The faster the days go, the closer Christmas gets. And while everyone is stoked about how dirty their Decembers will be, we are sort of anxious about our favorite part (and in our opinion, the most important part) —  getting Christmas gifts. I mean, who doesn’t love a good Christmas gift?

One of the best things about not giving up during a hectic year is the chance to put your feet up and get rewarded for your tolerance (man what a hard year it’s been), especially when they come from brands you’ve been faithful to. I mean, you didn’t patronise them for nothing, did you?

As exciting as gift giving is, some people give the weirdest gifts. By weird, we mean, gifts that aren’t quite thought out. We asked a few friends what some of the weirdest gifts they’ve received from brands during Christmas, and here’s what we got. 

1) Plastic hand fans:

This one we found quite hilarious. Because air conditioners and electric fans are no longer enough, one bright chap sitting behind a desk got a eureka moment and decided to bless his loyal customers with plastic hand fans. In this age of portable battery-powered fans who does that? Not only are hand fans archaic, you probably already have a lot of them at home.  What makes it worse is that the heat in Nigeria is crazy. 

2) Notepads:

Why do companies think giving out notebooks is the next best thing? If it isn’t fancy and customised with your name and photo on it, then no, thank you. We really do not fancy the idea of becoming unofficial brand ambassadors for said companies by brandishing their logo every time we want to jot down something.

3) T-shirts:

These always come in itchy fabric and unflattering sizes that leave one looking plain. And in a typical fashion, they lose colour after one wash. 

4) Airtime:

This would have been nice if every brand didn’t do it at one point. Give me a concert ticket and I would choose it over airtime, at any time.

5) Face towels: 

These usually come in the brightest colours with a scratchy quality that is water-resistant, doing the opposite of what it’s supposed to. For some reason, the companies that gift this item think nobody has face towels and they are the first to gift it. Sometimes, the face towel ends up being used as a dishrag, if used at all.

6) Football:

We thought we had heard it all until someone said they’d been given a football once and no, it was not signed by say Lionel Messi, neither was it previously owned by the G.O.A.T of the year. Why would anyone think that gifting a football was an awesome generic present? Beats me.

7) Pressing irons:

Who irons these days when there are dry cleaners that can take the stress and heat off your hands? Is there even light for you to use the iron? So many brands have given irons that they’re all gathering dust and rusting away somewhere in your wardrobe.

Wouldn’t it be better if these companies could just consider our feelings and needs by asking us what we wanted for Christmas instead? That would be a lot better, right?  That’s why TECNO has gone a step ahead to make your wish their command. 

Starting from December 4 to 20, 2019, TECNO will be fulfilling the Christmas wishes of Nigerians in its Christmas campaign themed “TECNO Gratitude Xmas”. Just upload a post on social media featuring your family-related Christmas wishes, tag TECNO’s social media pages and you just might get your wish fulfilled at the end of the week. Isn’t that wonderful? We cannot keep calm.

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