Times your parents bought you the wrong things...

[Rawwr]

FredAstaire said:

All this talk of having the right trainers, but what about the school bag?

Every single boy in year 9 when I was at school had this:

[thainy77]

Yep i had that exact bag and was the first in our year to have some Nike Air Max. My dad was good on that front, although he was a complete tt otherwise, but he did drop the ball once.

It was when the Kickers classics first came out, he bought me some dodgy rip off pair that had the Italian flag on the side and not the red and green tabs. Hero to zero in short order!

[alorotom]

Rawwr said:

Every single boy in year 9 when I was at school had this:

I had one of them lol

[Shakermaker]

I did once get a Head bag like that too!

But I am reminded of starting secondary school where I was presented with a bag by my parents with the school crest on it, which was not a requirement at all. It was not a cool bag to be seen with, that was quickly apparent..

They spent more money on that bag than the type of bag from a Sports shop that would have been acceptable to me as a teenager. I lived with that until mid-way through second year, where the bag eventually gave up and fortunately it was my birthday around that time and I got a Reebok rucksack

[ATG]

Can't remember how old I was, maybe 12 or 13? My grandfather had had a mechanical clock on his desk, mounted on a polished base with a pen holder on either side. Nice thing with sentimental value, but nothing very special. I kept it after he died. The spring was becoming increasingly slack, so my mother very kindly offered to have it repaired as a birthday present. A few weeks later I was presented with the thing wrapped in paper with her looking on expectantly. Part of my soul died as I opened it to reveal the vandalism that had been done. The entire mechanism was gone, replaced with a crappy battery powered bit of plastic. The aesthetics had been ruined by replacing the original, simple art deco hands with rediculously shiney, plasticy faux-Baroque hands that were far too short for the face. How anyone could think this was an OK repair, I could not conceive. Mum clearly couldn't see it at all. Bless her, she has always been an apalling bodger and a technical philistine. It just struck me that thirty plus years later there's this thing called the internet, so I might be able to track down a replacement movement and hands. I think the clock is still floating around somewhere in my sister's house.

[TONKA2]

Tim-D said:

A little suspicious but reassured I grab the keys dash out and throw open the door to be greeted by .....

A shiny red grifter......

I tried... I really did... but it just wouldn't come my chopper was no more "it's safer" had no effect - cue the first time I'd ever sworn at my parents and an instant lightning reflexed full weight cuff round the head from Dad.. tears flowed and I fled to my room...

I have no sympathy, not for you or any of the others lucky enough to get the delicate feather weight precision of a Grifter to tool around on.

I wanted a Raleigh Extra Burner, did I get a Grifter instead? DID I fk!!

What I got was some yellow and black behemoth called (I think) a Rock Cross 20, a gargantuan lump of pig iron that I think was basically a Honda XL125 with the useful bits of engine removed and pedals put in its place.

This thing was so heavy it had its own gravitational pull, not even light could escape its mass! Resplendent with Sturmey Archer three speed, and no cool twist grip....the same thumb switch as my sisters Raleigh Hercules.

I remember spending the entirety of January eagerly pushing it around while my mates did jumps and bunny hops, I couldn't even ride mine it was so big and heavy. On the plus side it had a rear drum brake so no loss of effectiveness in wet weather, I could rip monster skids at will whatever the season!!

In a bizarre about turn I have spent hours trawling the internet trying to find one to buy now.

[Zetec-S]

Rawwr said:

Every single boy in year 9 when I was at school had this:

Haha, yes, this reminds me of something appropriate to this thread. I remember really wanting one like that but my parents refused for ages, until one day they presented me with something along the lines of this:



Seriously, the thing was fking huge, I probably could have fit in it. I did manage to feign suitable gratitude for a couple of months, but got to a point where I decided I didn't want the nickname "suitcase" to stick with me throughout the whole of secondary school, so fessed up and they bought me a more suitable replacement

[nute]

I told my dad I wanted a crossbow for my birthday, guess I was maybe 13 or so at the time....and he actually got me one, and not a crappy one either, this was a 150lb pull and needed loading with a lever thingy. In fairness to him the bolts he got had fat plastic ends and weren't pointy but would have still done a serious injury to anyone on the receiving end.

