Fifty Plus (50+) - Strangest Christmas or birthday presents you got as a kid?

Tagging along with the thread of embarrassing moments when we were kids, I got to thinking of holidays past, and the strangest or goofiest or oddest Christmas (or birthday, or whatever) presents that came my way.

So one for me was the year I wanted, so bad I could taste 'em, a slot car racing set. It was all I could think of. Day, and night.

I'm opening up a gift Christmas morning, and getting so excited because there's a picture of a race car on the box. They did it! They got me the slot car racing set I wanted!!!

Well, not exactly. My gift was a toy race car, about the size of a shoebox, which was controlled by a little controller with a wire that went to the car. Not even radio controlled. Nope.

I knew immediately they had meant well (at least, that's what I told myself! :)), but it wasn't the same. I tried to play with it, but it was not fun at all. The controller barely worked, and I had to walk around about two feet behind the car anyway. It wasn't fast, it barely turned, and it was quickly sort of forgotten about.

I never did get a slot car set!

One christmas and we went to my Uncles farm. Normally spent the summers there so knew all the local families in any case so would have plenty of mates to play with. Had the presents from my parents and Uncle but one of the neighbours kids bought me a key- It was to a stable that was on his dads farm and I honestly thought they had got me a horse. Why I don't know as there were no horses on the farm. Went running over to the stable to find that his dad had set up a Briko- Wooden model railway in the stable. What a let down- No electric train Like I had at Home but this Railway was enormous. Covered the whole floor and it was a large stable. What a let down- but you imagine what value could be put on a Briko set up like that nowadays.

Well, it didn't happen to me, but I knew a family of four teenage girls whose grandmother gave them what the advert called "a handheld massager." Everyone else called them vibrators.

I wanted an electric train so badly.

My cousin had a whole room devoted to his multiple electric trains.

So, there it was, under the tree. A train!

And, it was a "wind up" train, with a great big key that wound up a spring.

Disappointment - yes! But, I still enjoyed it - it somehow made sparks. It would probably be worth a fortune today.

We were not a "rich" family, and every dollar counted.

My birthday is December 23. One year I opened my birthday present and it was one boot. I got the other boot on Xmas eve.

30-06 hunting rifle at the age of 12. The older males in my family thought it was time I learned to hunt. So, I got the rifle wrapped and in a box that said it was a 22 caliber rifle. Not knowing the difference between the two, but having shot 22's before, I wasn't prepared for the kick when we took it to the rifle range the next day. The scope came back and opened a gash above my eyebrow that required a trip to the hospital emergency room. It was, how do you say, a right of passage.

Can't say it was strange but at the time it was damn neat!

http://www.schwinnbike.com/heritage/attachment.php?attachmentid=42727

Schwinn Corvette...around 1961 or so.

I wish I still had it!

Jim J

Mandatory for 14 year old boys in the 70's: A stereo for your bedroom.

I picked out a Sears stereo that didn't cost much, and let my Dad know the model. However, Christmas day revealed a more expensive Sears stereo under the tree. Either a mistake by Sears (probably), or an automatic upgrade because my model was unavailable (doubt it) ... but Mom wanted to return the upgraded stereo because it was more than what we paid for.

Fortunately, cooler heads ... and a pleading 14 year old boy ... prevailed.

My dad, one year, labeled all gifts with the receiver's social security number. We couldn't open the gifts without figuring out whose gifts were whose.

The problem? I was the oldest at 14 and my sister the youngest at 6. None of us knew what a social security number was.... if my dad relented, it was only after hours.

Now an electric train is a great present, except when shared by four brothers. That very quickly turned into a brawl.

Now an electric train is a great present, except when shared by four brothers. That very quickly turned into a brawl.

The vibrator shared by four girls was probably a greater brawl. :D

Can't really think of a strange one ... but my all time favorite was in 1967 or 1968 ... when I was 10 or so. It was an all chrome, Sears 3 speed stick shift stingray with a banana seat ... super cool.

For my 16th Christmas, I didn't get the car I wanted. But I got a decent portable Panasonic cassette recorder and a Bob Dylan tape. I can't complain. It had a nice microphone and took decent dubs off a turntable. It did yeoman duty including my first filmmaking and puppetry classes in college. But what made it humble was that I was going to an exclusive prep school at the time and one of my classmates got a twin engine Cessna.

It did yeoman duty including my first filmmaking and puppetry classes in college.

Filmmaking and puppetry? :eek:

That would be the "University" of California, Santa Barbara, correct??? :)