FIRST I'LL GET IT - THEN I'M GIVING IT AWAY

I have a confession to make. My kid's starting kindergarten and pretty soon every birthday party she will attend will NOT require my presence and, well...there goes MY social life. 

(SEE VIDEO)

But I'll tell you, nothing sucks the joy out of a party more than buying the kid a present. Every time I enter a toy store, I'll stand there, in a panic, asking myself, "How much do I spend? Is this too much? Too little? Will they like it? Do they already have it? Where'd they buy the cake? Will I still get a corner piece? How come we're never invited over for a playdate?"

The most humiliating moment is when the child insists on opening the presents while everyone is still there. Nothing is worse than watching a five year old toss your gift aside like a dirty tissue.

That being said:

Send me a comment, by August 28th, telling me your WORST GIFT STORY and my two favorites will receive an already beautifully wrapped present from FLICKA, an upscale children's boutique store located in Hollywood, California.

FOR A BOY           FOR A GIRL

Comments

[PammaLamma]

We were going to the 5th b-day party for my best friend's oldest daughter. I had been told she wanted a particular jewelry box from a local store-basically a fancy version of the spinny ballerina, musical box that EVERYONE had at that age. We were really broke at the time, but I knew she really wanted it so I sprung for it & let my friend know so, she would take it off the list. Lo & behold the birthday girl opened almost the exact same thing from someone else (who by the way had told the mother "I'm not gonna but that piece of crap"-NICE) before our gift, so when she opened ours she looked at it and said "well I like the other one better so I can just give this one to my little sister".
I was so crushed I actually had to go hide in the bathroom & cry. Now I look back & laugh AND I never spend more than $20 on a kids' present!

[Tracee Sioux]

I'm cheap and I usually avoid going to the expensive gifty party. If I won those boxes I'd unwrap them and give one item to every birthday party we'd be invited to for a year. And put some under the tree for my own kids.

I don't want to set a generous precedent for the next party or the next year.

When our daughter was 2 she had so many gifts for her birthday - total gift networth was hundreds. We asked her what was her favorite and she said, "The Flashcards."

$1 store flashcards people.

"We've been stupidly spending our money on lavish gifts when what they really want is $1 store crap and the drugstore bouncing ball amounting to $1.50," I told my husband.

[Jen]

My Aunt and Grandmother have given me the worst gifts ever. I mean, it's insulting in a "you didn't have to break a ONE for me... really you SHOULDN'T have" kind of way.

Granny gave me a dollar store two inch tall polyresin made in china, NO glass in front, picture frame that "came from our trip to the beach" for my 30th birthday.

Auntie followed suit with a plastic baggie of sea shell to keep with the theme.

Me, I'm cheap as hell but I'm not thoughtless.

[Michelle]

The worst "gift" I ever got...an I.O.U. from a college boyfriend for a...wait for it...dolphin ring.

Why he would think I would want to decorate my finger with a ring melted into the shape of a dolphin is beyond me. Why I would receive said ring in the form of an i.o.u. is WAAAAAAY beyond me.

Would I get bonus points to win that fab prize if I could produce the i.o.u? I'm 73% sure it's in our crawlspace in my college scrapbook. And no, he never did actually give me the ring.

[SportsFan's Daughter]

When I was 16, my high school boyfriend gave me pajamas for my birthday... from Gap KIDS. Size XXL. The kind that come all folded up in a plastic bag that is hung from some sort of peg board by the register. He wasn't trying to be funny. I am embarassed to say that although I considered breaking up with him then, I waited until he told me that he'd *LET* me give him a BJ ONCE I GOT MY BRACES OFF. Buh-Bye.

[elizabeth135095]

I've never really given a "hellish" present, but this comes close-

For Christmas, I decided to give everyone whom I was "casually acquainted" with (i.e. sort of friends) a present. Now, for birthdays I totally zonk out and end out giving something totally nerdy, like a diary (99% of the time). For Christmas, I didn't want to spend that much (I was on a fourth-grader's budget) so I decided to get hair accessories for all the girls.

To make a long story short, I bought one of my "sort-of-friends" a headband, and when she tried it on in the cafeteria, it snapped in half, not having been made to accommodate her head size.

As for hellish gifts I've received, I have to say that my aunt comes first. She only gives me presents when she comes to visit me or vice versa. When I was around eight or nine, she came over and, as a late birthday present, gave me a pair of pinstriped capris with stripes in purple, yellow, and aqua. The worst part was, they were so large that they fell clean off, but they came up to mid-calf. Fashion disaster, but my mom tried her best to convince me to smile.

[Millicent Cagle]

My mother in law at my baby shower gave me diet pills... really.
Saying that "Well you will want to get that baby weight off as soon as possible." I thought she was joking... she wasn't. Enough said.

[Elizabeth]

It's gonna be hard to beat Millicent's diet pills gift (OMG!), but my husband's Grandma, bless her heart, had very little money but loved giving gifts. For one of my birthdays one year, she handed me a brown paper lunch bag with the top rolled down. Inside was a snack-size bag of peanuts, and a banana. I said "thank you", and I meant it.

