<p>Halloween is over. Time to start thinking about Xmas gifts. </p>
<p>There are lots of tips out there on great gift ideas, but what gifts do u HATE getting?</p>
<p>I received a pair of panty hose once. You know the kind that you can pick up in an emergency at CVS or Riteaid? </p>
<p>Sometimes when you buy makeup, you get a gift bag. Well, I got the gift bag.</p>
<p>This same person gave me a striped top in Large in a Macy’s box, but Macy’s never carried the brand. The next year, I got another Large striped top. I’m petite. (In case anyone cares, I work with the husband, and generally gave him his alcohol of preference, between $30-40). In 25 years, I don’t recall one gift from his wife that I kept. </p>
<p>The problem with the worst gift is that something I would hate others would love. I do NOT like getting lotion, soaps or perfume. But from the huge assortment of these I see advertised at holiday time, I’m guessing others love them.</p>
<p>Unless you know the person really well including their taste and size, clothing is a really bad idea.</p>
<p>But the worst gift to me is a gift card. That just screams “I know I have to get you something, but I can’t be bothered to think of anything”. And yes…I know…others love them. Seriously, I’d rather have a pair of pantyhose from CVS or a makeup gift bag. I was given a surprise 50th birthday. Three people brought gift cards. I really don’t need the money. I would rather have a box of chocolate even if I hate chocolate.</p>
<p>Bookworm, what gift did the husband give you? What did get for his wife?
Makes me think they should visit the feminism thread!</p>
<p>Generally not a critical recipient, but a grateful for the thought type. </p>
<p>While it is not a holiday traditional gift, my least favorite one is a fruit “bouquet” that can be delivered. We are now empty nesters so the volume is excessive and they have to be disassembled and re-configured for refrigeration. In my experience, the quality of the fruit is highly variable. Winds up being neither functional nor decorative. </p>
<p>I can’t think of anything I hate to get. I end to request the same things year after year. I love getting pajamas, but I don’t want any from Victoria’s Secret…they are cheaply made. I specified some from Garnet Hill so I hope Santa shops early or I may just buy my own and wrap them up ;)</p>
<p>I got dish towels one year from my inlaws, although that might have been also the year they gave us a couple hundred dollars so we could get tires for the car. </p>
<p>My favorite gifts are the coffee cups and jewelry that D gives me.
I wouldn’t like electronic totchskes that would be hard to get rid off and don’t fit in the trash, luckily, Fil doesn’t do the Christmas shopping!</p>
<p>My family has eliminated gift-giving and we love the simplicity and freedom from clutter it gives us. None of us needs anything at this point in our lives and I am trying to do the “bag a week” thing. I think my husband is the only one who misses gifts at all, and I did give him something for his recent birthday (a photo book of our summer trip, which was a boyhood dream of his).
So I would say that ANY gift is unappreciated by me, as those who know me should respect my agenda to keep things simple.
