Best Christmas presents you've ever bought someone and why

[limitedperiodonly]

I'm no good at buying presents. I'd rather people told me what they wanted and if they ask for money that's great. But sometimes I get it right.

First Christmas with DH (then boyfriend of 11 months) I bought a special edition Scalextric 24-Hour Le Mans set with cars with working headlights. He'd said much earlier that he always wanted one as a child. It wasn't in a crafty way but more like "things your parents thought were pointless and too expensive." He actually cried when he opened it. I'd never had that effect on a man before We stayed up all Christmas night racing in the dark. Ambushes from my cat George were a thrilling hazard.

The other one was a £10 box of liqueur chocolates for my dad. He had Alzheimer's and it was pretty bad. My mum washed and shaved him and bought him a smart Noel Coward-type dressing gown in maroon velvety material to put on over his pyjamas so he would look nice on Christmas day without having to get dressed.

After dinner I said: "Let's have one of your chocolates, Dad," and he .said: "Yeah! All right! Oh!" He'd been holding them so tightly they'd melted and he was upset. But we all had some squashed chocolates and the dressing gown came up fine in the washing machine. He was gone the next year. That's not a sad memory. Far from it. My dad loved liqueur chocolates but not as much as we loved him.

What lovely Christmas present memories either giving or receiving have you got?

Hi @limitedperiodonly, we're just giving this thread a bump for you.

Funniest present I ever got was an actual wonky donkey toy with three legs. Made me laugh so much!

Birthday rather than Christmas. I bought s friend's young son a magic set. I rang that evening to wish him a happy birthday, and asked what presents he'd received, and the magic set was the only thing he mentioned. I assumed his mother had told him what to say but she assured me she hadn't.

@limitedperiodonly

I'm no good at buying presents. I'd rather people told me what they wanted and if they ask for money that's great. But sometimes I get it right.

First Christmas with DH (then boyfriend of 11 months) I bought a special edition Scalextric 24-Hour Le Mans set with cars with working headlights. He'd said much earlier that he always wanted one as a child. It wasn't in a crafty way but more like "things your parents thought were pointless and too expensive." He actually cried when he opened it. I'd never had that effect on a man before We stayed up all Christmas night racing in the dark. Ambushes from my cat George were a thrilling hazard.

The other one was a £10 box of liqueur chocolates for my dad. He had Alzheimer's and it was pretty bad. My mum washed and shaved him and bought him a smart Noel Coward-type dressing gown in maroon velvety material to put on over his pyjamas so he would look nice on Christmas day without having to get dressed.

After dinner I said: "Let's have one of your chocolates, Dad," and he .said: "Yeah! All right! Oh!" He'd been holding them so tightly they'd melted and he was upset. But we all had some squashed chocolates and the dressing gown came up fine in the washing machine. He was gone the next year. That's not a sad memory. Far from it. My dad loved liqueur chocolates but not as much as we loved him.

What lovely Christmas present memories either giving or receiving have you got?

The lovelyvstory about your dad made me cry. I lost my dad this year so Christmas will be tough.

I'm very good at Santa (blowing my own trumpet here). I'm awful at deciding what to get other people but brilliant at buying for my own kids.

What a lovely story about your Dad OP.

I don't have anything as touching as that but we all shed a little tear when my 11yo son opened his Xbox in 2018. It's not the sort of thing we could ever usually afford but my whole family chipped in and I got an older version in the Black Friday sale. He didn't expect it and was just absolutely over the moon. A great memory.

Last year I bough myself and my three best girls a copy of Wintering by Katherine May and we all read it together through the winter lockdown. As a result we all took up sea swimming and it's kind of changed our lives. Really pleased with that one too!

Such a lovely thread
That's so sweet about the scaletrix! That's the equivalent of getting a mr frosty
One year dh bought a second hand fishing boat with some redundancy pay. I had one seat but mentioned a swivel type seat. I managed to track one down in America and delivery wasn't too expensive. He still uses it 10 years later.

He had one seat

I really like buying people presents, I try and pay attention to what they talk about throughout the year and I often screenshot things I see online and save them in a hidden album on Facebook so I can go back to them when it's coming up to Christmas. It's backfired a bit because the rest of my family now use me a bit like a present directory...

I did buy a random add on present for my daughter when she was about 5. I saw a discount code for a photo book and decided to do one on a whim, it was photos of the two of us throughout the last year of all the things we'd done. She liked it at the time as much as a five year old can enjoy a photo book but over the years - she's 11 now - it's popped up places, it'll appear on her bedside table or it'll be under her pillow when I change her bed. It's nice that she goes back and looks at it and that such an off the cuff present is one she's remembered.

Just a little thing burn my girls were little Santa would always bring one small thing that mummy would definitely not approve of (e.g. something that was a waste of money, faddy or only available in America). Their faces when they got the sugary American candy or blind bag or whatever was always a picture.

Love your stories OP

@limitedperiodonly such a lovely memory you have of your dad

Apparently my DGD thought the Tik Toker merch (can’t remember name) was the best and coolest gift anyone ever got ever.

I bought my husband a Lie Neilson plane (woodworking tool). I have to say it is a beautiful thing, and my husband agreed, he did shed a tear when he unwrapped it. I can't afford this sort of thing any more, and it has been downhill since !

I gave a relative a framed photo of her pet who had died the year before. She didn’t know I had taken a photo years earlier and it was a really good, clear, face on photo. She absolutely loved the photo.

One of the funniest presents I've ever seen was a gift from my Dad to my DH. Dad had been to the deli and bought DH a load of posh cheese, chutney, crackers etc. He was v smug about his present buying prowess, even DStepmum knew nothing about it, but we were all very excited for Christmas Day.

Problem is, he then wrapped the parcel, and put it under the tree... next to the radiator. About two weeks before Christmas Day.

When DH opened it, it was a box of melted cheese, with chutney jar islands and biscuit packet boats. Poor DH was left with a fondue as a present, but I don't think the rest of us have ever laughed as much.

For ages, the poor dog had been being blamed for the smell, she'd even been changed onto different food. What possessed him, I have no idea. But it was bloody funny.

DH has a sausage making course from dad this year. You can't melt a course voucher.

Not the best present, but certainly one of the best present memories!

@JoMumsnet

Hi *@limitedperiodonly*, we're just giving this thread a bump for you.

Thanks for bumping @JoMumsnet and thanks everyone for replying and being kind about my dad. It's so good when you find the perfect thing.

@NeverTalksToStrangers it will be hard this year but you will find something to smile about, I promise.

I love all these. I can't think of one I've done so I must be crap at buying gifts!