I was thinking about Christmas presents today, as you do, and got to thinking about some of the more memorable gifts I've received over the years.
When I was fourteen I moved back to my home country (Australia) and my friends gave me two memorable gifts. One was from a friend named Karl who presented me with a Zippo lighter, complete with wick, fuel and flint supply. About six months before that we'd been hanging out at the mall and seeing the Zippos we'd like, and he remembered the exact one I said I wanted six months before and bought it for me. He also gave me a goodbye card that he'd made himself sayind he would miss me. For a fourteen year old guy, obsessed with skating and guns and war, that was pretty special to me. Another friend felt bad that she hadn't bought me anything, so she took the string/rope/cord from around the waist of her sweater (used to tighten it) and gave it to me as a goodbye gift. I still have both of those gifts, and they're both just as special to me
And the two oddest presents I've received was a Simply Red CD from my uncle when I was seventeen. He was way off but gave me the receipt with it since he admitted he had no clue. He's an awesome guy though. And one Christmas my uncle, aunt and cousins all gave me a keyring that said "Internet porn! Perfecting the art of one-handed typing!" That was awkward, in front of everyone. I don't know why that gift was chosen for me but I wish it wasn't.
What's the best, strangest, most memorable gift you've ever received? And how do you react when you get something ridiculous, when it clearly wasn't chosen for its irony?
(I searched around for a thread like this and was surprised it hadn't shown up, I think...)