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Let’s play.

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It’s another Christmas question, so try to get your jolly on.

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When I was a teenager my mother had a close friend she insisted I call aunt though we weren’t related . She was a career woman when women didn’t have careers and rose to a senior position with Time/Life. A wealthy widow with two grown sons, she was extremely intelligent and quite eccentric.

To be honest, she was loaded. Both financially and physically… the old gal liked her scotch.

Having New England roots she was also tight as a tick when it came to spending money. The electric bill could sour her mood for days and she wore clothes that were so threadbare the moths didn’t even bother nibbling. She constantly added milk to chowder to stretch it’s longevity and only went out to dinner if someone else was paying. She cut her own hair, never bought a new car and had drawers full of used tin foil. When she retired she had money enough to travel the world but chose to sit home and clip coupons, waiting for hamburger to go on sale.

But when it came to Christmas? That’s when she really outdid herself. Presents were wrapped in newspaper with leftover butcher’s twine for ribbon. She thought it was fun to give dozens of gifts and watch you squeal with delight when you opened them. Problem was … there was never anything worth squealing about. Quantity not quality made her happy.

Over the years I received toilet paper, toothpaste, tiny bars of soap and shampoo as well as plastic ice buckets. All of which she lifted from various hotel rooms. She traveled a lot for work and the woman never passed up a freebie. I had to say thank you for swizzle sticks, matchbooks and little paper umbrellas. Have you ever pretended to be over joyed with ketchup packets and those little square jelly containers? Trust me, it’s not easy.

So in answer to the question … the weirdest Xmas gift I’ve ever received?

A matching set of barf bags from TWA.

Festively wrapped in the New York Times and the envy of all my friends.

How about you?

What bizarre gifts have you received….

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26 thoughts on “Let’s play.”

  2. Every year my MIL buys the latest gadget touted on “As seen on tv” Things I ‘ll never use like a cellphone raincoat or a hat with a light attached. Honestly though if something was truly weird I’d probably dig it.

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  4. I can’t say as I have ever received anything weird – ugly, yes. Unwanted, disliked, not my taste or style or size – absolutely. Most gifts I’ve received, for any occasion, fall into the “what were they thinking” category. For years I received cat themed gifts because I always had cats – these were easily disposed of – especially since I moved so much – Oops! lost in a move, broke in a move etc. I, on the other hand, am a primo gift giver. I pride myself on always giving just exactly the right gift – but that’s because I pay attention – plus I love to give gifts that are just perfect. (Yes, I’m patting myself on the back here – it’s a talent and I have it.)

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  5. One Christmas when I was 11 years old, one of my great aunts gave me a bar of Lava soap. She said it was because I had such a foul mouth and my dad should use it to wash out my mouth. At 11 years old all I could say around adults was darn and shoot. If the only old bat could hear me now as an adult, I can only imagine what she’d give me as a present, lol.

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  7. Never really got a weird Christmas gift but I had a guy bring a weird housewarming gift once. When he handed it to us it was in this nice bottle with a little ribbon tied around it. As other people had brought bottles of wine, we naturally assumed this was wine too. We thanked him and set it among the other wine bottles on the table. Later on that night, someone screamed out, “Ewwww!” I ran over to see her wine glass half filled with salad dressing!

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  8. My Nephew gave me a stuffed Microbe Salmonella. My cat stole it. It’s still on the floor, somewhere.
    I also had a friend give me a piece of paper for my Birthday which was blank and a card saying,”Here’s a piece of paper. You can do a lot with it.”
    I love this question. And reading others answers to it.

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