Reading some of the gift horror stories in this thread I feel grateful that, over the years, good or bad, almost all of the gifts I’ve rec’d and given were at least well-intentioned! Some were definitely a bit flat, most were good, but I don’t recall any that were traumatic.
OK so this is a long one …
This happened years ago, back when my Now-Ex SIL was still my SIL. (Bro’s wife back then; he did better the second time, Current SIL is very nice. :)) Now-Ex SIL was and is a pot-stirrer who never misses a chance to whip up a fight over nothing. Back then she would cut off communications with members of bro’s family for a couple of years over issues no one else grasped, even blocking access to her children (my nieces and nephews). No one in my family has ever behaved that way over anything, we are quick to forget and move on. We were always trying to get through visits without triggering an explosion from her. I think she’s probably a narcissistic-paranoid type of some kind, something I can say as I have no credentials in psychology that would restrain my opinion. :winkgrin:
The Now-Ex SIL used to give everyone in bro’s family cheap, cheesy gifts at Christmas, regardless of the nice gifts given to her family each year. One year we all planned to gather at my sister’s large house after Christmas for the big exchange. So I open Now-Ex SIL’s gift - it was Scooby-Doo slippers like this.
A big head like this one
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/717nv1RanbL.UX500.jpg
up on long necks like these
http://thumbs.ebaystatic.com/images/g/oDMAAOSwPcVV18dt/s-l225.jpg
(those may be the ones, but I can’t make out if the heads are as ugly)
I have never watched a single episode of Scooby-Doo in my life. I didn’t even know what they were until it was explained. :lol: (In fact I had to google how to spell it.) I’ve never worn big puffy slippers. Unfortunately I didn’t think to take photos of those slippers!
I said a cheerful “thanks, they are so cute”, and she answered just as cheerfully “I want to see you in those slippers!” I laughed and she repeated again she wanted to see me wearing them – she meant it, the gauntlet was thrown.
Although Now-Ex SIL is one of the top-ranked passive-aggressive personalities of all time, she is nowhere near my league when I am on my passive-aggressive A-game. I am elite class and can out-passive-aggressive all but a tiny handful of true masters. Bring it! 
I knew that the Scooby-Doo slippers would look ridiculous. But I also knew that in my family dynamic, me wearing these slippers as a brave, cheerful good sport would make Now-Ex SIL, the giver, be the one to look ridiculous. In front of her IL’s of all kinds, not to mention a passle of kids. So I proudly wore those dam Scooby Doo slippers all day, all over my sister’s house. The heads snapped back and forth with every step – that was kind of creepy, really. Even my 6 yo (at the time) niece thought her mother had given a really bad gift, and at that age my niece usually loved stuff like that.
At first everyone thought the Scooby Doo slippers were funny, but it wore off. A few hours later Now-Ex SIL said “You don’t have to keep wearing those.” I said “They’re so warm and soft!” and kept wearing them. Wore them the next day, too.
By the end of the visit on the 2nd day, Now-Ex SIL, in a grand tone of higher purpose, said “I know you aren’t going to wear those after today. Give them to me, I know someone who can really use them.” Not ‘give them BACK to me’, acknowledging they were from her in the first place, but simply ‘give them to me’ as if they had just appeared from somewhere. I happily gave them to her. They were still in fairly good shape, so she couldn’t accuse me of disrespecting them.
Everyone went home on reasonably good terms. My young niece later reported to me that, yes, a few days later her mother gave the NOW USED Scooby-Doo slippers to a friend as a late Christmas gift. Because the friend, who was not well off, would be so grateful for some warm slippers, even used Scooby-Doo slippers!
I would bet money the friend dumped them at Goodwill, or maybe used them as a dog toy. The one thing I am happy to say is that my wonderful niece, now a sophomore in college, saw the error of her whacked-out, abandoning mother’s ways and would never behave the way her mother did (or does).
That was years ago … recently, the Now-Ex SIL is trying to re-establish contact with bro’s side of the family via Facebook likes and comments, lo these 10+ years after she divorced bro and moved 300 miles away from her children to live with scungy drug-dealer guy. The then-children stayed with bro (full custody) and after their mother’s departure, their grades went from barely passing to honor roll. Buh-bye, Ex-SIL. :winkgrin:
