What makes a chicken coop easy to live with?

[Yorkshire Pudding]

Reading Little Chickadee's thread reminded me - when I was small I would be threatened with a brick instead of toys for my Christmas presents, if I wasn't a good girl.

 

One year (I was about 12), a brick actually appeared under the tree, gift-wrapped and addressed to me. The next year I disguised the same brick with padding and wrapping, and gave it to my Dad, who next year gave it to my sister... every year someone would be the lucky recipient of the Christmas Brick and we would all wait eagerly to see which box it was hidden in. One year it was in a huge box, 2' tall, filled with packing material to disguise it.

 

Many people think this is a slightly odd Christmas tradition but we enjoyed it, and it set me wondering - what's your favourite, or least favourite, or oddest or silliest present ever?

[Willow]

I love the brick present that sounds fun !

 

My worst present has to be the grubby second hand matinee jacket from my (very well-off) mother-in law that still had the 12p price tag on when I was expecting my long awaited eldest. I'd have preferred nothing to that

 

Best - eglu and anything handmade by my boys

[Mrs Frugal]

My worst was a make up bag and brushes from a friend. I don't wear make up .

[Christian]

My worst was a spin spa thing to use in the bath and a facial brush????

 

What were they thinking??

 

Best was the eglu x 2!

 

OH's worst was a golfing cardigan in beige with diamond Patchwork from his Mum. It was huge. In the summer, we use it as a marquee.

[theherd123]

I once gave a tin of beans as a gift!

 

It was a 'thank-you' gift to my cousin for being an usher at our wedding - he was really pleased with it too.

He should buy shares in Heinz Beans, he eats at least 2 cans a day!

 

I also gave him £30 of gift vouchers too!

[fairy&cake]

My best ever gift, appart from life and Seth, was a Tiffany and Co necklace bought for me by best friend.

 

I still remember the feeling of seeing the blue box appear from within a UPS brown cardboard box.

 

Erm, worst gift??? Hmmm, I dont know. Its the thought th counts i guess.

[little chickadee]

Best Gift - OH and my mum and Grandad clubbed together years ago to get me a really good camera. I loved it, but hardly use it any more because digital cameras are so much better now.

 

Worst gift - a tough one - I think it was a horrible pair of pants and some perfume from the market from OH's Grannie (we don't get on! - I think OH was supposed to leave me when I got ill and get a newer model - luckily he didn't agree!!!!)

[Tessa the Duchess]

The two worst, first also a bath spa thing which was supposed to turn the bath into a jacuzzi from my son and his g.friend, it went on Freecycle unopened Second was a toolbox with tools from my DH (don''t ask)

The best have to be the silly presents my children used to give me when little, usually made in pottery classes or woodwork, I still have a very wonky pottery toastrack which I never use but can't bear to throw away

 

Tessa

[Olly]

best present - an Eglu!

 

Don't think I want to remember the worst presents. It's not just what you get, but the context of who it was who gave it to you!

 

Love the story about the brick above. My friends and I have a rather kitsch candlestick, that passes from person to person. The trick is to sneak it in - so when my friend had her 40th birthday, and we did a box of 40 presents, the candlestick was one of them. It next appeared when I moved house, I unwrapped a box of china and there it was hiding in the middle. I passed it on to another friend when her baby arrived - it should be moving on again soon!

[Sheilaz]

The brick story reminded me; as teenagers a group of us, OH & friends and a couple of females, used to meet regularly. The men didn't really give presents at birthdays etc, it was more a girl thing in our circle.

 

However, someone gave aftershave to one person and he didn't think much of it. We all joked about 101 ways to get rid of an unwanted gift, including giving it to someone else on their birthday.

 

We thought it was brilliant when the person remembered to do just that, though not to the delight of the recipient.

 

It then became a standing joke and the aftershave did the rounds.

 

However, when it was OH's birthday, I was chuffed to see that someone had bought him a cocktail shaker.

Although beer drinkers, asking for made up cocktails to outwit bar staff, & then feigning surprise that they hadn't heard of it, had become another joke in the group, (we made our own fun in those days ) so it seemed such a thoughtful gift.

 

Until OH opened the present, and there in the cocktail shaker box was the aftershave.

[Guest]

what a lovely tradition

 

I'm happy if somebody remembers me and thinks of me enough to give me a gift, whatever it might be, so I don't tend to think in terms of good or bad presents.

 

The BHWT gave me some lovely chickens so that would probably be my best ever gift

 

I have given a pretty bad gift though I was about 21 and DH (then dear boyfriend) was about 26 and I hadn't known him long and didn't have a clue what to get him. I knew he was into The Damned, Siouxsie and the Banshees etc etc so I wanted to get him a gothy type present and ended up buying him a black iron candelabra (like you see on vampire films). He still takes the mick out of me today about that one!

