually believe in surprises, but one year he bought me a ring. It was a nice ring, but other than my wedding set, I don’t wear any jewelry.

@Dutchess_III Awww…I love that you still have the paper.

@dxs Haha…are you one of those I-don’t-like-to-simmer-in-my-own-filth people? I used to be the same until I realized a hot bath does amazing things for your aches and pains. I’d definitely take more baths if I could find the time! But I’m weird and shower before taking a bath. Voila! No dirt soup!

@Pandora My mom did the same thing! Asked for my size and bought me ginormous pregnancy clothes! But I think she totally meant well. I’m guessing that she didn’t understand that if you normally wear a size X, you also wear a size X in the maternity section. That the maternity sizing already takes into account your baby bump. What’s your relationship like with your MIL?

@Adirondackwannabe That’s not a flop. That’s hilarious! Well…unless he has no sense of humor.

@YARNLADY Special occasion jewelry? :)

@fluthernutter He loved it. He had a great sense of humor and he liked that I planned so far ahead to get it planted, growing, and up nicely for him.

@fluthernutter Amazing things for aches and pains?? I’d get aches and pains just trying to find a comfortable position in a porcelain box!

@fluthernutter Nah, it was my MIL and this was after I had given birth. She totally meant to insult me. I have a long list of things she did to bug me and insult me. Sometimes she was right out in the open and other times she would try to disguise what she said or what she gave me. It also wasn’t just me. She would do the same to her adult children and teen grand kids.

@Pandora I can’t give a GA to that, but I’ll get you some points. Some in-laws are so mean. What the hell is it with that? Anyone does that to anyone around me and I’m looking them in the eye and asking why they are being such a bitch. I have zero tolerance for that crap.

I once had a purse that was given to me by a co-worker. I didn’t like it, but I carried it because I couldn’t afford to buy a new one. I complained about it to my husband, how it was too small and had all these tiny compartments. It was a purse for OCD people.

I know he heard me because that Christmas he bought me a new purse! .... Almost identical to the one I hated. Sigh.

@fluthernutter No, it turns out that he and our son were walking out of store when Sonny said that ring looks Medieval, I bet mom would like it.