Best and worst Christmas presents?

[BDutch]

I dont know. Its scary to think about though

Great present if you hate it that men bother you with avances when going out!

 

[ManueB]

We don't buy any presents (there are only adults in both our family) and we ask everyone not to buy us anything. We sometimes give our parents food or drink we make ( like this year walnut wine and verbena alcohol).
But this doesn't come through and our relatives still buy us stuff we don't need every year, and sometimes that we really don't want. This year's worse present we got twice from different relatives of my partner : a box set of different cheap pork pates when we're nearly vegetarians. (I'm almost wondering if it was done on purpose).
The best present was knitted mittens and hat from my mother in law.

Anyway I'm wondering if there are some of you who also don't want presents and how did you get your relatives to accept that ?

 

[RubelliteRose]

a box set of different cheap pork pates when we're nearly vegetarians

I am not a vegetarian and would also count that as a worst gift

My worst gift came from the office Dirty Santa gift exchange. A dash cam. I think the polite but neutral reaction from everyone disappointed the giver as the person who I think gave it pipped up and said that it could be turned around and also used to film TikTok videos... um, if I wanted to film TikTok videos, they would be in my coop, not in my car(The best and most stolen gift at the exchange was a Lego mug)
Fortunately, one of my other coworkers asked to trade after the party. She wanted the camera for her son and gave me her Amazon gift card instead (she wanted an extra something "real" for her son and didn't want to do more shopping a few days before Christmas) GC was exchanged for a new rolling pin and nice egg separator
All my other gifts from my family were best gifts : a mortar and pestle, a variety pack of teas and a new laptop (opened early) since mine died right before Thanksgiving.

 

[sourland]

Sounds great except the undies. No fly=no buy for me.

Outdoors, multiple layers, shrinkage, cold fingers - deal breaker.

 

[gimmie birdies]

Pinochle is our family's most go to game. Not me so much, I can't remember the cards very well or gauge the probabilities. That might not be needed as much in other families but dh can remember every card and tried to show me the difference three plays later of playing "that" one instead of "this" one. When I play, they enjoy the unpredictableness. Or so they say. I love my family!

Anyway, it is fun.

This week I was listening to my son in law teach my son some of the finer points of strategy in dominoes as it is played in the Islands. I hadn't realized how much strategy is in that too.

My DH's family had a Chinese checker board that belonged to his grandmother. His grandmother and I played Chinese checkers while she was in her nursing home, and she said, I could have her game when she passed away. When she passed away, my sister-in-law grabbed the Chinese checker game, and said, "Oh we have an extra Chinese checker board you can have." I was mad for a long time because I wanted the one I had shared with the Grandmother. I felt like it meant more to me.
My husband's mother had a beautiful Napoleon Chess set, it was given to her in hopes that she would learn to play. "I will learn some day." I would always play with my son when we would visit her house. I really didn't want that chess set to go to my sister-in-law, or to my single friendless brother-in-law, where that chess game would sit there, or he would have to play with his cat. (Don't feel bad for the B-I-L, he is friendless because he is a narcissist.) When my father-in-law, passed away the chess set went into storage. I kept asking for it. Finally she wanted to lighten her load, and offered it to me! What a victory!!! It is over at my son's house now, and his wife doesn't know how to play chess.

 

[Sequel]

I got a cutting board.

I got one of those a number of years ago! Shaped like the state of Texas!

 

[Sally PB]

Anyway I'm wondering if there are some of you who also don't want presents and how did you get your relatives to accept that ?

DH and I did this with his mom and bro about 25 years ago. We said if we saw something we thought Mother would like, we'd just get it and give it then.

We still give gifts to our best friends. Home made/grown food, or something small we that we think they'd like, or something pretty and/or useful.

We broke that trend last year, as we had some reasons to be very grateful, and wanted to celebrate that. Like two of them surviving serious illnesses (potentially deadly kidney infection and lymphoma). So $100 gifts seemed like a good way to say, "YIPPPEEEEEE!"

 

[CapricornFarm]

My Christmas/ birthday present! A studio for making my ceramics! Love it!

 

[CapricornFarm]

We don't drink coffee either. When we were talking to hubby's side of the family, his mom was always mad we didn't have coffee to offer after dinner. I told her that McDonald's was right down the street and closed at 11:00

Hubby drinks coffee occasionally. So he got a coffee maker, ready for the rare guest we may get.

 

[bhaugh]

I had hoped for one of my Marans to lay me her first egg on Christmas but that has come and gone. New Years is too close so won't hope for that either. Maybe Valentine's Day. I try and ask for Nature gifts. Luckily my mom doesn't have chickens and sent me clothes