<p>My BIL and SIL have these bells that play (and this word is used loosely) several different Christmas carols. They drive me wild. The first year that they had them, I would turn them off every time I walked by or I would ask someone else to turn off the D___ bells. Christmas morning, there was a beautifully wrapped rather large box for me. I opened it and guess what? Not bells, but Santa’s marching band. It has not been out of the box since that morning. However, we enjoy the bells each year.</p>
<p>BIL and his friends do the tacky gift thing. My marching band was not part of that exchange.</p>
<p>My grandmother is always the interesting one in the family.</p>
<p>One year she got all the grandkids beach towels.</p>
<p>Now we do live in Southern California…but really?</p>
<p>Another year, she got all of us Swiss Army Knives. None of us are campers and I can’t even take it with me to school.</p>
<p>This past year, she actually got each of the granddaughters GORGEOUS real pearl earrings. She told us, “Wear 'em out and I’ll buy you another pear!”</p>
<p>She’s very well off and it shocked all of us. I actually do wear them quite frequently; they came in especially handy for all the job interviews I had this year. Also, they go very well with a gold and diamond necklace with a pendant the shape of a heart that my daddy gave me for my 16th birthday (of my sister and me, I’m the jewelry lover).</p>
<p>My sister turned 22 this past year. Grandma sent her a two-dollar bill folded so that the twos were next to each other.</p>
<p>Yes, that’s it.</p>
<p>That’s all I can think of at the moment.</p>
<p>Funny thread!</p>
<p>Some of my friends do a white Elephant gift exchange. You wouldn’t believe some of the junk that gets re-gifted! It’s a most amusing afternoon.</p>
<p>I recently had a birthday. My aunt sent me a birthday card with a pair of earrings (that had to have been hers for awhile) wrapped in a kleenex.</p>