What was your worst ever Christmas present?

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Well, writing Christmas books certainly does put one in the spirit! We're bursting with good cheer and would love to share some of that with our readers. So over the next four weeks we Christmas Creche mums will be posting our answers to some fun Christmas questions. We hope you'll join the merriment (and embarrassment :-)) with your own stories.

Ready? What's the worst Christmas present you've ever given, or been given? 

Married by Christmas and Santa Maybe author Scarlett Bailey remembers, "An ex once gave me a dust buster. It was our first and last Christmas..."

A Merry Little Christmasauthor Julia Williams said, "With apologies to my very lovely brother, he once got me Take My Breath Away - a song I have always detested...  I remember trying REALLY hard to pretend I liked it. My other brother also bought me a Beatles album once, then I blogged about how much I hated the Beatles, forgetting he reads my blog...Oops!"

Christmas with Mr Darcy author Victoria Connelly recalls, "I was once given an itchy woolly polo neck jumper. It was agony to wear!"

My So-Called Christmas Carol author Tamsyn Murray, said, "One year, Secret Santa gave me a Father Christmas outfit for my dog. If I tell you that my dog is a Labrador and the outfit was just about the right size for a rabbit, you'll get the idea."

Winter Wonderland author Belinda Jones said, "I once got a stolen library book from a rather eccentric relative but it was a good story as I recall, something horse related..."

Mistletoe in Manhattan author Talli Roland recalls, "The worst present I’ve received was an electric back massager from an ex (who shall remain nameless) so he didn’t have to put the actual effort in. Needless to say, that relationship did not flourish."

Meet Me Under the Mistletoe author Abby Clements said, "I'm the youngest in my family and when I was about five I went through a phase of making all of my presents for my family out of shoeboxes. This was before upcycling got cool, I might add. My sister and brother dutifully displayed theirs  (castle with pop out princesses and tiger in a cage, respectively) on their shelves, for years. Proof that they are lovely people because those presents really were rubbish." 

The Twelve Days to Christmas author Michele Gorman remembers, "My grandfather lived in the same state but couldn't always make it over for Christmas, so sometimes he'd send presents to my parents' house. One year, as we enjoyed glasses of wine by the sparkling tree, full of family love, I opened Grampa's present. My sister stared at it. I stared at it and my step-Dad stared at it. My Mom looked over and said, "Oh how nice, Grampa said you could use that because you're so stressed from working at the bank." In my hand was a 'Wet/Dry Massager', complete with batteries. It was decidedly, er, cucumber-shaped. My grandfather (unwittingly, I hope) had given me a vibrator for Christmas."

With Love at Christmas author Carole Matthews remembers, "My worse present was from my ex Mother-in-law. We'd driven five hours through fog and snow to see them at Christmas, the car loaded up with gifts. (They'd also gone out when we arrived, but that's another story!) My present was a packet of American tan tights with the 36p price label still on them."


And When I Fall In Loveauthor Miranda Dickinson said, "I was given windscreen wipers as my only present one Christmas by an ex. The reason he gave was that the wipers on my car squeaked and it annoyed him!"

We can't be the only ones with terrible present stories! Do you have an appliance-related tale like Scarlett, or Talli or Michele? Silly outfits for your or your pet? Don't be shy: What’s the worst Christmas present you’ve ever given, or been given?