What is the worst present you received this Christmas..and why?

moneyistooshorttomention

janb5 wrote: »

Sadly I think they were bought expressly for me and to add insult to injury they are now at half price on the Boots website! Also was given some M & S peaches in brandy syrup...something else I would care fore for! They are definitely this season!

I totally agree that the best present are those that are sourced with love...the book you cant get or knowing your favourite colour or even something home made ( knitting etc)

Put like that - then I think I would be wearing the most fashionable/modern clothes I have the next few times I saw the person concerned. All the better if I could think of an excuse to go shopping with them and find it "very important" (for some strange reason:cool:) to head for the cosmetics I thought an "elegant up-to-the-minute woman in her 40s/50s would want" - for myself. (yes...I know I'm in my 60s personally...).

How hard can it be to find a suitable present for a woman after all? Most women, for instance, will wear costume jewellery noticeably often and one can make a mental note of the styles they like and what colours they go for in their clothes and buy accordingly Or what topics they're interested in/fiction they like and buy a new book on the market about that. Luxury food in their "style of eating" is another possibility if they are a bit of a gourmet.

Now men, on the other hand, are more difficult and I often have to resort to whatever booze seems most suitable..

springdreams

I think old age is a matter of individual perception. For me someone who is retired is old. For my 16 year old son I am old. However, those that are retired may not perceive themselves to be old, any more than I perceive myself to be old. So the giver of a gift of Yardley to someone in their 60s may think that it is age appropriate .... I also tend to think that No. 7 products are more for women in their 50s / 60s than younger women.

It is also a matter of personal taste. Some younger women may very well like Yardley.

DomRavioli

I got an iPad case from my uncle.

I don't own an iPad, or a tablet of any brand.

Worst one I've had over the years would be oven trays that were too large for my oven (who buys that as a gift anyway!).

moneyistooshorttomention

springdreams wrote: »

I think old age is a matter of individual perception. For me someone who is retired is old. For my 16 year old son I am old. However, those that are retired may not perceive themselves to be old, any more than I perceive myself to be old. So the giver of a gift of Yardley to someone in their 60s may think that it is age appropriate .... I also tend to think that No. 7 products are more for women in their 50s / 60s than younger women.

It is also a matter of personal taste. Some younger women may very well like Yardley.

But then some people retired in their 50s and many hope to (more or less realistically).

Imo - someone can't be old if they are an age that the Government doesn't think they should be able to retire/be retired at. That counts out anyone under 70 then. One can't be both "old" and still deemed working age (if only by the Government).

My parents are in their 80s. Now they are old. As I'm a generation younger than them - then I can't be old. Yardley can't be appropriate for both myself and my (generation older) mother. There are a noticeable number of people in their 60s that have one or both parents still alive (even if their parents had them at the usual age for their generation - ie in their 20s). It struck me the other day that, if my parents are still here in a couple of years time, then they will have gone into their 90s - and that is "extreme old age".

Those of us in our 60's agewise are likely to be "children of the 1960s" iyswim. That's the last way my elderly mother would think of herself:rotfl:Now trying to picture me saying "Peace - man" to my mother and playing "If you're going to San Francisco - you'd better wear some flowers in your hair" to her....I don't think she'd "get it" somehow LOL.

Owain_Moneysaver

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

Better a small cheap present that really has been bought specifically for you (as presents should be!) and that shows the giver really has been perceptive enough about you/cared enough about you to figure out what your specific tastes/interests/etc. are.

I got a bagload of Sainsbury's Basics Chicken Curry in Tins.

Actually it was Sainsbury's Basics Chicken Curry in Tins that had been reduced for quick sale. :rotfl:

They are genuinely appreciated (as in I will eat them) but they're quite low down on the festive scale.

janb5

Yep...quite a few of us in their 60`s..I`m 62. Poor old Yardley being criticized like this but I guess that their marketing would bear credence to that.

I agree it isn`t rocket science to listen and make a mental note when you know a friend would like something specific as I get a lot of pleasure finding a good present. Not necessarily expensive but appropriate. I love the comment..." I cant find.......

My best find in true Anneka Rice style was to find a missing weighing tray for some imperial scales AND get the scales balanced!

Owain_Moneysaver

Caterina wrote: »

How's this for beating the lot, one year DH promised to give me the video of our sewers for Christmas.

That's the sort of present I'd love. :rotfl:

gardner1

sofa cushion with a family photo on it.......sends shivers down my spine....the mother in law has a strange smile on her face:eek:

I'm sure the sister in law send these sort of presents every year as some sort of joke....we get a cushion as joint present they got bottle of wine and bottle of spirts from us

Owain_Moneysaver

gardner1 wrote: »

sofa cushion with a family photo on it.......sends shivers down my spine....the mother in law has a strange smile on her face:eek:

Maybe she likes the thought of you shoving your [STRIKE]ar[/STRIKE]backside in her face.

LameWolf

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

But then some people retired in their 50s and many hope to (more or less realistically).

I retired aged 41. But not from choice.

But I digress..... If we're talking the worst present ever, it was when I was in my 20s and married to the XH. We were desperately short of money (I was skipping meals to make ends meet) and he blew £50 on a bottle of perfume. Now, I rarely wear perfume at the best of times, but this stuff absolutely stank! It actually made me feel nauseous just taking the stopper out of the bottle. _pale_ He did admit he was drunk when he went and bought it; I'm afraid I remained unimpressed.