Unwanted Gifts (part 2)

In the first part of this story, I talked about the deceit involved in receiving presents you didn't want. Lately I've been reminiscing about my teens and twenties and was reminded about having to buy presents for people I hardly knew and also receive presents from people who didn't appear to know me either. In my teens I was very reclusive, even with my own family. I most certainly didn't know my brother-in-law, but despite hardly ever talking to him, I was still expected to buy him a Christmas present. Due to my lack of imaginiation, Woolworths seemed to be the only retail outlet I ever bought presents from, which was handy seeing as my brother-in-law 'really' wanted handkerchiefs. As I hardly spoke to him, I never found out whether he wanted or ever used them. I believe this inspired idea came from my mother. It was a stupid idea on reflection, as I later found out he preferred recreational drugs. Maybe if Woolworths had focused their strategy on the sale of illegal narcotics, they'd still be trading on the high street today. Although I was occasionally the perpetrator of of unwanted gifts, I was often the victim. The most pointless and thoughtless present I ever received was talcum powder. I recently researched this product and discovered ancient Egyptians used talc blended with clays and other materials to make carvings and ornaments. I also discovered that Talc has been used in cosmetics for decades as an absorbent. However, in the 1980s and1990s, the world had moved on. Antiperspirants and deodorants were common place but despite this, I never received any. I had to buy my own. So what was I supposed to do with talcum powder? I am at a loss to understand the target market. As a conservative estimate, I would say babies have no further use for talcum powder from the age of 3. The only other people who appear to have a use for it is the elderly, so what are we supposed to do with it in the meantime? During my twenties, I would stay with my friend and his family at Christmas. His mother worked for Avon Cosmetics, so in theory I should have been looking forward to unwrapping one of her presents. Sadly not! I received more of these aromatic Egyptian shavings. Of all the things she could have selected from the Avon catalogue, how did I end up with this? Had this old lady recently escaped from an Egyptian tomb where her last memories were of scraping flakes of psoriasis from King Tut's armpits?

Where was the thought process in purchasing this item? Did she honestly think there was a void in my life which was about to be filled? It has occurred to me that talcum powder plays no part in anyone's life for at least 70 years, and having looked at Lush Cosmetics website, it doesn't appear to play a part in theirs either. Hardly surprising is it?

#kiddiekorner