Your thoughts on the Gift Exchange...

[craigster59]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

I got my gift package this year..............from a dentist............


2 tooth brushes.
deck of playing cards from a trade show.........with dental equipment supplies advertisement on the back? WTF?
a box of teeth whitening strip samples.
Several boxes of 2011 sample-pack of blue nitrile gloves, xs, sml, med, lrg. one pair each.

okay he did add a tin Porsche car model, and a 911 book.

but really, TOOTH BRUSHES and expired dental samples?..............dental equipment playing cards?


I'd rather get a dead mangy stuffed squirrel.


no offense to sender. it was late in the gifting season I guess.

Toothbrushes? Great for cleaning small parts.

A deck of playing cards? 52 plastic coated stackable, trimmable, bendable shims all of the same precision thickness.

Nitrile gloves? The larger pairs in the glovebox for those roadside emergencies, the smaller for the wife or used as an emergency waterproof barrier/ cover for small items.

Whitening strips? Removes stains from tile and porcelain sinks and cookware.

It's all about perspective and being thankful for what you got.

[craigster59]

Maybe we should all just give each other Fruitcakes next year. Cheap, practical and can be used as a doorstop or chock block in a pinch.

[cashflyer]

Sammy, Head, and a couple of others expressed exactly why I never opt in.
I've been coming around here for almost 10 years (doh) and from what I could see with the gift exchange, it was supposed to be a fun, cheap, FUN experience - that included the potential for a certain level of trolling. That's why you don't go buy the gold cufflinks that were worn by Ferry Porsche while he was banging his secretary after receiving the latest earnings figures. You give crap that was laying around; like getting dental supplies from a dentist. Heck, if I were your secret santa you would have probably received some old airplane parts, because that is what I have laying around.

But instead of FUN, you get whiners who complain that they gave a better gift, or that they were somehow insulted by what they received. Well grow up and put on your big-boy panties. Not all gifts are created equal, but they are still gifts. And as was mentioned in this thread, the joy should be in the giving - whether you receive a dead squirrel with termites, an Elvis autographed photo of Priscilla and Richard Nixon naked in the shower, or a re-gifted Porsche ballpoint pen. And if you felt that you got trolled, well next year you can be the gift troll.

What a bunch of un-fun twits we have here.

[recycled sixtie]

Yes I am happy to continue the tradition. I get irritated when somebody receives a gift but does not send one out. Two strikes and they are out on this one. Banished..

As regards the quality of the gift I cannot control that. I admit I have been guilty of buying a couple of useful gifts to add to the older gifts.

I try to make it varied - books that I have read and I know are a good read. Regifting is okay .

The complaints are minimal . Quality of the gift or not receiving one at all or just arriving after Christmas. I have had about 3 complaints of various sorts out of 45. Not bad at all.

Cheers, Guy

[targa911S]

Originally Posted by BeyGon

I have always had fun with it, people have given me some great gifts. But, I am easy to please, I have tried to give something they would be interested in but am sure it doesn't always work. You do what you can.

I loved my gift from you, despite the fact that I could not get the picture to load right. I look at it his way, it's the spirit in which the gift is given, not the gift.

[targa911S]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

I got my gift package this year..............from a dentist............


2 tooth brushes.
deck of playing cards from a trade show.........with dental equipment supplies advertisement on the back? WTF?
a box of teeth whitening strip samples.
Several boxes of 2011 sample-pack of blue nitrile gloves, xs, sml, med, lrg. one pair each.

okay he did add a tin Porsche car model, and a 911 book.

but really, TOOTH BRUSHES and expired dental samples?..............dental equipment playing cards?


I'd rather get a dead mangy stuffed squirrel.


no offense to sender. it was late in the gifting season I guess.

Yer on the list for the squirrel next year. Been waiting for somebody to actually want it.....

[Head416]

That dentist pack sounds to me like the original intent. Simple, goofy, Merry Christmas. It's about the fun of it all, not getting some awesome present.

[MBAtarga]

I opted out the last 2 seasons. The previous several years it seems that the rule #4 was being ignored in many cases based on the pictures that were posted of gifts received by quite a few. I enjoyed the exchange for several years not knowing what to expect as a gift, and also enjoyed putting together an assortment of items around the house to send out as my gift. I would try to find items to send based on the profile or posts of the recipient - but I never went "shopping" for gifts.

I always made sure to notify the sender that I enjoyed their gifts - but several years I never heard a word from my recipient.

Overall - I think the meaning of the gift exchange has been lost - and has become a competition.