Bloody brilliant but in retrospect possibly not the most practical thing to give a young teenager. Was a good few years ago now though but needless to say I managed to break loads of stuff with it.

[zollburgers]

My parents have a special talent for this. I like to ride bikes (the pedal variety) and every year I get very cheap Chinese crap that is bike related, which started with massive indicators to stick on the back.

This evolved into anything at all with a vague bike connection, books, clothing featuring bikes and hideous cups, only one of which survives and is exclusively used for cleaning brushes:


Last summer I was playing with my niece and blowing bubbles with a bubble blowing toy she had (apparently, I don't even remember). For my birthday this year my present (in addition to bike clothing) is genuinely this:


I did remind them I have just turned 37 but they seemed to think I enjoyed the toy so much I should have my own.

[tim0409]

I previously poster in this thread (wooden sledge instead of a R/C plane), but I forgot about my Mums more recent present effort -

A few years back I received an Amazon gift voucher for Christmas (good), and in order to give me something real/tangible on the day my Mum gave us a calendar which had "Family Planner" on the front. So what you might say? It would have been handy if a) we had a family, and b) why hadn't just gone through our last, unsuccessful, round of IVF.

My wife and I did have a good laugh because we both know my mum hates shopping with a passion, and she would have picked the calendar up without reading/thinking about it.

[Blue Oval84]

Rawwr said:

Ok, so it's more to do with terrible trainers and amazing presents but thought I'd post it here anyway, for the cathartic experience

A story with a lot of highs and lows that! I really felt for you and can only imagine the horror of finding them gone, I never had a pair to lose and can still imagine how awful it would have been!

[KM666]

When I was about to turn 12 all I wanted was the Slim Shadey LP, it was on the cards as my Nan kept asking 'whats that album you want?' and wrote it down. It seemed like a done deal, birthday coming up, already got a Walkman and some headphones.
Then disaster, my Mum is talking to a friend from Bristol, this friend has read some hysterical article about the vulgar content of the album corrupting young men, 2 days before my birthday and it's now banned material in the 666 household.
I was devastated.
I think I got hybrid theory instead, not bad but it wasn't the same.
So when i turn 13 and start getting to choose my own clothes in tk maxx I go full bore hip hop. This decision is cemented when I returned to my Mum's after a weekend at Dads in my pelle pelle baggy jeans and oversized white tee shirt she remarks 'oh you look different, you don't want to look like an American gang member do you?'.
For about 7 years that was the look I went with.

My Dad often says he was only surprised I never died my hair blonde to really get at her.

[slacker172]

J4CKO][IMG]http://www.bulgier.net/pics/bike/Catalogs/Raleigh84/ral84_06.jpg/[IMG said:

I cannot believe this, I had a Record Sprint and thought it was the Dog's knackers. I used to try and "drop" my friends on the cycle to school like I was Greg Le Mond or something. Could never remember what it was called except it was black with gold crank/wheels etc.

Made my day................thanks!

[Jubjub502]

This whole thread has had me just about in stitches.

Awkward gift exchange John Waters style!
https://youtu.be/6cYZXyh7y6I

[R53rider]

When I was 15 I wanted to start my own tool kit. So for Christmas my Mum bought me a 'starter tool set'. It looked quite impressive in its box. When I opened it, to great excitement ....... it was a kiddies one for about a 5 year old, all the tools, spanner, hammer, screw driver made of wood painted in primary colours!!!
There was a deathly silence. I didn't know what to say or do. She'd tried so hard. She was sooo embarrassed.

[B17NNS]

Wanted a Grifter. Made it very clear that I wanted a Grifter.

Got a Striker.

Not a happy bunny.

