Tis’ the season… to give grandma a hug for a sweater only appropriate for the seasonal ugly-sweater parties and to convince an out of town aunt that kids do still collect Pokémon cards.

Students on campus have had their fair share of holiday gifts they will never forget.

“When I was going into high school my grandparents got me a Backstreet Boys cassette tape for Hanukkah,” said Eric Silverman, sophomore in LAS. “I don’t even have a cassette player.”

It turned out to be a useless gift for Silverman, but he thanked them anyway.

“I guess they just still think that cassette tapes are still in,” he said.

For Madeline Lloyd, a freshman in LAS, her worst Christmas gift memory started out as the best.

“Freshman year of high school, I really wanted a dog,” she said. “My godmother is kind of weird and for my Christmas present she got me a dog training video and dog treats. And I never got a dog.”

The worst part is that Lloyd really thought she was finally getting a dog for Christmas.

“When I got it I thought this must mean that my mom was really considering getting me one,” Lloyd said. “I thought that if I got treats and a video, of course I’m going to get the actual dog.”

Although the commercials are very convincing, the Snuggie has made its way to student’s least favorite gifts list.

“It’s not as comfortable as the commercials make it seem,” said Jenna O’Malley, a freshman in general studies. “My friend and I exchange gifts every year, and before Christmas when we would see the commercials I was like ‘oh I want to get that.’”

O’Malley was let down by the Snuggie’s coziness.

“Initially I was excited to put it on and wear it, but after I put it on I was actually disappointed on how bad the quality was,” she said. “I left if at home. I definitely did not bring it to college.”

Despite the lacking excitement after unwrapping a Snuggie, it remains a popular gift to give.

“One Christmas my mom and dad both got a Snuggie for themselves, and then they gave me one because they thought it was funny,” said Danelle Woods, a senior in LAS. “Then another one of my friends from cross-country gave me one too. And then I gave that one to somebody else. It’s the gift that keeps on giving, I guess.”

The pressure put on boyfriends and girlfriends to get the perfect gift for Christmas can sometimes cause people to act stranger than usual.

If anyone understands this, it is Caitlin Chrzanowski, a freshman in ACES.

“I was dating this kid and it was my senior year in high school and his junior year and we hadn’t been dating for that long, probably only two or three months,” she said. “It was Christmas and we were driving in his car and he asked, ‘Can I give you your Christmas gift early?’ So he hands me this little box and I got excited and started to open it.

When I got down to the wrapper I just see Spencer’s. I open it up and it’s a pair of black furry handcuffs.”

Needless to say, this was not the gift Chrzanowski expected from her boyfriend.

“I freaked out because I thought he might want to use them and that was a little strange,” she said. “Unless you’re into that — but I’m not.”

The furry handcuffs became the turning point in the wrong direction for Chrzanowski’s relationship.

“Later that night I called him and I just told him it was really not working and that he wanted different things than I do,” she said. “It was so awkward. I guess they ended up to be a gag gift and he thought it was an inside joke, but I’m not sure when I was joking about furry handcuffs. He actually got me a real present but I never found out what it was.”

When in doubt, a gift card usually works best. Unless it’s a gift card to Spencer’s