NEW YORK—The holidays are officially upon us, and while it’s all about gratitude and spending some quality time with family (cue the holiday drinks), we can’t deny that exchanging gifts is the cherry on top. Giving or receiving presents can be tricky: As gift givers, there is always pressure to get something thoughtful, yet functional. As the recipient most times we know exactly what we want and try our hardest to drop some hints to make sure we get it. Whether we actually end up happy or disappointed (or a mixture of both), it’s safe to say the process of gift-giving always makes for some nice memories. To commemorate some of those precious moments, VMail Weekend asked some of the optical community to share memories of the best or worst gifts they ever received.
“In my family, my brother has a reputation for giving wacky Christmas gifts with a technology bent, so I always look forward to opening his gift, knowing that it’s going to be something unexpected and entertaining. Two years ago, he gave me what is both my most and least favorite Christmas gift ever—Brainwave Cat Ears. You didn’t know they existed? Neither did I. These ears supposedly sense your emotions and respond to them, twitching and turning in every direction and they make you feel completely ridiculous. Everyone in the family took a turn putting on the ears and pretty soon a tail was added for good measure. Did I laugh till my stomach hurt? Of course! Do they gather dust till I take them out each year at Christmas? Of course!”
—Iris Johnson, 20/20 Magazine
“I would say the worst gift I have ever received was a check sent to me from my Aunt. It was a very generous amount but it was made out to my sister! I couldn’t send it back as I didn’t want to embarrass my aunt.
The best gift I ever received was a Donny and Marie Osmond doll! I was obsessed with the Osmonds and it was a dream come true! Have to say I recently saw them in Las Vegas (one of the benefits of going to Vision Expo West) and am still a huge fan 40 years later. “I love Donny” was written all over my records!”
—Gina Kay, Cristall Opticians
"Surprisingly enough, there are several people who don't care for the holidays in New York City, but not me. I'm actually a huge fan of the holiday season. It's such a special time with all of the lights, displays and attractions. My favorite of all is the Winter Village at Bryant Park where there's lots of places to grab food, drinks and gifts.
As far as gifts are concerned, I'd rather give than receive, but every now and then I receive a special surprise. Without question, my favorite gift of all is when my husband surprised me with tickets to the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center last year. The experience was nothing short of magical, from the dancers and costumes to the lighting and the stage elements. It was everything I'd imagined it would be and the best part was that my husband actually enjoyed the performance as well.
When I was a little girl, I always dreamed of being a New York City ballerina, but it just wasn't in the cards. Today I'm very grateful to be an optometrist, but I'll always enjoy dance performances, especially around the holidays in NYC."
—Maria Pribis, OD, Stamford Ophthalmology
“When I was in third grade, my teacher Miss Spear made my entire class Christmas ornaments made of hollowed out sugar with a winter scene in the middle. While a few of my classmates immediately ate them, I kept mine and hung it on my Christmas trees for decades. Years later, when my wife and I were living in Chicago, our basement storage area flooded and destroyed the sugar ornament.
A year later, my wife presented me with a new Christmas ornament. She had taken an acrylic fillable ornament and inserted the interior winter scene from the melted ornament inside. Needless to say, I was shocked. I had thought that ornament was gone forever, and my wife resurrected it for me. Best gift ever.”
—Joe Bowen, Vision Monday
“When I was 15 (this was 1987) I was obsessed with Gargoyles sunglasses. I was finally able to convince my dad how cool they were and that I promised I would take care of them. That Christmas I finally got a pair that I wore everywhere…until I broke them about six months later. Needless to say that was the first and last year I got an expensive pair of sunglasses as a gift!”
—Kirk Lauterback, Shopko
“I had been doing the single mom thing for years, but dating was tough as my young son was my priority and he wasn’t liking the guys I was meeting. In the fall of 2012, when my son was ten, I finally met someone I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But the test would be if my son would approve. That Christmas, after the guys had spent some time together, my son said to me, ‘Mom, when are you going to marry this guy?’ I breathed a sigh of relief. We had one of the best Christmases ever.
When I asked my son what it was about Steve that made him want to accept him into our family, he replied, ‘He makes the time to play games with me. And he bought me an Xbox 360.’ (Well played Steve). That January, Steve proposed. We celebrated 4 years of wedded happiness this year. Looking back, I can say that the Xbox 360 was the best gift ever for a young boy and his momma. But the real gift was finding someone who listened and made room for us in his heart.”
—Tommasina Sideris, OD, Eyes of Litchfield
“I don’t have a good story about a favorite or worst gift. But the holidays have always been about spending time with my nephews back home in Minnesota, and now I’m so excited that I’ll also be able to experience the holiday spirit with my one year old. For our past few holiday adventures with my nephews, we would scream our faces blue on all the rides at the Mall of America Amusement Park; turns out, I have a voice that carries and while I may have stunned other park goers, my nephews appreciated the inappropriate amount of air space I consumed. We also have had fun splashing around indoor swimming pools, playing some competitive bowling, and putting together an epic Lego ship. Making memories is what the season is about.”
—Rebecca Giefer, Modo Eyewear