The Best & Worst Christmas Presents I Ever Received

Stressed about finding the perfect gift this year, mama? Don’t be! We’ve rounded up the best and worst Christmas presents we’ve ever received, and chances are you’re much better off!

If you’ve seen our roundup of favourite Christmas movies, you’ll know that A Christmas Story tops the list. In the tradition of the very best (Red Rider BB Gun) and worst (pink bunny suit) Christmas presents, we thought it would be fun to find out what some of the Sassy staff’s favourite (and least favourite) holiday gifts have ever been. From Tiffany diamonds to hand sanitizer and a plastic bucket, these do not disappoint, mama. Of course we’re grateful to receive any gift, some are just slightly better than others!

The best present I have received was also the most meaningful and, I admit, the most sparkly! Last year my husband gifted me a gorgeous emerald ring which was part Christmas present and part “push present” as a celebration of the arrival of our baby boy a few weeks before. I’d like to add that the second best present was a very cool bracelet from my sister which has a charm with the GPS coordinates of our son’s exact birthplace!

The worst present I’ve received also ties as the funniest present. My husband obviously panicked just before Christmas in London one year and so his next genius move was to head to the nearest dollar store and pick me up a pair of socks which, when worn, makes me look like I’m wearing sandals. Super on trend, right? At least they still make us laugh!

-Anjali

Best:  My husband and I weren’t together for Christmas one year as he had already moved to Singapore a few months prior to my leaving the US for the big move. He had hidden a present in our home when he left months before. He told me where the present was hidden on Christmas, and I found a dark navy blue Tiffany’s box!  You know its good when it’s the dark blue one!  There was a beautiful diamond necklace inside. I guess absence (or diamonds?) does make the heart grow fonder.

Worst: It was simply the ugliest sweater one could ever buy.  It was huge, oversized, made of yarn that must have been a few inches thick, with large holes in it and ill fitting. The colour was brown and cream and gold.  It was a gift from an old boyfriend with absolutely horrible fashion sense.

– Kristin

The best present I ever received was a Huffy Sweet Style bike from Santa when I was 5. It was purple with pink tires, a purple bell and a pink pouch up front, and I spent the whole afternoon coasting down our icy driveway (then crashing into the garage). I’d never felt anything so exhilarating as being on a bicycle!

The worst gift was a fat stack of college guides and SAT Prep Books that I received from my parents in 10th grade (two years away from uni). Have you ever heard of a less fun gift? Not exactly something you’re keen to go play with after opening it. The morning of December 26 I took them straight to Borders and exchanged them for CDs and a VHS tape of Dazed and Confused (which I still have with me, despite not having a VCR).

-Kate

I don’t really have a best Christmas gift, but I do have a ‘worst’ one! I remember going for a party where we had a gift exchange of which each of us had a budget of $10-$15. I received a bottle of hand sanitizer (one of those typical mini Dettol ones) and I was so shocked I didn’t hold back and didn’t realise I had asked out loud, “Who gave me hand sanitizer?!” and of course no one owned up. I’ll probably lay off any more gift exchanges for a while to avoid future disappointment, haha!

-Syazana

The best gift I’ve received so far was from my parents: return tickets to Europe (if only it was one-way!) for my graduation trip and I swear I had the best time of my life! It really came as a surprise because being the only girl in the family always meant that they were very protective of me, so the fact they trusted me to go on this big trip on my own was really amazing!

The worst gift? My ex-boyfriend used to call me ‘Yana’ instead of ‘Liyana’. One year he gifted me a really expensive necklace with the initial Y and somehow it felt so wrong to put on a piece of jewellery that did not represent me at all! In fact, I hated being called ‘Yana’. I’m still waiting for someone with the name Y to come into my life to I can pass it along…

-Liyana

The best Christmas present I received was a ticket for a mini break to a weekend in the snow in Krakow — a genuine surprise and so nice that I hadn’t been the one planning something for a change!

And the worst…a plastic bucket and spade from my husband (no joke) that I was convinced represented the dream holiday to the Maldives that I had been hinting about for years … but wasn’t. Turns out he just thought I’d appreciate it when taking the kids to the beach! [Kaya wins! –Ed.]

-Kaya

Best: Last year I got a gorgeous watch I had been eyeing for months. And though I had probably been hinting at it for months too, it’s always extra special when the gift is exactly what you’d been hoping for!

Worst: When I was 13, a family friend gave my sister a silver jewellery box (so my hopes were high!), but when I unwrapped my little parcel, I found one of the free McDonalds toys you could get with a Happy Meal. They definitely made it clear who the favourite child was! Luckily, my four-year-old cousin found some use for the toy.

-Tania

Merry Christmas, mamas! We hope you receive everything on your list (and no buckets)!