I think what makes a gift memorable can be two very different things depending on if it’s a good memory or a bad one. The good kind are usually a result of some heartfelt sentiment behind the gift. The bad kind are usually more about the actual gift itself, because really most gifts have good intentions behind them. (Unless you count that totally obnoxious, noisy plastic thing that your sister gave your 1 year old to get back at you for the obnoxious, noisy thing you gave their kid last year.)

My husband every year draws or creates a birthday card for me. He used to draw them by hand now he typically makes them on the computer. The past few years have given birth to the same cartoon characters each year; like my own little running birthday story. He never thinks I appreciate them but I do and I think it is just about the sweetest thing. This year’s card came with the introduction of a new character—a baby panda bear.

On the flip side, don’t we all get that one present when we have big events in our life that is just god awful. These gifts usually come from some distant relative that doesn’t really know you all that well but received a wedding invitation and therefore feels obligated to purchase you a gift. For us it was a silver chip and dip bowl in the shape of a pineapple.

Some of our friends have some good ones too—a silver turkey platter with little silver turkeys as the handles, a wooden Greek cross, and a hand-painted ceramic mermaid soap dish. Now all of these gifts may be wonderful for the right person but for each of the intended recipients it was simply comical.

I don’t mean to sound ungrateful and I do appreciate even the awful gifts because of the thought or intention behind them, but there is something to be said for a nice gift card sometimes.

What makes a gift memorable for you? Tell us and you could win a gift package from Excitations and the Parent Bloggers Network.