It began with a ceramic sombrero chip-and-dip server from my best friend. As holiday gag gifts go, it was a simple start. But it kicked off an annual series of tacky presents that still live on today, 16 years after we enjoyed a last laugh together.
Ever more elaborately-themed gift sets became a humorous harbinger of every holiday gathering for more than a decade. Little did we know, they would ultimately serve a lesson in life about appreciating the gifts that you have. When you sort through the post-Christmas or Chanukah clutter, discard those peculiar presents at the peril of losing a cherished memory.
The back story: In my small circle of friends, I’m all about homemade salsa. My longtime friend Jim saw that salsa passion as a humorous route to merrily tease me and amuse our friends at an annual holiday party where friends have long become family.
So, after the sombrero drew hearty guffaws, my friend Jim busied himself finding monuments to chip-and-dip tastelessness. Like the beer and pretzels motif with a mug for salsa. Or a yellow cowboy boot, with a Texas Lone Star. Yet another salsa set featured a jalapeño pepper playing a guitar.
It fast became the ugly sweaters of the holiday season for our friends.
