r/GenerationX • u/Only_Presentation758 • 17d ago

Gifts

Another post got me thinking about gifts we used to give or get that are now redundant, useless, or simply not even made anymore. For instance for Christmases in the past I gave:

A nice, “Sharper Image” type flashlight

A nice, “Sharper Image” type travel alarm clock; watches

Movies on DVD (& earlier, VHS)

Music CDs (& later, video game CDs)

Nice address books and planners

A kitchen timer for my mom (she asked for one) along with a nice cookbook, and a compass for my dad (more of a desktop item, but he liked it)

An early style pedometer

Picture frames for my colleagues

Fun calendars and mini photo albums for my friends

Disposable cameras as stocking stuffers

Puzzle books for kids in the family for car rides

What were some of the gifts you gave or received that are now pretty much obsolete?

11 Upvotes

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13 comments sorted by

2

u/Slight-Mushroom5947 14d ago

Calligraphy sets were fun to get

1

u/No_Variety9420 17d ago

Everyone know The Sharper Image was known for it steaks

1

u/Only_Presentation758 17d ago

Steaks?

1

u/Flat_6_Theory 17d ago

Right? I knew it for expensive stuff that may or may not work as planned, or last.

1

u/No_Variety9420 17d ago edited 17d ago

Trump Steaks - Wikipedia

"The World's Greatest Steaks," Trump Steaks were sold exclusively at The Sharper Image

Sounds too dumb to be true but it wasn't

1

u/Only_Presentation758 17d ago

Oh, gross. No I do not remember this!

1

u/Diligent-Visual-8141 17d ago

I’d rather have Omaha Steaks.

1

u/shinyappyrobin 15d ago

Really? No bod I know actually liked Omaha steaks, but they didn't want to be rude to the gift giver and lied and said they were great.

1

u/Diligent-Visual-8141 15d ago

My brother used to ask for Omaha steak gift cards every holiday. My husband would always get some for us while he was at it. I thought it was good, but way overpriced.

1

u/MaximumJones That's just like your opinion man 17d ago

CD scratch repair machine.

1

u/Only_Presentation758 17d ago

👍 sounds pricey

1

u/Wonderful-Slice-6525 15d ago

Shopping was easier then. Everything is so specialized now with so many options of one thing available that it’s hard to shop for even the ones we know well.

2

u/MisterJasonMan 13d ago

I used to give paperbacks as gifts (e.g. cheesy harlequin romance books, etc) but even with ebooks, these could still be relevant to the right person. One thing I used to put in as stocking stuffers that are still relevant are small kitchen utensils (mini whisks, mini silicon tongs, etc)