[Alexdj2011]

Ari said:

Ah, my thread has arrived.

When I was about 14 I was a mad keen cyclist but had a fairly crappy bike. My father had a friend (well, a bloke he knew) who would keep buying stuff and then not using it - only the things he'd buy had to be the best. He'd bought this amazing 10 speed super lightweight racing bike - it was AWESOME! Ridden it twice and then stuck it in his garage. Eventually he decided to sell it (for about half what he'd paid for it) so my dad, knowing a good deal when he saw one, bought it for me.

However, we were not allowed to simply have things bought for us - only birthday or Christmas presents - so since it wasn't my birthday for six months this bike sat in our garage next to my bike unused, waiting for the day. It was the longest six months of my life, every time I dragged my old bike out of the garage to ride to school or to go to a mates in the evening (incredibly, in the olden days we used bikes as a means of transport rather than a fitness hobby), there it was. Naturally I told all my friends at school about this amazing bike I was getting. I was beside myself with excitement about this bike.

During that six months, my father decided that he was 'displeased with me' for some reason - maybe I wasn't doing as well as he felt I should at school, or I'd 'answered back' once too often.

So when my birthday came around, the bike I'd been promised, and that sat in the garage, was declared to now be my father's bike.

He didn't ride a bike, he had a car. In fact he had a new car, and when he'd got his new car it came with a stereo radio/cassette so the stereo he'd taken out of his old car became my birthday present. I was treated to a pair of cheap car parcel shelf speakers and it was wired to a car battery in my bedroom so I had a radio/cassette player.

Better yet, I was allowed to go for a bike ride with my father, him on the new bike, me on my old one.

I think that was the only time he rode it, it spent the next five years gathering dust in the garage on its now flat tyres. I, meanwhile had got two paper rounds (one morning, one evening) so I could save up for a decent bike. When I had enough money, I asked my father if he would sell me the bike. He refused.

Several years later he gave the bike away to the son of a woman who worked for him.

[Alexdj2011]

Ari said:

Ah, my thread has arrived.

When I was about 14 I was a mad keen cyclist but had a fairly crappy bike. My father had a friend (well, a bloke he knew) who would keep buying stuff and then not using it - only the things he'd buy had to be the best. He'd bought this amazing 10 speed super lightweight racing bike - it was AWESOME! Ridden it twice and then stuck it in his garage. Eventually he decided to sell it (for about half what he'd paid for it) so my dad, knowing a good deal when he saw one, bought it for me.

However, we were not allowed to simply have things bought for us - only birthday or Christmas presents - so since it wasn't my birthday for six months this bike sat in our garage next to my bike unused, waiting for the day. It was the longest six months of my life, every time I dragged my old bike out of the garage to ride to school or to go to a mates in the evening (incredibly, in the olden days we used bikes as a means of transport rather than a fitness hobby), there it was. Naturally I told all my friends at school about this amazing bike I was getting. I was beside myself with excitement about this bike.

During that six months, my father decided that he was 'displeased with me' for some reason - maybe I wasn't doing as well as he felt I should at school, or I'd 'answered back' once too often.

So when my birthday came around, the bike I'd been promised, and that sat in the garage, was declared to now be my father's bike.

He didn't ride a bike, he had a car. In fact he had a new car, and when he'd got his new car it came with a stereo radio/cassette so the stereo he'd taken out of his old car became my birthday present. I was treated to a pair of cheap car parcel shelf speakers and it was wired to a car battery in my bedroom so I had a radio/cassette player.

Better yet, I was allowed to go for a bike ride with my father, him on the new bike, me on my old one.

I think that was the only time he rode it, it spent the next five years gathering dust in the garage on its now flat tyres. I, meanwhile had got two paper rounds (one morning, one evening) so I could save up for a decent bike. When I had enough money, I asked my father if he would sell me the bike. He refused.

Several years later he gave the bike away to the son of a woman who worked for him.

Absolutely classic mate - Did you ever forgive him??????????