[jennifer bowen]

the worst gift i ever got as a kid was a pair of under roos with some carttoon on them when i was in the 4 or 5 th grade from a friend of mine in girl scots we where to tryed gifts for x-mas and well thats what i was giveing and well that was like not so cool and after that i had got picked on by al most every one in school. any how i dont think i could think of any thing bader then that and well i realy love to try and win this for my little one i know she get a kick out of it thanks

[jennifer bowen]

im back i can realy think of one thats realy bad as well and thats well geting some old sock puppet doll from your aunt who loves to use old newper to wrip up your gifts in that also has happen to me as well just had to pass that one out as well

[Sky]

Oh goodness, the worst....let's see. I got a recycled wedding gift from one of my friends. Oh yes. It was a clock of, straight out of the 80's. Very tacky. You know, with the mirror, then the mirror had a picture of a bride and groom on it who looked very 80'sish. Well, the card from HER wedding was still in there. Apparently she got it from a senile aunt and just didn't give it another thought until MY wedding. I mailed the card back to her. LOL

[email protected]

[melanie]

My worst was when I spent hours making special snowflake ornaments for my husbands family and put them all in Christmas tins. His mother opened up the tin looked at the ornaments and then told me that it was a nice tin. Not one word about the ornaments. I have given them many ornaments over the years and none of them make it onto their tree. I stopped a couple of years ago.

(check out my site to see the snowflakes I made and gave them)
http://melaniescrafts.etsy.com

[Carol Ezovski]

I didn't get or give this gift, but I remember how hurt my friend was at an office white elephant exchance party when she reived a pig that oinked every time you opened the refrigerator. She was quite heavy and took this personally, even though it was just the luck of the draw that she received it over the other 20 or so gifts available.

[Jennifer K.]

Hmmm....the previous story just brought back a memory of a really horrible gift I received when I was ten years old. I was fat and my grandparents made fun of me, even though they were also porkers! I opened a beautifully wrapped gift and inside was a sweater. Not too exciting for a kid, but when I saw that it had fat, dancing pigs on it, I ran out of the room crying -- to the sound of everyone laughing hysterically! What were they thinking?

[Laura]

Just to comment on how much to spend on a gift... I'm cheap but I want to give great gifts that someone will love, so I usually buy gifts months in advance when they're on sale and stockpile in our basement. The trick is I ONLY allow myself to buy things that I really, really like or know someone else will love. I do get caught up in sales, and can buy junk because it's sooo cheap, so I try to curb my urges. But I also feel triumphant getting something really wonderful for a bargain price and making my dollar feel like it's worth a bit more.

As for my story... I think what's most important in giving a gift, is to make sure it's age/interest appropriate. I begged my parents for a 'rock tumbler' (those gadgets that go round and round with average rocks in them and promise to spit out gems when the 2 week process is over) for a couple years. I was between the ages of 5-7 when I wanted the tumbler. When did I receive said rock tumbler? When I was 11. I nearly fell over, and couldn't believe my mom a) remembered, but b) bought me something so terribly late that I was not even remotely interested. I felt bad that she'd spent the money, but I was a child and of course threw a fit about it. We laugh over it (mostly my behavior) now, but the rock tumbler incident is famous in my family. So, whatever you buy or get, just make sure it's of interest and/or age appropriate, and at least you're hitting in the right ballpark! But really, dont take gift giving so seriously. Kids dont understand the thought yet, and may toss something aside without thinking of the real value. The parent will still appreciate what you did.

[Suzanne B. (Crunchy Green Mom)]

Worst gift? It was given to ME by my father (he is an anthropologist)..

I was in my 20's and he gave me a stuffed Piranha, from Bolivia.

Yep... I'm still holding it against him..

OR,
Do you want the version of the movie DAS BOOT?...

I don't think he knows me very well :)

[Eryn]

I might be too late to enter (it's midnight on the east coast, but 915 where I'm at) but I wanted to share my worst gift horror story.

It was my sister's bridal shower, back before you could do an easy registry online for 100 different stores, she had said that she really wanted towels that weren't tacky and mismatched. 1st gift, towels, you can see everyone get a little antsy. 2nd gift, towels. 3rd gift...more towels! EVERYONE there had bought her really nice spendy towels. Except for our grandmother. What did she buy? The tackiest, vampiest g-string teddy I've ever seen in my life lol

Had to share, I figure no matter how bad a gift is, it can't be worse than that bridal shower! lol

[Jennifer Mims]

Hi Jessica, Well I'm back from the long, long drive to Seattle. It was great seeing my kids again. As to my worst gift, I can give you an example. How about an assemble yourself toy truck from Target! That's just a joke gift but it put me in mind of some furniture I myself bought and STILL USE that I had to self-assemble. What's so strange is THEY DON'T TELL YOU. You walk around looking at tables, etc. and you get this large box. It isn't until you open it that you find out--you've got to put that sucker together yourself!!! By the time I had furnished my entire apartment (which took about 5 years!!) I had become extremely proficient in furniture. Anyway, just an idea for a self-assemble toy truck from Target for a boy, I guess?!
Love you, Jen