[vash]

dang..i do a simple search to see what kind of car or interest my receiver was willing post up on OT..that's it. i dont buy anything.

if i had to buy a thoughtful gift..i would opt out forever..

it was supposed to be fun..for fun. cheap gag gifts. we dont "know" each other in the real sense of the word. hahha. (some of us do). if this is the way it is going, i would opt out forever in fear of getting someone that will get butt-hurt because of my idea of a fun gift. that isnt Merry, and that isnt Christmas. keep the gift complaints to what the family gets you. not a random stranger. that's my take.

[vash]

remember the year someone sent foreign currency? hahahha. that was damn funny, and hit the mark on the spirit of the fun gift exchange.

[CHICKS]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

I got my gift package this year..............from a dentist............


2 tooth brushes.
deck of playing cards from a trade show.........with dental equipment supplies advertisement on the back? WTF?
a box of teeth whitening strip samples.
Several boxes of 2011 sample-pack of blue nitrile gloves, xs, sml, med, lrg. one pair each.

okay he did add a tin Porsche car model, and a 911 book.

but really, TOOTH BRUSHES and expired dental samples?..............dental equipment playing cards?


I'd rather get a dead mangy stuffed squirrel.


no offense to sender. it was late in the gifting season I guess.

Please don't participate next year.

[Gogar]

If you get mad because you received a gift in the mail that you felt 'wasn't good enough', then you don't even understand what gifts are all about.

Of course, that makes me remember the last time I participated and sent Mrmerlin a sorcerer's cape. I thought I was a genius, and I don't think he did. Sorry bout the cape, Mr. Merlin.

[herr_oberst]

Man, that cape would look great with the guyabera shirt I got one year!

Bright red it was, like the fiery furnaces of hell! Silky-smooth to the touch, and once owned by a famous NASA enthusiast.

I loved that garment. Women, children and Captains of Industry loved that garment. Unfortunately, it met it's demise in a tractor accident during an uprising of tamale manufacturers in the hinterlands of the Pacific Northwest...
....sigh...

[DanielDudley]

I have never participated in the gift exchange, but if you send me the name and address of the person who did not receive a gift, I will send him or her a nice one.

Merry Christmas, all.

[Jesset100]

I for one had fun this year trying to figure out what to give my victim err person of interest, oh that didn't sound right either
Yes what I got I really appreciate. Thanks my secret Santa!
Next year if I get something practical or a practical joke it'll still be the first thing I open on Christmas.
can't wait!

[1990C4S]

I will be in next year. I have a lot of toothpaste and floss in stock. I think it would be greatly appreciated by someone. And I think I have an extra deck of playing cards.

[bell]

Just fyi......this is the squirrel......and it will go to a deserving home when i see fit lol

I recieved 2 bottles of water one year......but after some bantering (not by me ) some more cool things showed up......but again it was all in good fun......
i think there has always been jealousy due to some of the random people being overly generous, which is cool as heck.....but brings out both sides imo

[targa911S]

oh my squirrel looks much worse than that.....

[Rusty Heap]

Originally Posted by craigster59

Toothbrushes? Great for cleaning small parts.

A deck of playing cards? 52 plastic coated stackable, trimmable, bendable shims all of the same precision thickness.

Nitrile gloves? The larger pairs in the glovebox for those roadside emergencies, the smaller for the wife or used as an emergency waterproof barrier/ cover for small items.

Whitening strips? Removes stains from tile and porcelain sinks and cookware.

It's all about perspective and being thankful for what you got.

All excellent ideas! I do find it fun to see all the cool unique stuff each one send as gifts. Great stories come from the stuff people send/receive. Keeps each one of us as unique individuals behind the keyboard avatars.

[Dueller]

aAs the originator of the first gift exchange, I feel compelled to comment on my original intent. I participated in the first two years, but a divorce, a stroke, and a blown Porsche project kind of side tracked me. As I originally envisioned it it was a format to have some s**** and giggles. And as I pointed out in my original rules if I got a vintage double barrel shotgun and someone else got used to and gum and a dead squirrel it was all in fun. That being said some people are being extremely generous and over the top and others are having fun with the experience. I must admit that I was worried about the cynicism expressed by Sammie, but overall it seems to still be a bit of fun. The one thing I miss is the bus thing each other's chops aspect. It seems like that has been lost. Come on guys. It was meant to be a fun and silly distraction in the most stressful of seasons. Kind of like the antithesis of the blatant consumerism our culture has assigned to the Christmas or Hanukkah season. Anyway, thanks to all who have participated or taking on the enormous task of coordinating this fun, at least for me, event.

Of course the two years I participated I received wonderful yet not overly extravagant gifts. To wit, a collection of shop manuals on CD that someone copied for me and a beautiful vintage 911 R black and white photograph which I proudly frame and hung over my desk.