Join Diane and me (Delores is on hiatus for now) as we poetically wrap/unwrap our thoughts on this timely topic. You can leave a poem in the comments on either of our blogs, or post on your own blog. If you do the second, please leave a comment so we know where to find you.
*****
Around this time of year, it's not uncommon to come across a blog post about "the worst gift you've ever received" or something similar.
Well, what about gift-giving? What's the worst gift you have ever given, one that just bombed, for whatever reason?
I know what my answer would be. It was a seashell brooch I bought at a craft fair for someone who loved the beach and even used a beach theme in decorating her porch. It was always a challenge to find a gift for her, but I was SO SURE this brooch was a winner. The crafter had painted little gift boxes the blue of a tropical ocean, and had painted a beautiful backdrop for her display table in a similar blue. The actual brooch itself was peculiarly ugly, but set in its little blue box it looked nice, just like it would look on (or near) a beach. It wasn't even a complete shell, just a piece of broken shell. The crafter missed her calling; she was a marketing genius.
As soon as I got it home and looked at it again, I realized what I had done. Not only was it ugly, but I had never seen the intended recipient wear a brooch of any kind, even a pretty one.
By then, the money was spent, I had no more time to look for an alternative, and I basically gave up trying. I just wrapped it and gave it. My fears were realized when she unwrapped it and tried to find something nice to say. I still feel squirmy inside at the thought!
*****
Let's Just Laugh About It And I'll Make It Up To You Next Christmas
Did I buy the ugly brooch because
The maker marketed with flair?
Or was my good sense overwhelmed
By noisy chaos at the fair?
Perhaps I simply caved to thoughts
Of finishing my Christmas shop . . .
I'm sorry, friend; I really should
Be dragged out in the street and shot!
 |
Can you see the shell on the right side that I have circled in blue? Imagine that with a brooch pin stuck on the back. Yes, it was that bad. Maybe worse. It was hard to find a Pixabay photo that showed an adequately unsuitable shell, because people mostly try to take pleasing photos. And there's nothing wrong with this shell in its proper setting. That setting, however, is the BEACH, not somebody's good blouse. |
Wishing you a lovely week, and if you are doing holiday shopping, I urge you to be smart about marketing ploys!
Me? I learned my lesson :)
I am pretty certain that I have given some shockers. And plan on starting my shopping tomorrow. Wish me luck. I will need it. By the truckload.
ReplyDeleteWishing you all the luck possible, EC. I haven't started yet - planned to on the weekend but some things happened and I didn't.
DeleteI received a similar beach themed gift several years ago, thankfully not something that could be worn, but something to put on display. It's in a drawer somewhere...
ReplyDeleteIt can be hard to find the right gift to give, but it's also hard to receive the wrong kind of gift, isn't it?
DeleteEek... That is something I think we've all gone through...the bad/weird/ gift. I can't think of one off the top of my head but I've been through it and I do know that uncomfortable feeling!
ReplyDeleteFortunately we were able to talk (and laugh) about it, but I still feel badly at times :)
DeleteThere was the guy I gave a guitar to who ended up on drugs and lost his house and his job, but I don't know if you can blame all of that on the guitar.
ReplyDeleteIt did look bad, though, I admit that much.
-Doug in Oakland
No matter how bad it looked, it was PROBABLY unrelated to all the subsequent stuff!
DeleteHaha! Jenny.... your story was delightfully funny! Yet, I cannot imagine a seashell brooch being *THAT* bad. :)
ReplyDeleteI cannot think of the worst gift I have ever given... but I believe that is because I try to wipe my mind clear of all the highly embarrassing moments I have experienced that I can. My embarrassment quotient is too high already! :)
PipeTobacco
Trust me, it WAS that bad :) I wouldn't have worn it!
DeleteI'm sure I have given many bad gifts but they are consigned to the "forget before you die" folder!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how many things can look stunning when the marketing is great
It stunned me when I got it home and out of the box! It was a good lesson, though :)
DeleteI am sure I have given gifts where the person was kind and polite when receiving it, but either brought the item back or dropped it off at Good Will. The worst gift I ever received was given to me by my husband. It was a red nighty and I won’t say anymore except that the saleswomen totally understood why I was returning it. I think I remember her shaking her head.
