What's the best -and worst- Christmas gift you ever received?

[Natasha]

My favorite gifts are always the ones my kids buy or make. They've made cute little things that just do nothing .. but hey they made it!
Now that they're a bit older, and one has his own car, they go to the mall and shop for presents.
This kills me. I always say, "Don't buy my anything." "Save your money." Like all Mom's say, right?
But last year my then 13 year old boy, (now 14) bought me this really cool statue of two dolphins kissing. It's in the kitchen so I can see it everytime I'm cooking and cleaning. I love it.

Worst .. No worst. Any present gives some thought to buy or make, so nothing can be that bad. Although buying me clothes would be last on the list.

 

[Hal Iotis]

a pair of German mechanics overalls from my very German mother. She tried to give them to me when I was 27 and single. I told her there was no way I'd ever wear them, even if I was doing a complete valve job on my truck. They made me feel like an old fart. So, what did I unwrap on Christmas Eve (per German tradition), but those damn overalls. Very well made, but nein, danke, anyway, Muttter.

Runner up was a Rubiks cube from my aunt when I was 16. How 'bout a Cheryl Tiegs poster or something more in line with the hormonal urges?

Best was the two (count 'em, two) separate LDS gift certificates from non-diving friends on my 40th b-day in October. I feel like they finally understood me. Of course, this pales in comparison to anything from my 1 yr. old, 3 yr. old, or 5 yr old! I remember the wad of paper my 3 yr old boy gave me as a gift. So sincere! sniff...

 

[JessicaDodge]

The best christmas gift ever was my Cross necklace. I am extremely picky about jewelry and saw it and LOVED it. But it was really expensive (around 700 dollars for the charm and chain) so I never told anyone I wanted it. Christmas morning came around and it was under the tree from my parents... I flipped. My second best gift is coming this year... my dive stuff. As for my worst present, it would be a christmas tree ornament that was knitted of mittens and a hat. I was in the 2nd grade and we were POOR. I always wanted those books that you color in with the clear marker and it changes the page colors. Well my parents couldn't afford to buy me one but when we had our school christmas party they bought one for me to give as a gift. We drew numbers and I got my own gift. When the teacher asked if anyone got their own gift there was no way I was raising my hand. Well another girl got hers and I felt bad for her so I (being the Great kid that I was) traded. She got the present I wanted SOOOOO bad, and I got a crummy christmas tree ornament. Looking back, they were even poorer then we were and her mom made that ornament... but for a second grader, come on. My mom still makes me put it on her tree every year. And I still hate it.

Jessica

 

[MgicTwnger]

Worst gift: A Mickey Mouse phone from my mother-in-law. The dear lady didn't know that, after being Walt's slave at Disneyworld for six months of my misspent youth, I HATE that $@#%#$@^^* rat!

Best: A baritone sax from my lovely wife.

Is it too late to start hinting for one of those NightStar flashlights?oking:

 

[scubaleg]

Worst:
A Johnny Paycheck album from my Grandmother when I was 13, had long hair and listend to only Rock'n'Roll, and had specifically asked for Led Zeppelin! "Take this job and shove it"??? More like "Take this album and shove it"!!!

Best:
Scuba Gear - with a twist. My wife came across a US Diver's BCD and regulator circa 1965. She had the reg completely rebuilt. I was less than excited, though, when I opened this large package to find an ugly, old, yellow BCD. She later produced a second package with a brand new Mara BCD that I absolutely love!

Like other replies, my father is very hard to shop for. He's into golf, so for a couple of years I just paid for green fees for him and a friend. When his friend died of cancer two years ago, I again bought him green fees for two, but let him know that I was going to take up golf so I could spend more time with him. For his 70th birthday, I got him a 1 hour acrobatic flight in a bi-plane (he used to be a pilot) -- he LOVED it.