I suppose there is no such thing as the imperfect Christmas gift, but I am sure that there are some gifts that are less desirably received than others.
Let’s take a look at the “Personal Trimmer.” Every time I hear of one of these items or see it in the store I think, “nose hair trimmer.” Hey, there is no way of getting around it: if you give this gift you are telling the recipient that the strand of hair hanging out of their left nostril is unsightly. Or, since the product is also marketed for the ears, you’ve noticed a bit ‘o fuzz on their earlobes.
One way to test the wisdom of gift selection is by doing this: imagine your loved one at work hanging around the water cooler. “Bob” comes up and says, “so, what did you get for Christmas?” Your loved one replies, “I got slippers, some shirts, a tool case, and a really cool personal trimmer.” Sure, like he is going to share this information with blabbermouth Bob, who is known to share “news” throughout the office. You get the picture: if he is ashamed of the gift he’ll lie and say, “a one year subscription to...