Apologies for sounding like a grouchy Grinch. :-L </p>
<p>@JEM, the tradition of my immediate family was to stop giving gifts around the time that kids no longer believed in Santa. My in-laws still carried on, but my wife and I have disengaged from the process, and now everyone has stopped the silliness. </p>
<p>If I need something, I already bought it, and you (in extended family) probably didn’t know. It puts a strain on the less well-off family members. It gives in to the commercial and materialistic culture. </p>
<p>Bah humbug.</p>
<p>What not to buy someone who is old enough to know it doesn’t come from the North Pole? Anything.</p>
<p>What to give someone? Any number of experiences and kindnesses. For around 20 years, I get up a few minutes before my wife does, so that I can bring her coffee in bed. Every morning she appreciates it as though it was the first time. It’s much better than a bought gift. </p>
<p>Buy? Who said ‘buy?’ My neighbor gave me resort soaps from her trip abroad. They still had the resort’s label on them. It was tacky and insulting.</p>
<p>mominva, the gifts were from husband/wife. He is a great guy, so I have no regrets giving him things he likes. Why he lets his wife buy his gifts, I don’t know. He could give all of us a bottle of wine and that would be appreciated.</p>
<p>The resort soaps that 12rmh18 received–how tacky.</p>
<p>My girlfriends & I have eliminated gifts; we take each other out for meals for birthdays and always have a holiday get together. </p>
<p>I prefer gift cards (or better yet, $)!</p>
<p>I should add that the panty hose were a gift from my mothers long time live in bf’s (they are now married) mother when I was a teen. All of his nieces received some sort of nicely made garment. Or maybe it was PJs. I can’t quite remember! But me? I was left with the panty hose. I was around 16 or 17 at the time. Talk about feeling left out! LOLOL </p>
<p>I’m in the grateful for any gift camp. But I do not appreciate getting a wrapped box of kleenex --yes, really-- from my H because he wants to rebel against commercial holidays.</p>
<p>The fact of the matter is that he’s just cheap. :)</p>
<p>My friends will give me earrings - year after year. My ears are not pierced! My girls enjoy them. </p>
<p>I’m a voracious reader, yet I usually disappointed when people give me books. My MIL loves to buy me books that she thinks I will like, and she almost always fails. We both have a sense of humor, but hers runs more to kittens and mine runs more to mayhem. My D has figured out that I’m always up for the newest Stephen King, and she knows which series I follow. Never a disappointment.</p>
<p>Scented lotions. My kids usually bought this when they were younger. I like lavender scent but some could be too strong. Another one is coffee cup. My husband likes coffee cups, we have a full cupboard of them and have to give away when it’s full. My sister loves to bring candies or cookies for gift. It made me fat just by looking at them. Of course I have to give away to my coworkers. Who eats them?</p>
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<p>This is the gift of desperation from husbands, sons, and boyfriends shopping at the last minute.</p>
<p>I know someone above said they did not like getting gift cards, but I love them IF they are from someplace I shop. But at the moment I have hundreds of dollars of Lands End gift cards given to my daughters by an aunt. We keep checking the catalog and websites to figure out what to spend them on, but nothing appeals… </p>
<p>But I adore a book store gift card. 
I love to read, but only my kids would be likely to pick out something to my taste. Plus, I am downsizing soon… don’t need more “stuff”., so purchasing eBooks is great. So many gifts we have received over the years have ended up in the Goodwill pile with tags still on, it is ridiculous.</p>
<p>We have taken to asking family members who want to buy for us to send food boxes (Zingerman’s, Harry & David, etc.). Consumable, treats we don’t often have, and fun for us to dig through when they arrive. And easy to shop for online.</p>
<p>I’m one who is grateful for any gift and so I don’t have an answer to the original query. </p>
<p>But as a gift giver, I can think of at least a few times when I felt my gift wasn’t truly appreciated and found the response rather odd. All pertain to giving gifts to mother-in-law. Years ago, when I picked out a floral arrangement and had it sent to her, she told us she returned it for cut flowers because she prefers cut flowers over arrangements. I have never heard of returning FLOWERS! I mean, they only last a week and this just seems odd. Worse, was to admit what she did. </p>
<p>Another time, and this is while she was in her 80s, and really didn’t need anything, I had what I thought was a very meaningful gift made, and similar to something I had done for my own mother who has now passed. I had a poem about her as a mother, which I had not written but revised it to personalize it, inscribed on a standing small piece of lucite. It is something you could put on your desk (as my mom had done) or on her dresser. I was there when she opened it and she gave no real reaction and just let it sit and I have never seen it on display in her home, even though she has other things of this nature on display. I could tell she did not like it. I thought I had put a lot of care into it too. What is there to not like? My mom had loved a similar gift, but oh well. </p>
<p>Another time, while in-laws are in their 80s, for one of their anniversaries,I had a crystal vase inscribed with their names and the date of the anniversary and the number of the anniversary. They often have cut flowers in vases in their house. Again, a pretty blank expression when they opened it. I have seen flowers displayed in many other vases at their house since giving them this special inscribed one, but never have seen them use this one. I thought it was a thoughtful, meaningful gift. </p>
<p>Even if someone doesn’t like the gift, I think they should come across as appreciative of the thought. </p>