Favorite Gifts and How You Got Them...

[Ralts Bloodthorne]

We've all gotten weird gifts that you weren't expecting. List some here, how you got them, and why you liked them.

An old sweaty watch. It was Christmas, and my friend took off his watch, dropped it in the cardboard box that a Dehydrated Beef Patty came in, and gave it to me. I had a watch, but he gave me his that he had worn since I knew him. I still have it. It meant a lot to me, because Christmas was looking kind of bleak.

A set of 20 Hummel Figurines: I hate Hummels. My friends all knew it. But one of my friends bought a set of 20 little figures from the Hummel factory. She drove there, saw them, and they made her think of me. I bring them out every Christmas, and remember her.

An ugly red tie I don't wear ties. I don't like ties. It was a gift from my son, the first gift I got from him (He was 16) and it still sits in my closet. I wear it now and then, and the smile is worth my dislike of the tie.

A can of Arabic Mt. Dew My brother in law sent me this last year. I know better than to drink it, but he told me that when he saw it, he remembered the incedent from 10 years ago with it. It reminds me of him. It's sitting right here.

There's been a lot of others, and they've all been special.

Mainly because the person who gave them too me cared enough about me to get it for me.

How about you?

 

[Queen_Dopplepopolis]

When The Universe (Kennon) and I celebrated our first Christmas together, he handed me a box. Inside the box was a Fight Club lunch box... I happened to really want the Fight Club lunch box... but, that's not the point of this story.

When I popped open the lunch box, there was a small, ratty teddy bear inside of it. Looking up at Kennon quizzically, he smiled and said, "That's Teddy... he was my favorite when I was a little boy and now I want you to have him." I was so shocked and touched that he was giving me this little piece of his childhood that I didn't even notice the bracelet around Teddy's neck at first.

It seemed to me that Kennon saw Teddy as a vehicle for gifting me with a bracelet, but I was much, much more in love with Teddy.

 

[diaglo]

a wooden fort for my Britian's soliders. got it from Santa.

i don't know how he had the time to make it. he was going to school on the GI bill plus working swing shifts.

best gift i ever got. i still have one of the guard posts even though the fort has long since crumpled.

 

[Warrior Poet]

A Wooden Sword, hand shaped by whittling, from my grandfather, who knew how much I loved history and science fiction/fantasy. He whittled a roman legion sword for me, crude, when I was five. Now that he's gone, I'll always have that sword. Damnit, I'm tearing up now thinking about it.

Books and the Gift of Literacy, from my parents. This is one of the most powerful and wonderful things they ever gave me.

An Old Pipe that belonged to my grandfather, the same one that whittled the sword. I don't smoke, but I treasure that pipe, teeth marks and old tobacco stains and all.

$750 Airline Ticket, from myself. Money I spent to fly to a small Texas town and visit my grandmother in the hospital, one last time, one day before she died. It was unexpected only because I got a call from my mother saying, "Nana's dying," and had to buy the ticket that night. Got to tell Nana I love her one last time. Best money I ever spent.

Alien Fighting Corporal Hicks, from Dingleberry on these boards. I love the movie Aliens better than any other action movie ever. Dingleberry is in my gaming group, and one year, for my birthday, he gave me this action figure set. It's even mis-labeled by the toy company, as the armor the marine is wearing is clearly Hudson's (checks geek cred: yep, still good). We were rolling dice that night, in fact. At the time, one of our other gaming group members' girlfriend was there, and rolled her eyes that an adult would give another adult a toy. There was an awkward pause, whereupon I, a person who is very shy about this sort of thing, turned to her and said, "You know, I don't go to your house on your birthday and make fun of the gifts you get." I love those action figures, always will. I'm still friends with that woman, but it needed to be said.

Electric Bass Guitar and Practice Amp, with All Cables by members of my gaming group who were putting together a band and needed a bassist. I've never played an instrument in my life (at the time, 29 years). Now I'm their bassist. I'm not good, but it's some of the most fun I've ever had, and it means even more that they wanted me to play, when they could have gotten a real musician (CDs are on sale at the back for $10 ).

Dragon-shaped Salt Cellar, from my mother. It's porcelain, and beautiful. I didn't even know what a salt cellar was, but my mother knew how much I love dragons. Enough said.

Bicycle Riding Lessons, from my father, who was the instructor. Took me to the cinder track everytime I wanted to go, holding on to the bike seat and running along, holding me up, until one time I looked down and saw the shadow on the ground and realized my father wasn't holding on to the bicycle anymore, instead he was holding up his hands, and then I heard him cheering as I rode on my own, without training wheels.

Recipe for Frijoles, from my grandmother. This is the meal I always associate with her and her home. The ones I make will never be as good as hers, and they're not supposed to be, and that's o.k.

Warrior Poet

 

[Hypersmurf]

Alien Fighting Corporal Hicks, from Dingleberry on these boards. I love the movie Aliens better than any other action movie ever. Dingleberry is in my gaming group, and one year, for my birthday, he gave me this action figure set. It's even mis-labeled by the toy company, as the armor the marine is wearing is clearly Hudson's (checks geek cred: yep, still good).

"I'm Hudson, sir, he's Hicks."

-Hyp.

 

[Buttercup]

For Christmas when I was 4, my day care teacher got me a blue flashlight. I still think of it as one of the best presents I have ever received. You see, my father had died about 8 months before, and lots of wretched things had happened to me in the aftermath, with the result that I was having regular nightmares. The flashlight gave me the power to chase the dark away. Naturally, my 4 year old brain didn't think of it quite that way, but that's how I used it. I carried that flashlight with me everywhere. When I started kindergarten, I had to leave it at home, but I still took it to bed with me every night until I was about 7.

 

[devilbat]

My ex wife is my least favorite person in the world, but she provided me with the two most amazing gifts of my life.

The first is my daughter, and I'll leave it at that.

The second was a Christmas present. My other hobby is sports memorabillia, particularly autographed memorabillia. One Christmas, my then wife searched through approx 50,000 hockey card, to find two of a local guy that had played goal for my hometown Winnipeg Jets. She tracked the him down, drove to his place of employment, and had him sign his two cards.

The gift didn't cost her anything but time and gas, but it remains my favorite material gift of all time.