I still giggle to think of the year my sister in law gave Ashley Staples brand photo paper as her Christmas gift. Thats all she got -- a 50 page pack of 4x6 paper that we never used because it was plain awful paper (at least we knew never to spend our money on the 8x10 value pack )

This year she gave both girls a cheap metal frame complete with price tag attached from a local clearance warehouse. I got a tin of spiced hot chocolate (also with the clearance tag still affixed on the bottom of the tin). When was the last time I drank regular hot chocolate let alone spiced? I also got a cheap box of note cards (complete with the same clearance warehouse price tag). I did a pencil portrait of the newest baby for her and hunted high and low for her kids' gifts and she apparently spent 2 minutes thinking of us. Did she suddenly remember Christmas Eve that she didn't get us anything and run out to the clearance store to pick up any old thing?

Ah, but I shouldn't complain., She's also the same woman who I did a huge needlework for. It was gorgeous (in my humble opinion) I designed it for her and it was inspired by her. She gave it back to me a few years later telling me she didn't like it and she thought since she knew I spent a lot of time on it that I might want it back. I gave it to another friend who thought she died and went to heaven -- she always commented on how lovely it was and nearly fell over when I offered it to her.