Craziest present

[winnapooh]

One Mother's Day my DH thought he would be helpful and get something for my garden. A truckload of manure! Yes, I was the only Mother who could honestly say she got SH-- for Mothers day! LOL!

OMG, I was rolling on the floor laughing!!!

I know I've gotten some interesting gifts, but the only one I can think of right now is the matching shirts that DH and I got from my MIL. Matching t-shirts would have been fine, but these were men's dress shirts, in faux suede!

 

[fritzerbear]

For our first wedding anniversary, I asked DH for a stainless steel kitchen sink. (We had purchased an older home that had ugly avocado green and gold fixtures and appliances.) We went to Home Depot and picked out the sink together. The sink then sat in the garage for the next year. I told him that for our SECOND wedding anniversary, I would like the sink INSTALLED!

 

[okeydokey]

Thanks for the laugh everyone.

Every year my brother and sister-in-law have a gift exchange party in Jan. Everyone brings the worst, funniest or unusable gift they got and draw numbers to pick something else to bring home.

 

[eclairemom]

Pretty much anything from my MIL the strangest thing she gave was to my DD (4) it was a garland of green shamrocks DD thought it was grand but me, not so much with hundreds of tiny green sparkly shamrocks all over my floor in about 2 seconds flat. She has also given us solar birdfeeders (why? birds sleep at night) Solar powered hanging lights that change colors. A combo pot and windchime the pot was resin and shaped like a water pail. Oh and my favorite the looney toon and care bear christmas tree ornaments, you would think she had never been to my house at christmas it hardly goes with my gold, silver and red tree why she would think TAZ would look good by my R&B silver bell collection I have no idea.

Now a funny story from when my mom was a nanny for a very wealthy couple. When time came for the husband and wife to exchange gifts he gave her a brand new Jaguar (the car) and she gave him an extension ladder to clean the gutters on the house

 

[mousefanmichelle]

Thanks everyone! This has made my morning in so many ways!!

My in-laws buy gifts that stink too - mostly for our kids though. My oldest was 2 months old his first Christmas and my in-laws bought him an adult sized orange hunting hat, an orange baby bottle, an orange sweat suit 5x too big and a compass. I cried. I really cried. I could've used diapers or formula at that time but nooo....

Now they buy the kids all John Deere stuff - even my daughter. Mostly all metal boxes or strange things like that. My DH last year got those $3 shirts from Dillards that are 2x too big and not his style at all but his parents keep on doing it. They go flea marketing while they are in FL for the winter and that is the lovely stuff we get for x-mas each year.

I think the best one is the CD they gave us for our wedding pres. that we couldn't touch for 1 year - as newly weds who were young - 20 & 23 we could have used that money. Oh well.... they thought they were doing something good I guess. We didn't appreciate it though.

 

[KadysMom]

A few years ago, my MIL was handing out gifts. She gave her DD a digital camera with a printer, same for her DS. Then it got to DH..... He was so excited for a new digital camera. he got a hickory farms sausage. I got salsa.

I know its the thought that counts but sometimes you want to take that sausage and shove it....

 

[goofyboyzmom]

I am soo sad these are over! I have enjoyed them all. OK, here's mine:

When my little sister was about 9, my sister-in-law got us all pretty decent presents. Well, then my little sister got hers......it was a white ceramic hand I like from the wrist up with thumb and fingers sticking up. Apparently it was a ring/braclet holder (?). Well, it looked like something from a cadaver! My little sister looked at it and looked at ours and just started sobbing. I think she even asked her, "why don't you like me?" We have no idea why the "baby" of the family got a gift like that?? Afterwards we joked about it and she actually kept it on a shelf above her bed for quite a while. BTW, 28 years later, and they are still NOT close!!!

Every Christmas, when we are discussing gift items, the "hand" comes up!

 

[wickywinn]

Thanks for the laugh everyone.

Every year my brother and sister-in-law have a gift exchange party in Jan. Everyone brings the worst, funniest or unusable gift they got and draw numbers to pick something else to bring home.

Well you're definitely getting some great ideas for that exchange!

 

[jeepgirl30]

I forgot some of the gifts MIL has given DD. DD was the first grandchild, all through pregnancy MIL told me I better be having a boy. We told her several times the sonogram said girl. Everytime she saw me she would say "you know, I only want a grandSON, no girls so that sonogram just better be wrong"

It wasn't. DD has been a girly girl from the get go! Always wanted the pinkest frilliest dresses she could see. MIL always bought her blue or green pant sets.

One year for Christmas MIL bought DD2 a tractor. She kept saying tomboys all needed tractors. whatever!

Another year for Valentines Day she bought DD a jeans outfit, jeans, jean jacket and blue shirt. MIL always buys things 5X to big saying "they'll grow into it". By this time I had my DS. DD opens her jeans and says "Oh here you go brother, this is for you it is a boys outfit". MIL said oh no girls wear jeans. DD (4 at the time) said "well some girls do but you should know by now I do NOT, I ONLY wear dresses".

