Mother's Day don'ts: dish gloves, Cougar shirts What were they thinking? Through plastic smiles or gritted teeth, moms have to suck it up sometimes when Mother's Day means a gifted toilet, unsolicited wash tub or anti-aging cream. "That was the only present I ever received from him for Mother's Day," said Largent, in Gaffney, S. "After that I told him that I didn't want anything. But unrequested sex toys? A chainsaw?. A rabbit might be better than what a good chunk of moms surveyed in March by the website Cafemom received last year - absolutely nothing. So do unrequested sex toys, guys. Glenna Tooman's uh-oh moment was when her now-grown son, Bill, was 10 or 11. Other, er, unusual items to make the worst-gift list at Cafemom: a Cuban cigar and stale candy left over from Easter. "He spent his allowance money on it. We named him Garfunkel. We had him for years. , might be the exception to that rule. She accepted a toilet in 2010, when there was no money for romantic extras for her first Mother's Day. "That's what we needed at the time," she said grimly. Big boxes aside, moms surveyed by the site PlumDistrict said they'd choose handmade gifts over store-bought ones. In potentially difficult news for any eager gift-giver now scratching the chainsaw off his list, the surveyed moms also agreed they'd rather not have to be in on buying their own Mother's Day gift. Judith Schmelzinger in Hamburg, N. Said her mom, Bev Cundle, in Leeds: "What can I say? How does a mother smile through gritted teeth. Nancy Nolan recalls a useless but memorable gift forty years ago, when her husband took their then 6-year-old son shopping for a Mother's Day gift and returned with a jar of cream to fade age spots. She was only 28. "I just hugged him and thanked him for the wonderful gift," she said, "and he just beamed. " In San Francisco, Heddi Cundle joked that her mother back home in England hasn't quite forgiven her for a particular Mother's Day gift: A plastic wash tub with dish gloves and a scrub brush, all from the dollar store. "I was very surprised. Becky Jackson has no use for fussy spas, flowers or jewelry. How do you make it disappear?". |