Everywhere we go, we ask people,
"What is one of the best gifts you have ever received?" and
"What is one of the worst gifts you have ever received?" The
answers range from heartwarming to inspiring and from humorous to
disastrous. Several of the answers appear below. In some
cases, the names have been changed to protect the innocent (and the
guilty).
Best: A car when I graduated from high school
Worst: A tie
—Brendan
O.
Best
childhood gift: A Daisy BB-gun
Worst
childhood gift: Porcelain soldiers I wasn't allowed to play with—I
wanted plastic Army men
—Mike
B.
Best: A cabin in the mountains
Worst:
Dance lessons shortly after surgery to replace my hip, which was
shattered in a car accident
—Richard
S.
Best:
20 pounds of shrimp
Worst:
Useless kitchen items
—Eduard
M.
Best: Airplane flying lessons
Worst: A used bottle of cheap after-shave lotion with the gift tag from the
previous giver still on it
—Andy
L.
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Best:
Tickets to an art show in New York City—I live in Virginia
Worst:
No gift at all
—Jamie
F.
Best:
My husband
Worst:
Incense
—Ardith
D.
Best: A beautifully framed print of a favorite landscape
Worst:
My husband saying, "I didn't get a chance to get you anything, but
we'll go shopping later."
—Sasha
P.
Best: An all-terrain vehicle when I was 12 years old
Worst: A belly dancer who performed for me at work
—Dana
L.
Best: A 35-mm camera
Worst:
Socks and ties
—Carl
C.
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Best: A jewelry box made by my husband
Worst:
Knickknacks
—Randie
C.
Best:
Gold Jewelry
Worst:
Thermal underwear
—Shanna
H.
Best:
My wife's permission to buy myself a hunting rifle
Worst: A musical car horn, which I never even took out of the box
—Michael
W.
Best:
Thoughtful around-the-house gifts
Worst: An appliance I already had
—Victoria
W.
Best: Anything for my garden
Worst:
Gift-boxed meats and cheeses (I'm a vegetarian)
—Andrew
H.
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Best: A necklace of my grandmother's, given to me—by her-just before she
died
Worst: A box of chocolates—I'm allergic to chocolate
—Heather
T.
Best: A chess set my father gave me 20 years ago
Worst:
I can't think of any—I'm pretty easy to please
—Claus
V.
Best:
My grandfather's pocket watch
Worst: A gigantic, hideous insect model
—Marc
L.
Best: Albums filled with pictures of my children
Worst:
Skimpy lingerie
—Marta
S.
Best: A bookstore gift certificate
Worst: A toilet seat without a lid—it was a white elephant gift
—Layne
B.
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Best:
My whole house filled with flowers from my husband
Worst: A sterling silver spaghetti server
—Michelle
T.
Best:
My child
Worst:
Clothes
—Dan
M.
Best:
My dog
Worst: A bathrobe used by my boyfriend's ex
—Daryl
T.
Best:
Glass bells—I collect them
Worst:
Candy dishes we received for our wedding
—Monique
D.
Best:
Books and computer programs
Worst:
Cheap tools—I have about 400 Phillip's screw-drivers
—Bob
F.
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Best: A personal web page created for me by my husband
Worst: A beautifully-wrapped box of hotel toiletries (shampoo, soap, mouthwash,
lotion)
—Melissa
V.
Best: A costume—complete with top hat, cane, and ruffled shirt—because it
was a total surprise
Worst:
Tasteless adult bric-a-brac—a roll of bathroom tissue with gross
messages, trinkets shaped like body parts
—Michael
C.
Best: A subscription to Mad magazine when I was 11 years old
Worst: A cheap, tasteless, synthetic tie
—Dan
J.
Best: A surprise dinner and birthday party given to my wife from our children
Worst: A foul-smelling candle
—Sondra
S.
Best:
Family history and genealogy
Worst: A handmade doll and basket fashioned from pins and beads
—Lin
C.
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Best: A stay at a bed-and-breakfast from our children
Worst: A huge, used tablecloth for a wedding present—it's been used for 27
years as a picnic-table cover
—Marion
D.
Best: A bedroom makeover for Valentine's Day
Worst: An assortment of sugar packets and tea bags (apparently gleaned from the
cafeteria tables at my Grandmother's care facility)
—Gayle
F.
Best: An autograph from my favorite rock star.
Worst:
Used ski boots. I live in the desert!
—Dan
P.
Best: A car during my senior year of college—it was a combined birthday,
graduation, and Christmas present
Worst: A set of white monogrammed handkerchiefs for the sixth year in a row
—Bill
C.
Best: A hammock
Worst:
Jewelry from someone who knows I don't wear jewelry
—Lynette
O.
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Best: A beautiful book of scripture
Worst:
Mud flaps and car freshener
—Jeannie
O.
Best: A needlepoint nativity scene
Worst: A face-cream warmer
—Carmen
E.
Best: A clean kitchen—and boy, was it dirty.
Worst:
Earrings someone else didn't want
—Ranae
T.
Best: A song written by my husband
Worst:
Hideous twin-size bedspreads from my mother-in-law to be
—Veronica
B.
Best: A weekend away with my husband
Worst: A pressure cooker from my husband (need I say more?)
—Mary
E.
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Best:
Flowers from my husband—just because he loves me
Worst: A sewing machine—I had two at the time
—Jane
E.
Best:
Unique jewelry
Worst: A huge brandy snifter with gilt and fake jewels
—Leah
U.
Best: A small pocket-watch with an alarm
Worst:
Gadgets that wear out after a couple of weeks
—Richard
T.
Best: A surprise dinner and birthday party given to my wife from our children
Worst:
Men's cologne
—Brent
B.
Best: A ring from my husband to commemorate the birth of our daughter.
Worst:
Men's cologne
—Sondra
S.
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Best: A sweater from England
Worst: A bun warmer
—Margaret
B.
Best: A journal
Worst:
Jewelry I didn't like
—Denise
E.
Best: A watch and pearls from my 11- and 12-year-old sons that went weeks
without school lunch and saved their lunch money to buy them
Worst: A felt Santa toilet seat cover
—Anna
G.
Best: A bracelet my little sister
bought me with her own money when we were small children.
Worst:
Tights that smelled like stinky feet—rewrapped in the original
packaging
—Kendra
W.
Best: A radio-controlled car from my wife. I'm over 50 and I don't get many
toys anymore.
Worst: An obscene T-shirt.
—Jonah
C.
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Best:
Handmade items and gifts of time
Worst:
Clothes that don't fit
—Helena
R.
Best:
Flowers to plant in my garden
Worst: A potato chip slicer/cooker
—Tia
B.
Best:
Drapes
Worst: A golf putter
—Ingrid
J.
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Want
to see where you can find
additional
best/worst gifts?
Have
any best/worst gifts
you'd like to share?