Bad Christmas presents post.
"‘My brothers got £5, I got £2.50…’ and other celebrity Christmas gift nightmares"
The Christmas shopping season is in full swing, which means disappointment is on the cards for many of us come December 25.
Yes, by the time we’re out of our teenage years, the thrill of opening our gifts on Christmas morning is replaced by wondering how quickly we can take our haul of ill-considered, slapdash, stocking-filler rubbish to the charity shop.
But it’s the thought that counts and ingratitude is an ugly thing - so even a pound-shop knife set, Tasmanian Devil inflatable soap dish or light-up, musical, revolving, plastic orchid in a case (all presents once opened in my house) must be greeted with a cheery smile. You can always follow the example of these celebrities and moan about it to other people later.
The X Factor judge Nicole Scherzinger
One of my aunts gave me a broken Christmas ornament. My mom told me off for complaining about it. She said: ‘Nicole, that’s not very nice, it’s the thought that counts.’ It was a sled that was supposed to have a Santa Claus on it but he was missing. It wasn’t cool. What sort of kid wants a Christmas ornament as a present anyway?
Singer Leona Lewis
I get random stuff from my aunties, who still think I’m a teenage girl. They’ll give me books aimed at teenagers or random make-up that’s totally not my colour. It’s a bit bizarre as they obviously still see me as a 13-year-old. I got those Point Horror books last year. I always pretend I love them, which gets me in trouble. Maybe I need to start saying: ‘It’s time to stop sending me the Twilight books and time to start getting me better reading material.’
BBC 6Music DJ Mark Radcliffe
As a bloke, you have to be very careful when you express enthusiasm for anything between October and Christmas. The comedian Sean Lock told me he was out walking with his wife and she said: ‘Look at that big bird over there,’ and he said: ‘That’s a kite.’ She said: ‘Oh, are you interested in birds, then?’ and he said: ‘I know one or two.’ Skip forward to spring and he’s standing in a field wearing a leather glove, swinging a bit of meat - she’d bought him a birds of prey ‘experience’. My mum bought me a guinea pig. I was in my mid-twenties, living in a rented flat on my own, out all day at work. I must have said I thought guinea pigs were cute.
Chef Jamie Oliver
A knitted festive tank top from an uncle. I was 13. My sister got a matching one. It had the full monty - a big stick-out Christmas pudding, snowflakes and reindeers. We wore them and everyone wet themselves laughing all day, so it was worth it in the end, but I never wore it again. When you’re 13 and trying to pretend you’re trendy and carving out your own style, you don’t want a Christmas pudding tank top.
Adam Johnson from Britain’s Got Talent finalists Richard and Adam
A pen. It wasn’t what I expected. The box looked like it had a gadget in it but I opened it and it was a felt-tip. That was two years ago from my aunt. Another year she got me an advent calendar - on December 25. Another year, she gave my brother Daniel a £5 note, my brother Richard a £5 note and I got £2.50. I felt too awkward to ask why I got £2.50. I asked the family and there weren’t any clues about what I’d done to upset her.
Some more at the source
What's the worst Christmas present you've ever received, ONTD?