What is the most thoughtful gift you ever received? the most thoughtless?

[Anonymous]

Don't know if it really qualifies for either "thoughtful" or "thoughtless", but I was pretty disappointed and hurt when my DH gave me the following gifts:

a new vacuum cleaner (so I would enjoy vacumming more)

an exercise bike (because I really needed to start working out and lose the baby weight)

a fishing rod that he wanted. He said it was so I could come fishing with him, but he knew I had no interest, so I know he really bought it to use himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most thoughtful was from my 10 yo DD for fathers day in 2012. Days before major surgery, she gave me a mug that said "I can't imagine life without my Daddy". Actually made me cry.

Least thoughtful? Well, for my 45th birthday, my wife gave me a bottle of shampoo. Generic shampoo.

My husband gave me one of those plug in air fresheners. One, I hate these things and he know it. Two, it was the one he had in his bathroom for at least 5 years. He said his gift was that it was my turn to use it. I told myself his true gift was giving it to me to throw it out ?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most thoughtful: DH secretly flew my best friend in to town one year to celebrate my birthday.

Least thoughtful: ILs frequently give me alcohol related gifts (I don't drink, and neither do they, but there is alcoholism in my family which they are very judgmental about so this is truly a "loaded" gift). Also, when I got my Master's degree they gave me a beautifully framed copy of my DH's Bachelor's degree diploma for us to hang in our house. Especially weird because I went to the same undergraduate school and don't have my diploma framed or on display.

Oh, they are probably just regifting alcohol gifts that they got at company parties and the like. They probably think that young folks like you entertain and need something like that on hand for your guests that do drink.

As for the diploma. Your diploma wasn't mailed to you yet. So they simply framed the one that was available for framing.

Or so the logic goes I'm sure, haha.

[Anonymous]

Least thoughtful: A family I did regular part time nanny work for gave me a box with a pair of socks I accidentally left at their house when I took care of their kid overnight night the previous month. It also had 2 pair of fuzzy kid socks...one brown (which I HATE) and had stuffed monkeys sewn to the ankles and the other neon rainbow with some equally bizarre design flaw. Neither had tags and they smelled musty. She also opened a bag of Jr. Mint bells (so GIANT Jr Mints shaped like bells, too big to fit in your mouth but too messy to bite in half) and dumped that in the box. A true WTF gift. I couldn't even bring myself to acknowledge it or say thankyou. Just ignored completely. So weird. She had to have been drunk when she put it together.

Most thoughtful: Anything handmade by my grandmothers.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Christmas my one year my MIL gave us a professionally done 8x10 photo of her and her new husband. It was beautifully wrapped and when we opened it my husband and I had the hardest time stifling our laughter.

For about a year it was shoved in a bookshelf and I'd pull it out before she visited. Finally my husband outed me and it's been on the bookcase permanently since then.

Wow. That's a good one.

I think I can beat that. My MIL once gave me about a dozen of used hair scrunchies saying that since my hair is long and she cuts hers short now she thought I could use these.
I had to restrain myself from asking if she had any unused tampons since she's in menopause and I'm not.

As for the most thoughtful gift, when I was a college student and interned in NYC, I sublet a real dump of an apartment for the summer, with no AC in it. It was pure hell on Earth. I was also poor as a church mouse, so my options were limited. I complained to my then-boyfriend about it on the phone, and two days later, when I returned from work, there was a delivery notice stuck on my door. My boyfriend sent me a big brand new fan.

It's been twenty plus years, but I still remember that huge white thing. Oh, to be young again!

[Anonymous]

For my first Mother's Day my husband gave me a large bag of Twizzlers. But we were both so completely overwhelmed with a newborn that I don't think it was thoughtless so much as just a sign of being totally burned out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Christmas my one year my MIL gave us a professionally done 8x10 photo of her and her new husband. It was beautifully wrapped and when we opened it my husband and I had the hardest time stifling our laughter.

For about a year it was shoved in a bookshelf and I'd pull it out before she visited. Finally my husband outed me and it's been on the bookcase permanently since then.

Wow. That's a good one.

I think I can beat that. My MIL once gave me about a dozen of used hair scrunchies saying that since my hair is long and she cuts hers short now she thought I could use these.
I had to restrain myself from asking if she had any unused tampons since she's in menopause and I'm not.

As for the most thoughtful gift, when I was a college student and interned in NYC, I sublet a real dump of an apartment for the summer, with no AC in it. It was pure hell on Earth. I was also poor as a church mouse, so my options were limited. I complained to my then-boyfriend about it on the phone, and two days later, when I returned from work, there was a delivery notice stuck on my door. My boyfriend sent me a big brand new fan.

It's been twenty plus years, but I still remember that huge white thing. Oh, to be young again!

