Christmas Presents (the best and the worst)
 

As it’s that time of the year again I thought it would be fun to hear of the worst and/or the best Christmas presents you have ever received. I would respectfully suggest though that for the sake of peace on earth (and on Accrington Web) if it’s the worst present then you do not say who you got it from.

Maybe one of the more lacklustre gifts I ever received was a present of a tea towel and a pair of knickers - albeit fancy ones. Not sure how these two items went together but for some reason this was repeated for three or four years afterwards. I must have overdone the ‘thank-you’ when I got the first ones.

Re: Christmas Presents (the best and the worst)
 

best was a proper conductors bus ticket machine. worst would be any box of milk chocolates that i ever received. not a chocolate fan especially milk.

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The best and longest lasting was a grey‘Fame’ tracksuit.
It is a long time ago...well you guessed that because it is a long time since ‘Fame’ was popular.
I used to go to step classes three times a week and this track suit was a boon.....and I wore it until it almost fell to bits.

The worst was a little hand held Dirt Devil.....bought for my by the man in my life.
I had said that this little vacuum looked perfect for getting the stairs done.
For some time before Christmas my other half kept excitedly telling me he had bought me something really ‘special’....so much so that I could hardly wait for Christmas Day.

I should have known better....he does not have a good record when choosing gifts....this was no exception.
He almost needed a skilled surgeon to remove it from a bodily orifice.....and I would not have used Vaseline to get it in there.


Footnote: this machine is still in use to this day.

Re: Christmas Presents (the best and the worst)
 

[QUOTE=Margaret Pilkington

The worst was a little hand held Dirt Devil.....bought for my by the man in my life.
I had said that this little vacuum looked perfect for getting the stairs done.
For some time before Christmas my other half kept excitedly telling me he had bought me something really ‘special’....so much so that I could hardly wait for Christmas Day.

I should have known better....he does not have a good record when choosing gifts....this was no exception.
He almost needed a skilled surgeon to remove it from a bodily orifice.....and I would not have used Vaseline to get it in there.


remember my father doing something similar. my mother was equally underwhelmed and to this day i remember her reaction. thats for the house, whats my present. start of another silent christmas day.

Re: Christmas Presents (the best and the worst)
 

MH...been there done that...blogged about it...only a few Christmases ago.
Withdrew my labour, with the support of the Domestic Goddess Union...he had to cook his own food and the air was very frosty...inside and outside the house.

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http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/b...on-strike.html

There you go...that is the blog....and although not about presents, it is still about the stresses of the season.

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I thought it was just a couple of years ago....but it is coming up to the seventh anniversary of this event.......it feels like it was yesterday....and I got mad just reading about it.

It just makes me realise that I would not have another man, gift wrapped and hanging with diamonds the size of house bricks.

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I assume you' be expected to sashay around the kitchen in just your fancy knickers while drying the dishes with your new tea towel???


Just a thought mind, as there are some strange folk out & about in the big wide world! :D

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Because of my experiences with naff presents, I also did a blog as a guide to the menfolk.
To keep them out of the doghouse on Christmas Day.
Not sure if anyone out there took much notice of the advice.

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Read it here.


http://www.accringtonweb.com/forum/b...questions.html

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me and my sister used to have the best idea about christmas presents. don,t buy me something i do not want and i,ll do the same for you. always regard christmas is an under 10,s kids thing anyway. once they go to big school there only interest is getting out of the house to see their mates anyway. telling em that its christmas day and they have to stay in brings the scrooge out of em. saying christmas is humbug is a mild comment from em i can tell you.

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See that's the problem right there! Blokes don't do guides / instructions, out the packaging, plug in if required, then press buttons ........ ;)

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Dave, that yearly present was from my mother-in-law, so maybe that puts a different picture to it. Don't think the idea of me sashaying around ever entered her head, but the thought of clean dishes probably did.

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That might work with ‘things’...but not with women.
And why is it my other half will buy acceptable gifts for others, but not for me?

Yes, that I know.....and that is why they get into bother.
What is worse is that they do NOT learn from past mistakes.
They do the same thing over and over...yet expect different results....someone famous and brainy said that was the definition of stupid.

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bet that famous person who said it was female:D

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no Cashy it was Albert Einstein...or at least I thimk it was
Well it was attributed to him...but it is said that he did not make this quote....who knows who said it...but they were right...and the quote uses insanity rather than stupid

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There you go, M.i.L, no woman is ever good enough for their lad so she was ensuring his future happiness. :D ;)

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Oh son!
That is so true.

