Stories of unforgettable bad Christmas gifts that Sahuaro Cougars have received in the past.

Students

Sophomore Samantha Crowson– “Back in elementary school, I received this gift as a secret Santa thing. They were all broken in half color pencils in a plastic bag. I ended up throwing them away. We never found out who it was, but if I did, I would like to return the favor…”

Senior Danny Lochhead– “This scooter I got when I was 4 years old because the foam of the head bars fell off and I cut my head open with it. My parents were not home when I did it, and my head bled like crazy. My babysitter had to take care of me. It was a great time. ”

Senior Skye Malone-“A can of beans. Because I like beans, and my parents thought it would be funny to get a whole can of it. They wrapped it up, and yeah… They ate it in front of me, I didn’t get a bite of it. So, it wasn’t really my gift. I also got toilet paper from them. Just for a gag gift.”

Senior Kiana Kremer– “One left shoe. A single left shoe. It was a tennis shoe, a single left shoe. My stepfather gave it to me. It wasn’t even mine, it was my mom’s.” (Kremer was in the 7th grade, and she thinks that she threw it at him)

Senior Alex Stone–  “It was a gift exchange (in middle school)… and I got a rubber chicken. The yellow one that makes the noise. I got it from my cousin I think… I probably threw it away once I got home.”

Senior Jordan Valenzuela– “My uncle gave me a Monsters High (Frankie Stein) doll as a joke about three years ago when I was 15.  I just gave it to my sister.”

Teachers

Mr. Christian– “One year for Christmas, my wife gave me a stocking stuffer with some chocolate. But she had opened it, ate a lot of it, and then taped it back closed. And then wrapped it and gave it to me… She thought it was a real present, like “oh it’s chocolate”,  but she wanted some while wrapping it and then ate it.” (Mr. Christian still teases his wife about it)

Mrs. Krause– “The worst Christmas gift I ever got was a skirt. It was a short skirt from a close family member who clearly did not know anything about me.”

Mrs. Lange– “I was 15 and my older brother ran down to the corner store to get me a last minute present on Christmas Eve because my mother made him. It was a Garfield stuffed animal. I got upset because he hadn’t gotten me anything. I thought he was trying to say I was fat since he was always mean to me.”

Mr. Patterson-“My mom, who retired from the Air Force Reserves, would go often times around the holidays, out of town to anywhere – England, Germany, Dubai. And when she would come back, she would always bring me and my younger brother a gift. One year she forgot to get us gifts, and what she did was she brought us hotel shampoo and soap. Wrapped in tinfoil. We did use it and tried to make her feel better – like ‘thanks mom’ we really needed this.”