I’m sure you’ve heard that saying "it’s the thought that counts" but sometimes you have to wonder. There are times that I have. I’m sure we have all opened Christmas presents and wondered about the gifters’ thought process in the gift they wrapped up for us.
Here are some odd, funny and unusual gifts I have received over the years:
Ice Scraper for Windshield - I immediately think back to this one whenever this subject comes up. A co-worker gifted me this one year. A few things to note here. I was living in Macon, Georgia at the time which was not really big on ice problems and I parked in a garage. Not sure what the thought process was on that one.
Jumbo Box of Dolphin-shaped Goldfish crackers - Yeah, this happened. I love dolphins and somehow I was getting lots of dolphin-themed things at the time. This one bottomed it out. The awkward part was when I was unwrapping it and the gifter was watching in anticipation of my reaction. I had to immediately put on the best fake happy face I could.
Book on how to deal with difficult co-workers - At the time, I was part of a small group of IT people in the office. The four of us decided to have our own Christmas party and gift exchange. One of our co-workers gifted us all with the same book about how to deal with difficult co-workers. The ironic thing was that SHE was the difficult co-worker.
Christmas letter - One co-worker thought it was a good idea to give each of us a copy of her annual family Christmas letter which detailed the highlights of what they had accomplished over the past year. Most of us "filed" it away after the gift exchange.
Mannequin hands - One year at an office Christmas party I received a trash bag full of mannequin hands from a local department store. Why you might ask? At the time I was an assistant to an office of eight investigators. During times when they were all demanding something from me at the same time, I would often say that "I only have two hands." One of the investigators was funny with his gift of more "hands" for me.
Strange right? And the gifts I described above were not "white elephant" or gag gifts.
I have also had some very nice gifts over the years and very thoughtful gifts. Unfortunately, I have somehow become one of those people which are difficult to buy for. I wish that wasn't the case. Just don't get me an ice scraper or floor mats from Weather Tech. As one former pastor used to say, "You can never go wrong with money. It's always the right size and right color." Some are hesitant about gifting gift cards too but I am never offended by that. I'd rather get a gift card than a jumbo box of dolphin shaped goldfish crackers.