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My mother-in-law, bless her cotton socks, was the mother of five boys and if ever there was any discord in the family she would always say ‘it’s not him, it’s her’.......

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I told Hazel to buy herself a Tablet from me for Crimbo, she came home with a hand held computer type thingy that cost more than a years supply of Hobgoblin, "the comment when I said buy yourself a Tablet I meant an Asprin not an electronic Google machine" did not go down well.;);)

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Taddy, your problem was you failed to be specific....if you had said get yourself an Aspirin....well, for one thing they don’t sell them singly....and for another...she would have bought what she wanted anyway.....just so that you did not get a lump on your scone....or a slice of hot tongue and a plate of cold shoulder.
And look she saved you from hoofing round the shops, buying something totally inappropriate and having to search for the receipt and take it back when the shops opened again.
Be thankful for Hazel...she keeps you safe!

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Don't they say that behind every good man there is a clever, patient woman?
They don't???
Well, they should because it is invariably true.

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behind every good woman is a better divorce solicitor.

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I got my handmaiden exactly what she wanted for Christmas and she is delighted.
1. I paid a man to power wash all the patio steps and flag stone paths.
2. I paid a man to fix automatic security lights back and front.
3. She had a new extension on the house with a toilet and sink so I paid for the tiling, walls and floor plus the decoration.
Honestly my friends she said she couldn't have wanted more.
I am very happy with the new downstairs toilet as my little legs are getting shorter with having to climb stairs every time I need a wee and that's a few times a day.

Hope to see you on the coaches again next year Margaret.

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I hope so too Russell...I have been nowhere at all this year....kicking my heels.
This year I was going to encourage my daughter out with me.
We had so many plans....all fell apart.

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Russell, I forgot to say how lucky the lady in your life is....those kind of gifts may not be romantic, but it beats the hell out of getting stuff you neither want, nor can use.
This year I have told everyone that I do not want any gifts at all.....most people I know have had a very tight time and I do not want those I care about spending money on ‘stuff’ for me.
I would much rather they spent it on themselves.
My other half needs no telling because he never bothers his head at any time...bless,

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That’s exactly how we both feel about presents Margaret.
Get something useful which you want or need rather than something which would probably lay in a drawer unused.

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If I get something that I cannot use, then I regift it...or I donate it to the heart foundation.

I hope that those who have given me something realise that this is best for their gift...my family have this understanding and I reiterate it every year.

If I give something which is not to your taste, but you know someone who would enjoy it...then pass it on....give a little joy to someone else’s day....that is what I tell my family.

Last year a kind friend gave me a large hamper of goodies....these I shared with my daughter and her family as I knew that they would get enjoyment from some of the larger sized products...being just two of us meant that it would have been wasted....I hate food waste.

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if everyone bought useful presents that people actually wanted there would be less stuff for sale on tables at easter bring and buy sales.

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Christmas is over-rated, over long, and fraught with possibilities for friction.
I think Oliver Cromwell maybe had it right.
Once children lose their belief in Santa, it has less and less appeal.

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MH, those anti cynical pills of yours need changing for a stronger dose.:D

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Margaret, regarding what happens when Santa loses his appeal, I once told my oldest son that when he stopped believing in Father Christmas then he wouldn't be getting any more presents. He's 60 now and he says he STILL believes in him.....

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I buy presents for the young ones but it's money in a card for the others. Very impersonal but much more appreciated - I tell them to buy something they want or to have a night out on me. Much better than them opening a present, saying 'oohs' and 'aahs' while thinking 'what the heck...' It also saves me from having to think, which gives me a headache these days.

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Gremlin, though the 'gifts' you have given to your 'handmaiden' (tut, tut) are really very well thought out and most acceptable to her, I would think that she doesn't need to buy you anything this year as you've covered it very well yourself for both of you. Saved yourself a bit of work there, lad, and saved your legs as well. Benefits all round. Good thinking.

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you are certainly right there. the reason it annoys me when people come out with all this christmas is cancelled rubbish. those who say that they get all the family around opening their presents together, all eating round the table for dinner must own a bigger table and house than i have had the pleasure in living in. its as romanticised version of christmas for most as those snow scened christmas cards are.

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What is wrong with that, I still believe that the bottles of Hobgoblin that magically turn up every morning on the 25th December must have been delivered by Father Chistmas and I am 73. Three years past my sell by date of three scores years and ten. :D:D

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we have started doing the same dotti34 a couple of years back for same reasons much easier and more appreciated.

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got a couple of grandchildren and i send em money to be put in their bank accounts where they can draw on once they are 18. they get enough toys anyway and i,m sure they,ll appreciate the money when they may need it more.