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The best and the worst of the gifts!

Quicken Jasmine

Hello Everyone,

With Christmas right around the corner, I figured we could kick off this month's Icebreaker by sharing the worst gift that we have ever received and then follow it up with the best!

I would say the worst gift that I ever received would have to of been socks. I mean, cmon, you're gonna give me socks for Christmas??? Like that would not suffice as a necessity any other time of the year?!

The best gift that I ever received would probably have to be my little baby girl, she was born just shy of a week after Christmas. A little late, but the best things are never on time!

I can't wait to hear yours!

Merry Christmas to all the Quicken Family!

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Comments

Quicken Anja

You're joking! I LOVEEE getting socks cause they're usually the fuzzy Christmas-themed socks! Also, I lose my socks constantly since my kids grew to the same shoe size as me (and since getting married lol).

I can't recall ever receiving a gift I didn't like though. Even the smallest of things bring me excitement. Christmas is my favorite holiday though so that probably has something to do with it.

The best Christmas gift I ever received is honestly the whistle my husband gave me Christmas of 2017. Yes, a whistle.

A little backstory: The day after Christmas of 2016 my grandfather in the Philippines passed away, and I didn't get to say goodbye as the cost to travel there last minute was way out of budget. While talking with my husband about fond memories of my grandfather and looking through pictures, I pointed out the whistle he always carried on a red string around his neck and explained to my husband that he used that whistle to catch someone's attention because he always said he hated loud voices/noises which always made us all laugh as the whistle was much louder than his voice could ever be. My husband remembered this story and gave me a whistle on a red string for Christmas 2017.

Long story short; my favorite gifts will always be those that carry sentimental value and this whistle certainly always will.

Quicken Jared

Hello everyone!

Nice to be, once again, entering the festive Holiday season. I hope everyone has a great time this year!

Socks could be rough, indeed. On a related note: clothes that don't fit. I remember getting pajamas that didn't fit ages ago. It's the thought that counts, though.

The best gift I ever received was probably the PC version of the Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War Real-Time Strategy game I received for my 17th Birthday, ages ago. I was really grateful to my parents because I very much did not expect it, and it was kind of pricey back then, if I recall. It was probably one of the last RTS games I really enjoyed and I definitely recommend it for anyone that might be interested.

A close second would probably be the Deftones' White Pony record, which is still probably one of the hardest-hitting releases I've ever heard. I think I received this around the same time; I still play that album every December.

I'm excited to hear about everyone else's least and most favorite gifts, so definitely let us know which ones you remember, if you have the chance!

Best wishes,

-Quicken Jared

gregneg

One particular Christmas, when we had no discretionary funds (engine blew up, roof leaked, washing machine and water heater broke down), we decided our gifts would be personal home-made and coupons.
We had portraits drawn, poems written, coupons for staying up late, doing someone else's chores, choosing the menu, voiding bedtime, picking the movie/tv show, doing the dishes, and more.

There was one coupon that was counterfeited and used way too many times --- it was the "No SDL, Free" ( SDL = Standard Daddy Lecture)

skeleton567

I lost my first wife to cancer 45 years ago and I was left raising two young sons alone. One morning after our church service this attractive red head walked up to me and introduced herself. It turned out I knew her mother, sister, and brother. Several months later we were married in the same church. That was 43 years ago.

About eight years ago we were out in a remote area in the Rockies when she had a kidney stone attack. The local ER doctor gave her pain pills, explained the stone would pass, and sent us home. During the night I woke to find her on the floor in pain and nearly unconscious. I called 911 and the ambulance had to come nearly 30 miles out in the mountains to get her. Twice on the way to the hospital they had to stop to resuscitate her. When we got to the ER the doctors said she was in septic shock and beyond hope.

Not willing to give up, I called an air-evac service and had her air-lifted 60 miles to a larger medical center where the doctors again said she most likely would not survive. But one trauma specialist wouldn't give up on her and convinced a surgeon to temporarily bypass the stone. Meantime the stone and septic shock had blocked circulation to my wife's legs causing her to need bilateral amputation. I slept by her side in the hospital room every night for six weeks before she was released.

Even though on bilateral prosthetics, she cooks, does laundry, and sews beautiful handbags, travel totes, bridge card holders, pot holders, and microwave cozies.

When I wake during the night or early morning I reach out to find that she is still by my side and I thank God for that. We will both turn 80 years old next March.

We have two very special things we do together. For all of the 43 years I have brought her first coffee in bed every morning. And most days we celebrate what we call 'merlot time', sharing a glass of wine and snacks in the late afternoon, many times on our patio or deck with neighbors from around us.

The Keeper

My worst Christmas gift was a suitcase for my 18th Birthday. A suitcase? Really? I never traveled so why would I need a suitcase? Always wondered if it was a hint to move out of my parent's home. My favorite gift was a daughter born on December 2nd. Yes, it was early but she was our first child and it was fun at Christmas time.

skeleton567

The Keeper said:

My worst Christmas gift was a suitcase for my 18th Birthday. A suitcase? Really? I never traveled so why would I need a suitcase? Always wondered if it was a hint to move out of my parent's home. My favorite gift was a daughter born on December 2nd. Yes, it was early but she was our first child and it was fun at Christmas time.