She has finally started buying her skirts! They are usually jeans or dark colors but atleast they are skirts.

 

[wickywinn]

A few years ago, my MIL was handing out gifts. She gave her DD a digital camera with a printer, same for her DS. Then it got to DH..... He was so excited for a new digital camera. he got a hickory farms sausage. I got salsa.

I know its the thought that counts but sometimes you want to take that sausage and shove it....

Yeees, I guess I should have included what everyone else gets. Let's just say they're not getting hotel toiletries and Dollar Store Easter Eggs...

 

[Todd&Copper]

I am soo sad these are over! I have enjoyed them all. OK, here's mine:

When my little sister was about 9, my sister-in-law got us all pretty decent presents. Well, then my little sister got hers......it was a white ceramic hand I like from the wrist up with thumb and fingers sticking up. Apparently it was a ring/braclet holder (?). Well, it looked like something from a cadaver! My little sister looked at it and looked at ours and just started sobbing. I think she even asked her, "why don't you like me?" We have no idea why the "baby" of the family got a gift like that?? Afterwards we joked about it and she actually kept it on a shelf above her bed for quite a while. BTW, 28 years later, and they are still NOT close!!!

Every Christmas, when we are discussing gift items, the "hand" comes up!

That is how we (sis & I) felt when we opened Grammy's Xmas gifts. My cousins, 2 and 4 years older than me, lived down the street from Grammy and would take her Xmas shopping with them so she was certian to buy the right color/size/style when it came to trendy clothes, shoes and accessories. My sister and I, on the other hand, got junk like a gigantic broken jewelry box purchased at the Caldor going out of business sale (it was such an old lady style jewelry box, and we didn't even have that much jewelry) and the "month of plastic earrings" card from the Dollar Store (30 pairs of tiny, plastic post-back earrings, for a 12 and a 14 year old). Probably the best was the assortment of inflatible dinosaurs she gave me for my 16th birthday (I was considering paleontology as a college major).
Then, she moved on the QVC, and since I went through a silver & marcasite jewelry phase in 10th grade, she always picked out the gaudiest marcasite and faux onyx brooch QVC or HSN had to offer. I finally felt badly enough about her wasting her money that I told her I didn't really wear marcasite anymore, b/c DH had started buying me gold jewelry (I was 24 years old, btw). She offered to return it and get me something else. I rolled the dice and agreed, and she sent me a watch face with different cloth wristbands. It was definitely something for the "mature" woman. But I shouldn't feel too bad, b/c my sister got a glass dolphin figurine, b/c when she was 5 she really liked marine animals. And the personalized T-shirts with dolphins on the front and her name spelled incorrectly on the back.

Now, Grammy sends gift cards to Olive Garden or JC Penney. Might not be my favorite places, but theya re something I can use.

 

[eowensby]

My Dh's Nana was known for gift giving. I came into the family hearing about all of the gifts everyone got at Christmas and birthdays and was terrified. Nana was eccentric and thoughtful. She once gave all the grandsons sweaters for Christmas...from a consignment shop...a ladies consignment shop. My poor Dh, who was about 20 at the time received a turquoise sweatshirt/sweater thing with a mock neck turtleneck built in...Liz Claiborne brand. He tried to humor Nana and put it on, but it was a small and my Dh is more of an XL kinda guy. That is the gift that still gets talked about all of the time.
For our wedding, Nana was certain to either attend every shower or at least send a gift. Everything she gave us was useful and we appreciated. I was terrified when she called me one day and asked about my lingerie shower. She wanted to know what sizes and colors I liked. I quickly answered, blue and large. I was so scared, because Nana was very free and open and felt like the human body should be celebrated. That's all fine and dandy, but not with my dh's 75 year old grandma. She sent a gift for my shower, once I finally got up the courage to open it, it was a vanity fair long nightgown...that was hers. Yea, like my new dh would want to see me in his grandma's lingerie! It has gone to the gift hall of fame in our attic along with the Liz Claiborne Sweater.

 

[cajunpeach]

my DH step-mil always, always, always regifts. It's one constant in our crazy lives. She is a preschool teacher and I always get her lotions, bubble bath, note pads, note cards, etc that she gets as gifts. On more than one occassion DH & I have mentioned that I can't wear fragrances b/c they triger migranes... She still hasn't gotten the hint. One year, I mentioned how I LOVED her Brighton bracelet and that I've wanted one just the same style for awhile. Guess what I got for my birthday???? Yep, the one in the same bracelet wrapped up. I know it was hers b/c 1) she never wears it anymore 2) they don't make that style anymore. I was lmao b/c it is so her, but I was very happy with this gift!!!! better than lotion I can't use any day!!!