I have a gently used menstrual cup you can have if you want.

No, but seriously, I do have one that I only used a few times (I ended up needing the larger size). I have no idea what to do with it! I hate to throw out a perfectly good cup...

[Anonymous]

I've posted this before: We were still dating and my now husband was telling me about these horrid sounding earrings he bought a girlfriend and then they broke up before he could give them to her. They were made out of Mt. St. Helens' ash.

They were in fact very ugly and especially so when I got them for Christmas our first holiday together. He hasn't much improved in 8 years, but hell, those earrings.....

Most thoughtful has to be (oddly enough as I think about it) my BIL - he's an architect and knows I like candles, and he got me the coolest candle thing. I can't even describe it but it's very much something that would come from an architect. I've had it for 10 years and people still comment on it. It's really pretty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For Christmas my one year my MIL gave us a professionally done 8x10 photo of her and her new husband. It was beautifully wrapped and when we opened it my husband and I had the hardest time stifling our laughter.

For about a year it was shoved in a bookshelf and I'd pull it out before she visited. Finally my husband outed me and it's been on the bookcase permanently since then.

Wow. That's a good one.

I think I can beat that. My MIL once gave me about a dozen of used hair scrunchies saying that since my hair is long and she cuts hers short now she thought I could use these.
I had to restrain myself from asking if she had any unused tampons since she's in menopause and I'm not.

As for the most thoughtful gift, when I was a college student and interned in NYC, I sublet a real dump of an apartment for the summer, with no AC in it. It was pure hell on Earth. I was also poor as a church mouse, so my options were limited. I complained to my then-boyfriend about it on the phone, and two days later, when I returned from work, there was a delivery notice stuck on my door. My boyfriend sent me a big brand new fan.

It's been twenty plus years, but I still remember that huge white thing. Oh, to be young again!

I have a gently used menstrual cup you can have if you want.

No, but seriously, I do have one that I only used a few times (I ended up needing the larger size). I have no idea what to do with it! I hate to throw out a perfectly good cup...

PP here.
Thank you so much for your kind offer, but I've never used any of those so I'm not sure about my size. Now, if you happen to have any gently used hair brushes, my hair is still long.

[Anonymous]

Wedding gift from my mother's childhood friend: a paperback guide to Wisconsin cheese festivals.

Had no plans to go to Wisconsin. Twenty years later, still don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most thoughtful was from my 10 yo DD for fathers day in 2012. Days before major surgery, she gave me a mug that said "I can't imagine life without my Daddy". Actually made me cry.

Least thoughtful? Well, for my 45th birthday, my wife gave me a bottle of shampoo. Generic shampoo.

Shut up!! Really? Shampoo? Oh, that's sad.

Oh, my. What on earth did you do to deserve a gift like that? Maybe a little passive aggressiveness coming out in the wife?

I do not know what she was thinking. But, it has become a joke. Every year...more shampoo (along with a real gift).

Oh, after that, I went and bought myself a nice watch (IWC). I told her it was my birthday present.

[Anonymous]

Most thoughtful - anything my SIL gives me. She truly thinks about what I would like and she "gets me."

Least: a piece of jewelry my husband asked me about before purchase which I said "no-please do not buy" that he bought, couched as a bday present, and gets pissy about me not wearing.

What part of "I don't like it and wouldn't wear it" didn't you understand, dear?

[Anonymous]

I have a beloved piece of jewelry that belonged to my recently deceased mom. One of the diamonds fell out when I was a poor grad student so iit was languishing in my jewelry box. At one point, I had suggested to my boyfriend that we could redo the setting, replace the small diamond and call it good as an engagement ring. He wasn't into that idea, but a year after we got engaged (with another ring) he did exactly that without me knowing and gave it to me as a Christmas gift. Now when I look down at my finger I get to think both of my beloved mom and very thoughtful husband

[Anonymous]

Was disappointed I received a gift card as a wedding present from my best friend's mom. She had been important to me throughout my life, thought she would have thought of something!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Most thoughtful was from my 10 yo DD for fathers day in 2012. Days before major surgery, she gave me a mug that said "I can't imagine life without my Daddy". Actually made me cry.

Least thoughtful? Well, for my 45th birthday, my wife gave me a bottle of shampoo. Generic shampoo.

Shut up!! Really? Shampoo? Oh, that's sad.

Oh, my. What on earth did you do to deserve a gift like that? Maybe a little passive aggressiveness coming out in the wife?

I do not know what she was thinking. But, it has become a joke. Every year...more shampoo (along with a real gift).

Oh, after that, I went and bought myself a nice watch (IWC). I told her it was my birthday present.

I dunno, dude, maybe, she's trying to hint that your scalp smells?
That's the only explanation I can think of.