What is the 'meanest' present you ever received

One grandmother used to give me pretty petticoats when I was young, until I married. The first Christmas after the wedding she gave me a pair of teatowels.

We once had friends to stay for 2 weeks, we took them on lots of day trips always paying any entrance fees etc. Towards the end of the stay they insisted they wanted to take us out for a meal to say thank you. We arrived at the not particularly up market restaurant and the waiter brought the menus, after looking through them they announced they weren't paying those prices and wanted to leave. DH said he would pay and so we ended up paying for our own (and their) thank you meal!

A similar thing happened to us sunseeker. DBiL said he would like to take us out for a meal, so we went to a lovely restaurant and looked at the menu, salivating! DBiL announced that he thought he would have the cheapest (and least appealing!] starter and main course so, when the waiter came to take our order DH, DSiL and I all asked for the cheapest dishes but when the waiter asked DBIL (who had very politely let us go ahead of him!!) he chose the two things that were not only the most expensive but what we would have chosen ourselves.

Since that time we have strict 50/50 rule so we can have what we would like!!

A year ago sister (the mean one who saved up all my little xmas tree gifts and gave them to me this year as my main present) and I went out somewhere, and I happened to mention that I needed to get in some more seed compost. For my birthday she gave me what I thought was a brick. It was a block of coir that you had to soak in water, which would give you perhaps enough compost to fill three large flowerpots. They cost about £2.99.

So for her birthday in May I asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted something nice to put in her bath. I know what she really likes, and it's that very expensive Dr Hauschka stuff. I bought her a kilo bag of Epsom salts instead. I think from now on we may be exchanging cards only.

I worked with a very mean person who made no secret of the fact that she recycled every present she was given - including the one I gave her!

In the 1950s we as a family received a Xmas gift from my very mean Godmother. Surprised at this unexpected gift we quickly opened it. Inside was a cruet set all made of plastic which comprised two potties for the salt and pepper and a toilet for the mustard.

We laughed so much and it has been a talking point for the last 60 years.

I think all these gift-givers are very firm believers in the adage 'It's the thought that counts'.

I'd rather just have a card.

haha! DH and I once received an address book from his brother ( Wing Commander) and wife for Christmas.

In the new year I opened it to start putting in addresses to find there were some for unknown people already in there! I am happy to support Christmas Bazaars and charity shops for pressies..but they could have checked it had not been used already!!

One Christmas my boss popped into my office and placed a present on my desk. When I opened it I realised it was something she and her husband must have been given, probably the previous year. It was a bottle of black cherries in kirsch (yuk!) and she'd omitted to see that written on a label stuck on the bottle was her and her husbands name and 'with best wishes from..*******' I never said anything - sometimes I wish I had and wonder how she would explain it away.