By Kathleen M. Muldoon
Yvette Silver www.yvettesilver.com
It’s December again. Whether you observe Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Christmas, or other winter holidays, gift giving and receiving may be part of your celebration. Choosing which gifts to buy or make for the relatives and friends on my list has always been a challenge for me. The bigger challenge, though, has been writing thank you notes for some of the strange-and, let’s face it-not always welcome gifts I’ve received. It’s hard to come up with sincere gratitude for something like a box of soap shaped like hippopotamuses.
The other day as I was working on my Christmas gift list, I tried to think of what my most unusual gift ever was. There were many contenders. But my mind immediately focused on the one I received from Aunt Georgie the year I turned 14. She and my uncle lived in Paris, so her gift traveled a long way. I couldn’t wait to open it. But I held it first, letting my imagination run wild. Perhaps the box contained a silk scarf or French jewelry or a book filled with French art.
Finally I tore open the box, dove through layers of tissue paper, and pulled out…two undershirts and two pairs of underpants, covered with rabbits wearing spacesuits. Their ears stuck out through holes in their space helmets. Maybe I would have been more grateful if the underwear was at least made in France, but the tag showed it had been made in Japan or Singapore-someplace else.
I was speechless. Now, I have to admit I wouldn’t have welcomed underwear of any sort. I had high standards for my underwear. Now that I had to change clothes for gym in a locker room full of other girls, wearing pretty, age appropriate underclothes was high on my list of priorities. As I stuffed the space bunnies back in the box, I tried to think of the right words for my note to Aunt Georgie. I finally wrote, “Thank you for the underwear. I’m sure no one else will have anything like it.”
I know, of course, that I’m not the only one to receive such strange gifts. Maybe I’ve even given some! A couple of years ago, many internet sites popped up on which people could vent about the worst gifts they’ve ever received. Some of my favorites include:
- • volume “M” of a set of science encyclopedias for which the kids receiving it had no other volumes• a shoeshine kit to a kid who wore nothing but sneakers• fuzzy duck slippers to a high school quarterback
• a money clip made from a dinner fork; there was no money in it
• a Power Ranger coloring book and crayons sent by a grandmother to her 14-year-old grandson
• a Bible sent by an aunt to her niece (it was one of those free Bibles from a hotel that still had the name of the hotel stamped inside it!)
• one walkie-talkie (I guess that was for a kid who talked to himself)
• a T-shirt stamped “irregular” that had the design under one armpit After reading some of those on the internet, I remembered another of my “favorite” gifts. A lady for whom I babysat gave me a framed photo of her holding her dachshund. Both wore Santa hats.
I’m planning to change my attitude this Christmas. I’m going to embrace any gift I get, even if it’s underwear with space rabbits. I hope you’ll cherish all your gifts, too. If you get a “unique” gift that challenges your thank-you-note writing ability, please share it with Action readers! E-mail descriptions (not the items-oh, please, no!) to: action@ unitedspinal.org or mail them to:
KIDS IN ACTION
United Spinal Association
75-20 Astoria Boulevard
Jackson Heights, NY 11370-1177
I’ll let you know of any strange underwear I receive.
Kathleen M. Muldoon is a children’s book author and writing instructor for the Institute of Children’s Literature. She lives in San Antonio, Texas.
