With the holiday season approaching, we’ve begun to question the morals of everyone around us. How dare anyone complain about the gifts they receive, whether it be for Hanukkah, Christmas or Kwanzaa?

Regardless of whether you want it or not, a gift symbolizes the love and care the barer of your present is offering you.

There is a reason behind every gift. Your loving grandmother wrapped a Toys “R”Us catalogue in red and green wrapping paper and gave it to you, her 17-year-old grandchild for Christmas two years ago.

“I wanted to purchase a real magazine for her, but even the cover of Seventeen seemed a bit too raunchy,” said your clueless grandmother. “With the catalogue, she can pick out what she wants and then go get it herself; there are even coupons!”

To this day, the lack of gratitude you have towards your grandmother for that catalogue is despicable. Why not find a little humor in Grandma’s definition of “raunchy,” call her cute and tell the story to your kids one day?

So what if your cousin gives you a stash of “Hello My Name Is” labels for the holidays? All she wants is to display her love and care for you and show her concern that your name never be unknown. Why don’t you send your cousin a kind thank-you note and cleverly sign it “Goodbye My Name Is” and make it a tradition?  You have no idea just how much love and thought went into her gift.

Okay, so we’ve made our point; be appreciative of the gifts you get. It may not be the nicest thing to categorize something as “the worst” gift, but we’re not saying that there’s no such thing as a funny gift, even if the gift-giver didn’t exactly intend for it.

Random gifts are definitely among the most common species of funny gifts given to loved ones. When you receive a birthday present wrapped in Christmas paper, this is usually a good sign that you’re in for a bit of a mind-puzzling gift. However, why be disappointed when you’re receiving something hilarious?

Although it may be difficult to do, it’s also important to appreciate those “a bit too big gifts” from family that hasn’t seen you in years. Okay, yes, it seems like common sense that even nowadays, a five-year-old doesn’t wear a size 14 shoe. But give your relatives a break; they want to make sure their gift fits you for years to come, when it will certainly still be in style.

Especially with the holidays just around the corner, there’s always the awkward religious situation. While giving gifts of significant religious meaning to all of your friends and teachers may not be the best idea, one would hope that the teacher who receives the chocolate Christmas  tree, but does not celebrate Christmas, enjoys the sweet gift and doesn’t take offense.

Other gifts can be just plain weird. In these cases, we must fault the gift maker, not the gift giver. A “Get Well Soon” balloon that is shaped like a pea with “Get Well Soon Peas” written across it does nothing but endorse speech problems. Maybe it’s time for this balloon company to send whoever came up with this balloon to a speech therapist and be done with him, peas?

So, no matter how fast the gifts come in, take time to appreciate each and every present regardless of how odd it may be. Even if you receive Clay Aiken’s Christmas album or an ornament for Hanukkah, at least someone loves you!