母亲节时不能送的礼物

　　母亲节哪些礼物不能送?

　　Mother's Day don'ts: dish gloves, Cougar¹ shirtsWhat were they thinking? Through plastic smiles or gritted² teeth, moms have to suck it up sometimes when Mother's Day means a gifted toilet, unsolicited wash tub or anti-aging cream.

　　It wouldn't be Mother's Day if some mom somewhere wasn't disappointed or downright piqued³ at gift time. Many aren't looking to break the bank, though the National Retail⁴ Federation⁵ expects Americans to spend $19 billion on the holiday this year. But unrequested sex toys? A chainsaw?

　　Dave Hochman learned the hard way last year when he presented his five-years-older wife with a "Cougar" T-shirt, a freebie from a client, no less.

　　"While she does have a great sense of humor, let's just say it wasn't the best idea I've ever had," said Hochman, in Monmouth, N.J.

　　Glenna Tooman's uh-oh moment was when her now-grown son, Bill, was 10 or 11. He disappeared on his bike in Boise, Idaho, only to return with a Mother's Day gift that kept on giving, a tiny bunny.

　　"I was very surprised. It's the last thing you'd expect for Mother's Day," she said. "He spent his allowance money on it. We named him Garfunkel. We had him for years."A rabbit might be better than what a good chunk⁶ of moms surveyed in March by the website Cafemom received last year — absolutely nothing. And, while vacuums have come a long way in design and efficiency, they still ranked among the worst Mother's Day gifts ever received.

　　So do unrequested sex toys, guys. Like the vibrator an exhausted⁷ Ashley Largent — home with a 7-month-old — got for her first Mother's Day in 2004, from her now ex-husband.

　　"That was the only present I ever received from him for Mother's Day," said Largent, in Gaffney, S.C. "After that I told him that I didn't want anything."

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