In a season of giving, some presents miss the mark

ELEEKA ASAYESH

Staff Writer

You’ve waited all year, and now they’re finally here. The holidays are a time of joy, celebration and of course, presents. You’ve waited months to rip those presents open, and when you finally do, you find a brand new… dictionary.

Nothing can put a damper on the holidays like a bad gift. Sometimes the gift givers mean well, but fail to deliver. Sometimes they think that they’re being helpful by giving you something ‘useful’.  More often than not, though, they just don’t care.

But what are the worst gifts you could possibly receive? One of the worst is a common gift on most people’s shopping list: socks.

“I got socks once. I was so disappointed,” says junior Victoria Youn.

Socks were also a gift that sophomore Kaity Hinojosa could have done without. “The worst gift I ever received was a pair of princess socks that were four sizes too small for my 14th birthday from my great aunt Sylvia, and she even spelled my name wrong on the card.”

A word of advice to all gift givers: nobody wants to get socks as a gift, no matter how interesting the design.

If you think that getting someone a ‘practical’ gift is a good idea, you need to reevaluate your definition of the word “present”. A present is not supposed to be something you need, but rather something you want, no matter how unnecessary it may seem to you. Nobody wants a complete set of encyclopedias, even if they be academically beneficial.

“Someone gave me books once,” says junior Madeleine Boyer. “I love books, but I really could have just bought them myself.”

 “I got magazine dividers. I mean, really?” says Junior Chloe Saddler.

So the next time you find yourself gift shopping for your friends and loved ones, remember this: if it’s something you don’t want, don’t get it for anyone else either. Even a gift card is suitable when you’re at a loss of ideas.