History: The device was invented in the late 1950s by Arthur Granjean, who first called it ‘L’Ecran Magique,’ or ‘The Magic Screen’. He tried selling it to toy manufacturers and eventually got the Ohio Art Company interested. Through television advertising in the 1960s, it became a popular toy.

Remember the commercial for the Etch-A-Sketch? Kids were drawing houses, trees, rockets, animals, etc. When I got the toy as a kid, all I could do was draw a house, and even that looked awkward. I never could make a damn circle without it looking like a raggedy oval, so I’d shake the toy and start over again.

After about an hour of shaking and starting over, I dropkicked my Etch-A Sketch across the room. I wanted my money back, because I couldn’t produce the masterpieces that the kids were creating with their Etch-A-Sketches in the commercial.

I mean you’d have to be either Rain Man or the Unibomber with a degree in Calculus and Quantum Physics to master this damn toy. And to add insult to injury, I have a damn degree in Art & Design, yet to this day, I still can’t get draw with this toy without my creations looking like I was suffering from Palsy on the right side of my body.

I’ve gotten some great Christmas presents over the years. Like the Sit ‘n Spin I got at age 5, the lime green Huffy 10-speed bike I received at age 12, the Nintendo NES system at age 15 (remember blowing on the game cartridge to clean it whenever the game wouldn’t boot up?), the Honda Elite scooter at age 17 and my first Fender Stratacoustic guitar at age 21. Ahhhhhhhhh, good times.

I’ve also received some bad gifts as well, like Fruit of the Loom every year since age 19 from one of my older cousins and her husband and a hideous sweater from someone I considered a good friend at the time. Trust me it was one ugly ass sweater. Needless to say, the sweater broke up the friendship.

But by far the worst Christmas gift I’ve ever received was in the 2nd grade when my homeroom class was forced to pull names for Christmas and a girl named Michelle pulled my name. This heffa had the nerve to buy me some loose leaf notebook paper as a present, when my mother bought a tea set for me to give to her in exchange.

Shiiiiiiiiiit, you can best believe I didn’t give her the tea set. Ain’t no way I was going to give up a tea set for some damn notebook paper! I brought my tea set back home. *shudders at the bad memories* My Mom confronted me about it when I walked through the door of our house with the tea set still in hand, but after hearing the whole story, she fully understood.

So tell me fellow bloggers, what was the worst gift you’ve ever received for Christmas?