We have a winner!

Here I thought Christmas would go by without a noteworthy gift from the in-laws...

The husband made an after-holiday run to visit his mother.
By himself.
Merry Christmas to me!

But he brought back a bag of little gifts for the boys.
Neat little things.
Like novelty notebooks...
A yo-yo...
And a really nice manicure kit for each boy. Very nice.

I was actually pretty impressed.

But then...

Just as I was starting to feel ashamed for expecting the worst, the boys pulled out the mazes.

You know, those enclosed plastic mazes that you tilt this way and that to maneuver tiny silver balls through?
Shouts of "Oh, cool!" were rapidly followed by, "Aw! Mine doesn't have a ball in it!"

And I wouldn't mind so much except the children won't throw them out.
Because they were a gift from Grandma.

And now they'll remain, along with the pile of other useless items, cluttering up corners of the house.

I really DON'T mind cheap gifts. I don't I don't I don't.
I really DO mind useless gifts.

Like the chalkboard the sister-in-law gave us last year with a note taped to the back that read:
"This was sitting in my basement doing nothing. I thought you'd like it."

(Is that technically a gift, or is it housecleaning?)

Well, now it's sitting in MY basement.
Doing nothing.

Think I like it?