Everyday Shari: Oh! Just what I wanted?

I've always been curious as to why people give the presents they do. When I look back at pictures of past birthdays and Christmases, I am amazed at some of the gifts we have given each other over the years.

Here are some examples of our gift giving over the years...........

This is Maggey's birthday piñata that she loved and was devastated when the kids bashed it up. She thought it was her new special friend.

The battery powered cars were always a huge hit with the kids but they'd last for about five minutes then one of the big kids would decide to borrow it and drive it off a three foot jump and into a wall. It would explode upon landing, the present would be destroyed and I would end up trying to talk the birthday kid into thinking a battery powered car was a stupid present anyway.

In retrospect the best gift is the driving hat I gave Mickey shown in the picture on the right.

Rocky got this fishing vest for his 7th birthday. Was he naked under there? He loved this vest but it came with a Little Mermaid book which I assumed would be the cherry on the cake of his birthday. Ariel is a babe after all. Apparently, that was a bad call on my part. The book spurred on a crying jag that ended his 7th birthday.

Santa gave Mickey Marvin this awesome hunting hat which he loved but........

Grandma liked the hat so much she wore it all Christmas day.

One of my personal favorite gifts was the breakfast themed apron my sister gave me one year. Besides the fact that it makes me look voluptuous and like I'm holding a chicken, the eggs squeak when you squeeze them. Great, now not only do I get to cook but I get to try to cook while Mickey chases me and tries to squeeze my apron eggs.

This special gift I purchased for my daughter in law because I liked the name. It's called the "Crock O Dial" It's like a little baby crock that you hang around your neck and put your cell phone in. What was I thinking? Crocks are ugly enough on someones feet but can you imagine wearing one as a cell phone necklace. Amy deserves better than this. I did embellish her "crock o dial" with some real nice giblets (those are the things you poke through the crock holes to decorate the already ugly shoes)

When I was a kid my sister and I got a what was called a peg board. It had different colored pegs that you hammered through little holes. That was our X Box of the '60's'. Wow: we were entertained easily.

One year we gave my husband's cousin some goggles. The best part of this gift was the way he modeled the goggles and his Christmas sweater he wore with them. The perfect ensemble.

Then there was the Christmas when grandma gave some of the grand daughters a scary ass puppet. This is Maggey and every time she would play with this puppet she would just get weird so we had to give it to some other child before Maggey acquired multiple personality disorder.

The Rollerblades and hockey helmets were a hit with the kids. It kept them outside and busy all day and I loved the fact that the helmets made them look "special".

My husband gives the kids countless weapons for gifts. They are my least favorite of all presents given. The BB guns, air soft guns, bows and arrows and other various weapons always keep the kids busy but these weapons inevitably end up in the wrong hands (Mickey Sr.'s) He then spends hours on the weekends hiding in weird places so he can shoot unsuspecting kids.

Ahh the days when a cupcake and a balloon were all they wanted and needed..............

Lastly, my favorite all time present that has been given in our family is .......

The present Sid gave Jensine for her 14th birthday.