[Laura & CTB]

I've been given lots of lovely presents but the worst has to be when CTB's brother gave him and I a video camera for Christmas. We were really chuffed at the time as we didn't have a lot of money and could never have afforded something so extravagant.

 

We had a bit of trouble getting it to work properly so a few days late rang to ask his advice, his reply was "Oh yeh I had that problem with it too which is why I bought a new one - oh and dont tell the insurance company"

[Cinnamon]

The worst pressie I have ever had was from an eldery relative who gave me some toddler teething toys when my baby was born.

Only they were actually dog chew toys with that horrid dog chocolate flavour & smell.

She knew,she just thought if they were OK for a dog,they would be OK for a baby

[Keanie Bean]

My worst present has to be a valentines gift my husband bought me whenwe first got together. It was a packet of Rolo's he'd bought in a corner shop on the way to my house. H'ed forgotten totally and the worst part is that the chocolate had gone off so I couldnt eat it anyway

 

He has given me three lovely children so he made up for that one

 

Sarah.x

[superjules]

Best present - 2 Months ago a friend bought me a cafetiere for my birthday. I did the polite thing and said thanks, but when I got home I compared it to the cafetiere I already had in the cupboard and it was the same size. I've had the box in a bag for a few weeks meaning to return it as who needs 2 identical cafetieres? I got back on Sunday from taking the kids to a party, DH had unloaded the dishwasher and broke my old cafetiere! My friend must have psychic powers.

 

Worst present - My parents bought me a blouse from M&S for my 21st birthday which was a disappointment. OH was given 3 pack of brown socks in the wrong size from a well known supermarket by his sister.

Just thoughtless gifts really, where you can tell the person has just thought "That'll do!"

[Yorkshire Pudding]

I'm so delighted to hear that others also have joke presents doing the rounds. Our Christmas brick was lost during a house move, but my boys are now old enough to understand the joke, so I may have to find a new, shiny one this Christmas!

 

I nearly forgot my Mum's cousin, who we rarely saw and who was well-known in the family for sending 'that'll do' type gifts. A set of bath cubes, opened, two missing and the rest damp and crumbling, was one of her finest. Also a library boook, ten years overdue! Needless to say we didn't contact the library to pay her fine! Every year we would save her gifts until last so we could laugh together, and then send dutiful thankyou notes.

 

My best ever - definitely the Eglu and Marj & Daph. I never ever thought DH would do it!

[Guest]

chookiehubbie always wanted one of those slushy drinks makers when he was a lad, and never got one. Imagine his upset when his little sister was given one, the first Christmas we were together - he was devestated, especially when little sis threw it to the side and didn;t even open it. So the next year, she wrapped it and gave it to him. Then he gave her it back for her birthday. Then she gave him it back for christmas. This has now gone on for 15 years, but sadly ground to a halt last year, when we couldn't find it to wrap up for her birthday - it's been misplaced when we moved, and it didn't seem right to go and buy a new one.

 

I must go and check the boxes in the attic again, and find it for this year!

[chickencam]

OH bought me a Nintendo DS Lite for my birthday along with 2 brain training games(I think he is trying to tell me something ) which have become compulsive especially the Germs game which you are meant to use to relax at the end of More Brain Training has anyone else become addicted to this, ED is also so competative with me on it

 

One of the worst gifts that OH has bought me were a lime green teapot and cups and saucers with faces on, they sat in the cupboard for a polite couple of years then went to the charity shop. He is great with gifts normally

[Valkyrie]

My worst present was from my in-laws. It was an activity holiday - bearing in mind I am quite hefty I thought NOOOOOOOOOOO, but said wow, thanks. It was a joint one with OH - who was absolutely delighted. I saw one of the activities was archery, so fine, I fancied that and I would forget the paintballing etc. Then I read a newspaper article that said you wouldn't get to choose and you would be divided into teams and that one portly fellow nearly had a heart attack while racing around. Hmmm, if I had been younger in my skinny days, maybe, but not at 45 and podgy and in front of youngsters who would be screaming at me if I let the team down. As the time grew nearer, I got more stressed. As luck would have it, the weekend was cancelled, and I felt like the whole world had been lifted off my shoulders. M-I-L said we could rearrange the weekend or we could have the cash instead. OH still wanted to go - he is 6 years younger than me - and he said he would do the activities and I could go and read a book by the swimming pool - for 2 days!!!!!!! Nice one, while I thought we could all go (children included) somewhere much nicer instead, but I would do whichever he wanted. So he cancelled the whole thing and as a result there was a big hoo ha where M-I-L said I was ungrateful and I hurt their feelings. Well a nice case of damned if I say yes and damned if I say no! Oh and we didn't get the cash instead either because I am such a horrible woman.

One good thing came of all this - I am no longer intimidated by her and I will argue my point until she backs down. I have become a right old dragon!!!

The best pressie will arrive in the next couple of months!