It has happened to all of us. The gift you never saw coming and would never use. Mine was a Thighmaster (Yes. THAT Thighmaster!) A well intentioned aunt (to remain anonymous) wrapped and shipped what she thought was the perfect holiday gift for yours truly. I unwrapped the paper, opened the box and wow, if that was what she thought was the right gift for me, perhaps I should lay off the Christmas cookies! She meant well, but one look and I knew this gift was one that would never leave the box (along with the roasting pan my grandmother gave my cooking “challenged” wife the year before). So I did what a lot of us now do – I returned that unwanted item.

One of the best moments of every holiday season is seeing the excitement in the eyes of a loved one when they unwrap a gift you chose carefully, wrapped perfectly and kept secret for weeks or even months. But nothing can spoil that moment faster than having that gift delivered and waiting on your doorstep for snooping eyes to find. Worse yet, some holiday gifts orders coming from online retailers feature full-color images of the contents on the outside of the box. Talk about taking the surprise out of the gift if someone should see that by mistake!