Keeper, I did get a suitcase one Christmas also, but it was from my grandmother just after I had received my college acceptance, so It was good.

We used to have a saying "Here's your hat and coat. What's your hurry?"

And now we remark about famiy members, "We're glad to see them come and glad to see them go'.

Boatnmaniac

My worst Christmas presents...yes, plural because I got the same thing for 4 yrs in a row when I was a grade school kid...were cheap, knit fingered gloves with fake leather stitched to the palm and up the fingers...and brown, every time they were dark brown. Knit? How the heck does something that has holes between the threads keep fingers warm in cold Milwaukee winters? How the heck do knit gloves keep out cold water from melted snow? News flash...they failed on both counts. But the worst part is that they came from my godfather. Now if he didn't have much money it would then have been understandable and much more appreciated but he was a multi-millionaire back then (in the 1960s) so it just left me and my parents dumbfounded. He was incredibly cheap with spending on others (not counting his wife and kids) his entire life. Heck, when my dad (his wife's brother) died 20 yrs ago he gave my mother a sympathy card with $10 in it! Now, he wasn't entirely cheap....the amount of money he spent on his own "toys" was astronomical. I still SMH about him.

My favorite Christmas present was just 2 yrs ago. My wife had thoracic surgery in early-Dec 2020 and suffered a complication. One of her lungs totally collapsed and she had to spend a month in the hospital because it just would not heal. During that time she had 6 different surgeries trying to fix the problem and had multiple 1/4"-1/2" tubes pushed in between her ribs to suck out air and fluids. We weren't sure if she would ever be able to leave the hospital alive and even her surgeon was concerned about her odds. One day a pulmonologist stopped in to see us and said he wanted her to consider having a new type of procedure done that the FDA had just given authorization to be used in emergency situations and he felt she met the FDA requirements. There was a risk that the procedure could make her situation worse but he felt strongly that she would greatly benefit from it. The procedure was done the next morning. 3 days later (on Jan 2, 2021) she walked out of the hospital on her own 2 feet. Best Christmas present ever!

I have a close 2nd best Christmas present: When she was in the hospital she was pretty much bedridden. She wanted to go to the hospital store to buy me something for Christmas but couldn't. So, when I wasn't there with her she took a sheet of printer paper, folded it into quarters and handmade the most beautiful Christmas card I've ever seen. She said it took her days to make it. I had no idea through 30 yrs of marriage that she had such artistic talent. But even it wasn't all that great looking I still would have thought it was the most beautiful gift I was ever given. I had a custom foldable frame made for it and it has been prominently displayed on our fireplace mantel ever since.

skeleton567

I had an aunt who lived past 90, and spent her last several years with dementia in a home. She would send a Christmas card with a $10 bill. But then when they read her will, she gave me $300k. Not complaining at all.

I am going to focus on tangible gifts only.

The worst was a cheap car vacuum given by my in-laws. Our cars are always clean and we have no pets. We never used it and gave it away as a white elephant gift.

The best one, also given to me by my in-laws was a rotary tool set. It is something I use all the time to fix and MacGyver things with. It finally broke after many years of great use and I received another one last year.

Now, a one year membership to the Jelly of the Month Club that Clark Griswold received could be a debatable one. "Clark, that's the gift that keeps on giving the whole year"!

rdrowatzky

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rdrowatzky

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smayer97

The best gift is I received is that of forgiveness. After all, what is this season all about?

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He has anointed Me
To preach good news to the poor;
He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to the captives
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

“Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

"Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid"

The worst gift I received is the lack of contentment or appreciation. Isn't it so easy to find reason to complain or not be happy about a person, situation, or a even a gift we receive?

Frankx

My best Christmas gift ever was five years ago. My grandson, who was less than 2 months old at the time, was hospitalized suddenly due to breathing problems. It was very traumatic for his parents and us but thankfully, he recovered' and was released, a few days before Christmas.

The worst gift I ever got was an orange with green stripes sweater I got from a high school girlfriend. Ugly - you bet! To this day I think it has to be a re-gift that her brother had received.

Frankx

NotACPA

About 50 years ago, when my youngest brother was 10 or so, there was a QUITE heavy box under the Xmas tree with a tag indicating that it was for that brother and from my wife and I.

He picked up that box, multiple times before the opening on Xmas day. He couldn't figure out what was ... but he was very excited about it and anxious during the wait until Xmas morning.

When it was finally time to open gifts, he naturally opened that box first ... and was MIGHTILY disappointed to find inside a cinder block with the word 'COUPON' stenciled across it.

He was crying, or pretty close to crying, when our Mother told him to see if there was anything else in the box.

At the bottom, under some wrapping paper was a Xmas card with the following message inside:

"This coupon valid for 1 ski trip with Dan and Linda."

KatF

Best - a Siamese kitten in a wrapped box that appeared under the tree sometime very early Christmas morning. I was 8 years old. I never did figure out how they kept that very vocal cat hidden before that morning. Worst - Nothing - Sitting home alone with nothing for Christmas is a killer.