Bad and Good Christmas Gifts

I was listening to the radio a few days ago and the show was talking about getting bad gifts. They had callers call in and give thier stories.

It got me thinking. I have only had two gifts that I didn't understand why someone would give them to me. They both came from my crazy aunt.

The first one was a steamer that could steam curl your hair and you could also use it to steam your face. I think I was early teens when she gave it to me. I remember seeing them on the late night infomercials. I got the appliance home and I couldn't wait to try it out. I open the package and realized it had been used many times. The compartment that held the water, had dried up salt residue and the foam curlers were flat.

The second item I recieved was the first Christmas out of college. My aunt gave me this beautiful hand mirror. It was made out of some kind of stone and had butterflies on it. It looked like a mirror my great grandmother used to have. Well, my younger cousin (who also liked butterflies) was commenting on my mirror. My aunt took it from my hand and gave it to her. My replacement gift was Chicken Soup for the Teenager Soul. Her reasoning for that was I worked with kids so that book would be a great resource. I am assuming she confused my Early Childhood degree with something else.

The best Christmas gift I recieved was from my mom. Growing up in a single parent home, we never had alot things. We lived very simple lives. Except for when it came to Christmas. She saved her money up all year long to make sure my brother and I got one thing we wanted.

That year, we lost an important person in our lives. My stepfather passed away a month earlier after being in the hospital. My mom couldn't afford to get us much because she was out of work while he was in the hospital.

I had a small gift under the tree. When I opened it I found a pair of small gold hoop earrings. I loved them. I am still in love with them. Whenever I wear them, I can feel the love of my mom shining through and it reminds me not to take things for granted.

I plan on giving them to Kara on her 16th birthday and sharing that story with her.