Ever received a truly horrible gift? As we put
together this issue – which has literally dozens
of fantastic gifting ideas – talk around the
office inevitably centered around some rotten – and
sometimes bizarre – gifts some of us have unwrapped
over the years. Here’s a sampling:
Kathy Huston, editor, Advantages magazine (our sister
publication):
“The worst gift I ever received was a wok from
my husband Steve when we were first married. “… Because
you love Chinese food,” he told me. He learned
very quickly that I loved to take out Chinese food.
Not cook it, or anything else!”
Michele Bell, editor, Supplier Global Resource (sister
publication):
“The worst gift I ever got is a tie between
a pink dress about five years ago from my mother
(wishful
thinking on her part) and a cheese hoagie for Valentine’s
Day from a boyfriend in college. Also, last year
for my birthday, my boyfriend (thankfully, a different
one from the hoagie guy) sent me a card that said, ‘I
love you, Sweaty’ because he misspelled ‘Sweetie.’ Oy.”
Pierre Schnog, senior designer:
“Just this last Christmas, my sister-in-law
and her husband gave us this Santa on a bike wine
holder.
It’s the most horrific thing you’ve ever
seen, and thus has never seen the light of day.”
Amy Lucas, associate editor:
“My grandmother was a yard sale goddess, so
for Christmas one year, she got me a denim skirt
for a quarter
that was straight out of the circus. It had an elastic
waist, glass-mirrored square and triangles, glittery
swirls and fuzzy pom-pom balls in every color of
the rainbow. Needless to say, when she asked why
I never wore it, I said, ‘It didn’t fit.’”
Nicole Rollender, editor, Wearables Business (sister
publication):
“When I was a freshman in college, my stalker-ish
boyfriend was a Star Trek freak. After he and his
best friend – who spoke Klingon and wore transmitter
pens – went to a Star Trek convention, my boyfriend
gave me a Bajoran earring that I was supposed to
wear in my left ear. It was supposed to be a sign
of my commitment to him and to the show. I broke
up with him almost immediately and threw the earring
into the woods.”
My worst gift? It was Christmas morning, 1989, and
we were at my boyfriend Bruce’s mother’s
house. Good ’ol Jane didn’t have anything
for me under the Christmas tree – except for
a toy from a McDonald’s Happy Meal she had
hurriedly wrapped up for me about two minutes before
our gift exchange. “Ha! Ha! Isn’t that
funny?” she exclaimed, as I unwrapped the gift.
Yeah, real hysterical. Fortunately, Bruce and I broke
up a few months later and I never had to spend another
holiday with her.
If you’ve ever received an unusual – or
simply truly bad – gift, drop us a line and
let us know about it. We’ll send a $25 Starbucks
card to whomever can come up with the most awful
item.
Happy gifting
Melinda Ligos
PS: You can contact Melinda at (800) 326-7378, ext.
3434 or mligos@asicentral.com.
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