Also, this past Christmas, DH gave me a block of cheese in my stocking. I must say, he always gives me unusual things in my stocking, but when I put my hand down in there and felt something cold and clammy, I was a lot surprised. he knows how much I love this type of cheese and it's not readily available. He went to several stores to find it and I love him for thinking of me, it was just strange!

 

[kileybeth]

stop! I can't take it anymore! My children think I've lost my marbles I am laughing so hard.

I am suppose to be planning a trip here! And after the expense of it I may be needing some of these excellent gift suggestions!

I guess I only thought my gifts where odd or cheap. . .still have the resin Moose head from the dollar store, and the empty old paint can promising to paint 2 rooms which happened the next year for Christmas (talk about regifting!) His excuse? Well I didn't have money to buy paint after Christmas so I am giving it to you this year?!

At least my MIL always just gives me those things that come free from Hallmark with so many card purchases?

 

[twoeeyy]

For my wedding someone had left 2 packages of hot pinks clothes hangers on the gift table. We knew who did it ( one of my husbands friends ) . You know whats funny is the wedding was 17 years ago and we still have a few left.

So it was definatelly a crazy / weird present to get for your wedding but it ended up being one of the practical ones

 

[Newfie2000]

When DH and I arrived at our wedding reception I noticed one of my dad's best friends and also first police partner standing in a corner with his back turned doing something. I knew it was wierd and it peaked my curiosity but something distracted me and it was quickly forgotten. When we finally got a chance to sit down I was shocked to see a goldfish bowl with two goldfish in front of our place settings. It did'nt take long to figure out what was going on in the corner. He had to get the fish out of the bags into the bowl, etc. The photographer had seen it and took some amazing pictures of the fish/bowl on the table surrounded by our floral table centerpiece. In fairness, I have to say this was not our only gift, just an extra, I had worked in a pet shop for over 13 years, he knew we had quite a few aquariums and were animal crazy and when I was a little girl I used to love going to his house because he breed fish and I was almost always allowed to pick out a couple of fish to bring home for our tanks. So... the gift actually had a lot of sentimental value for many reasons - but a whole lot of our guests just assumed he was nuts! 8 years later and we still have those two fish, they just would no longer fit in a bowl and are quite happy in their 38 gallon tank!

 

[merekc]

I've already posted once (BIL's $3 ugly shirts), however, this is so much fun, I have to post again.

When we first got married, I decided to be fun and decorate my kitchen with a jalapeno theme. I'm usually a kind of traditional person, but thought I'd do something different. I'm not into crafty or tacky stuff. I don't necessarily need namebrand, but I want it to look namebrand/nice KWIM. Anyway for my b-day, my MIL and SIL were so excited to give me a wreath that they had made for my kitchen. They actually bought a decorated wreath and then added to it. It was a straw wreath larger than a large pizza. It was covered in sunflowers and some other purple flower. It had a large, plastic, cheap-looking cactus going up through the center. They glued plastic jalapenos to it and then left a little red (barbie sized) velvet-y cowboy hat on it. They were so excited but in the minutes before they gave it to me you could see them re-thinking it. I oohed and aahed like a good DIL, while DH and his dad were laughing hysterically. DH told his mom he was going to hang it at his end of the ping-pong table to distract his opponents.

I went home and hung that thing in my kitchen (like a good DIL) for almost a year. I finally redecorated and dumped the theme so I could get rid of it. We put it in our garage sale and laughingly said, this will be the first thing to go. Yep, we were right.

My DH's family have a long history of terrible gift-giving, stories that make me so sad for my DH. Like one time he saw a transformer at his gmas prior to xmas and just knew he was going to get it. Nope, it went to a cousin, DH got underwear. It is sad, because they aren't doing it maleciously, they are just clueless.

 

[rluey29]

I don't understand how a sister can give all but one sister really nice items, or a grandmother who gives one child a really cool toy and the other some underwear or a parent who has the nerve to give one child sausage and the rest nice electronics.

It seems more like being mean than clueless, I would never have the nerve to do that to someone. Especially at a family gathering with everyone around. I feel so sad for some of these people!

 

[sillysmom]

16 years ago my best friend had me a personal shower before my wedding. I am not sure if girls do this now but the customary gifts are nighties, perfume, etc.

My single MIL was not in a financial place to buy something but I guess she felt the need to get me something. i opened a very nice one piece black nightie. I was thrilled she thought of me that much. UNTIL I got home and was looking through my gifts. The nightie had been worn. I could see the unwashed stains in the crotch! GROSS DISGUSTING My future husband was so embarassed. You know I could have dealt with a used gift but a nightie with stains. She could have washed it.

BTW, we did throw it away.

gross!

 

[oliviansmom17]

Crazy great-aunts seem to be the theme! Mine would always send us a box of weirdo's for Christmas. Used stuffed animals, broken plastic crystal rose-covered boxes..random. The best was an egg-slicer. In a warped box that didn't close- with egg yolk still on it. Yum.