ReplyDeleteOh no! The naughty nightie gift? I don't know if any women actually buy those and that fact really SHOULD tell their men something if they care to listen :)
DeleteOh, those cringe-worthy gifts! My brother gave me a camshaft. Yep. A real camshaft. Actually, later he gave me my 'real' gift, explaining that he thought I had glimpsed it on his bed and wrapped the camshaft to...ummm...fool me. It worked.
ReplyDeleteLOL! How long did he let you think it was the real thing? :)
DeleteI must be surrounded by very tactful people or else I have a truly abysmal memory, because I don't remember ever giving a truly awful gift... okay, fine; I'll admit it: My memory sucks. I'm sure I must have given an awful gift (or gifts) at some point, but I don't recall. Sometimes a sieve-like memory is a gift in itself!
ReplyDeleteTactful recipients, or bad memory, OR maybe you're just good at choosing gifts!
DeleteGreat poem. As a young woman I gave some family members terrible presents. I just didn’t know any better at the time.
ReplyDeleteGift giving can be difficult. I think the easiest people to buy for are the wee folks!
DeleteHa! I wish you had a picture of the brooch. I'd love to see it! It's hard to buy jewelry for people, especially unusual "crafty" jewelry, because everyone's taste is so individual.
ReplyDeleteIt pretty much looked just like that partial shell in the picture except it was completely beige-y tan in colour. I don't know how it slipped by me that it wouldn't be IN the box when it was worn . . .
DeleteYou know jenny_o, it's really the thought that counts, and at the moment you were buying it, your thoughts were sincere. I agree that laughing ruefully and moving on is a very fine way to deal with it.
ReplyDeleteThat is a lovely, generous way of looking at it, 37p. My friend was very kind about it, too.
DeleteGIFTS
ReplyDeleteTiny red spiders on wood stacks
The plaintive call of a lapwing
Cod fish silver in the bay
A gibbon’s song to greet the day
Worms slithering in compost
Elephant crashing through undergrowth
Marmots emerging from the snow
An anxious mother with ducklings in tow
Geese heading south in skeins
Bats roosting in the belfry
Lizards warming themselves in the sun
A fox that howls when the day is done.
Beautiful. You have a gift, YP.
ReplyDeleteOh this interesting sharing gave me smile and little bit of sadness for what you felt right giving it to her!
ReplyDeleteYet what counts most that your intention was good isn't it !
Really nice poem going perfect with topic and story :)
Happy shopping dear Jenny!
Now days either we are quite busy with shopping and decorating house to well come my son after few days!
I truly want to time be slow when he is here!
Hugs!!!
Thank you for your kind words, baili.
DeleteOh, how I know that feeling of wanting to slow time! Be sure and enjoy all the preparations for your son's stay, as well as when he arrives!
Friends are for laughing with, that's for sure. My friend and I have a price limit on our gifts, very low, and must come from the charity shop or re gifted. It has given us some laughs and makes shopping fun and easy.
ReplyDeleteThat is such a great idea! I wish I had someone on my gift list who would enjoy that as much I would :)
DeleteIt is the thought that counts, right? It happens to the best of us, jenny_o. Well not to me because I am amazing and I have never, even given a bad gift. =) My wife would wholeheartedly disagree. Take care.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! Wives can be very picky (which I know because . . . well, just because) . . . She loves you anyway, you know :)
DeleteHi Jenny
ReplyDeletejust thought I would clarify that I posted the item on global warming as an interesting other theory, I myself have no rigid opinions on the subject. I don't want you to think that I am a rebel of some kind, lol
Briony
x
LOL! xxx
DeleteA gift that can be snatched off a shelf and wrapped, with absolutely no thought, feels shallow. But still, that person wanted to give me a gift and that means something.
ReplyDeleteOh, so true, Susan! We must try and think the best of people.
Delete