I was probably around 10-11 years old and I can remember that I had wanted this phone for a very long time. It was a small Samsung mobile that had a really bad camera, but I was so happy about it at the time.

Then there are those presents where I thought, “What happened there?”

Although, it’s not a specific gift that I was unhappy with, but rather a kind of gift that I hate to receive. For example, when family members, who I don’t see very often, buy me the kind of gifts for six year olds when I’m in fact 15. I don’t know about anybody else, but personally I’m not into manicure sets from Toys R Us when I’m 15 and in 9th grade.

Now let’s fast-forward to a couple of days ago when I sat and thought about these gifts, and came up with the idea of asking people about their best and worst Christmas presents. So I asked 10 people at CBS “What’s the best and worst Christmas present you’ve ever received?”

Ellen Teglbjærg, Student Hub

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

Oh, that’s a difficult question. Well, I’ve had a lot of Christmases, but I think it must have been when I was smaller and I got a bicycle for Christmas. I was really happy with that. Firstly, because it was a big present so it took up a lot of space around the Christmas tree, and secondly because it was a red bike! And I love red! And I think it also had something to do with the fact that this big bicycle was to replace my smaller bicycle, so it was about growing bigger too.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I think it must have been a shawl of some kind from my grandmother. It was quite similar to the one my sister got, and it had some colors that I didn’t think were particularly nice. And it wasn’t that great having to wear the same thing as my big sister.

Frederik Nagel Fryland, HA pro.

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

It was a Lego crane that I got when I was little. I just remember that I’d been looking forward to it all year after seeing it in the catalogue, and I thought, ‘I’ll never get that. It’s way too big’. I’d already made a load of excuses to myself that it was okay if I didn’t get it. But there it was under the tree. That was the best present I ever received.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

The worst? It’s got to be the soft parcels, right? And something hand knitted. I got the classic, the unbelievably ugly sweater that just wasn’t me. When I opened it, I remember asking the person who gave it to me, ‘Has this been knitted for me? Can you really see me in this?’ It was well made, but probably the worst gift. I returned the sweater and thought that it could be for my brother instead.

Pascale Florentsen, Programme Manager for IST & IB

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I know it sounds a bit cliché, but it was the first gift I got from my eldest daughter, Clara because it was homemade and I could see how happy it made her to give it to me. I felt very touched, and it was the best gift I ever received because I could see that it had been made with love.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

It’s probably a dictionary, a Danish dictionary that I got from my husband. After 5-6 years of marriage, who gives a Danish dictionary as a Christmas present? I actually think it was a bit insulting, especially as I’m not a native Dane. And because it was him who actually wanted the dictionary.

Daniel Aagaard Borgersen, HA pro.

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

The best Christmas present I ever received was the one I got just yesterday! Underfloor heating in my room, so now I no longer have to freeze.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

It was a box of matches from my parents when I was young. I was so sad that I started crying.

Julie Lystbæk-Hansen, HA Almen

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I think I’ve received a lot of good Christmas presents, but I’m often really pleased to be given gift experiences that weren’t on my wish list, e.g. concert tickets, I love getting those. Especially when it’s an experience that I get to share with the person who gave me the gift, I really appreciate that.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

It was a strange present I got when I was a child. It was like a bathroom set with a little soap dish and a toothbrush cup with a Dalmatian print on it. It was a very weird gift because I was a child living at home, so it wasn’t something that I needed. And the Dalmatian print! That wasn’t really me.

Johan Dilling Holst, ACA

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I got an annual pass to the zoo from my boyfriend and I was really happy about that. We go there a lot. Other than that, I’m always happy to receive soft parcels with clothes in them, because that’s something I never really buy for myself.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

Well, the worst would have to be when I was a child, about 7-8 years old, when my grandmother had bought all her Christmas gifts at the airport on her way home from Lanzarote. So we all got the same t-shirt with ‘Lanzarote’ on it. That same year was the only time I ever won the ‘almond present’. That was fine until I realized that it was my grandmother who had provided that present too. Beermats with pictures of Lanzarote on them. That sucked.

Camilla Crone, HA Almen

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

It was concert tickets for me and my siblings. That was fantastic.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I think it was a blouse I got once, because it wasn’t really me. But I felt so bad about it, that I didn’t dare to tell the person concerned.

Jonas Kristensen, ACA

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I think it would be my cafetière because I still use it, and I don’t think I can say that about any of the other Christmas presents I have received.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

There was a time when I got experience gift cards where you can shop in all sorts of stores and kiosks, and I’m really bad at using them, so they often expire before I get the chance to use them. So I think that’s a really bad gift.

Sinem Gürbüz, International Business and Politics

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

This might sound funny, but when I was little, about 10 years old, there was this toy that could speak, and I really wanted one. It was like a very big bird, and my mom always said ‘no’ when I asked her to get it for me. But then she gave it to me for Christmas, so I was very happy.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

I got soap, you know the bars that you wash your hands with. I just got soap and I was so sad; it was like three bars of soap. They didn’t even smell nice, they were like regular ones.

Jacob Kofoed Reuther, Programme Manager, ACA

What’s the best Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

Gifts from my children who are 7 and 12 years old. Gifts that they have made themselves and have used time and energy on. I really appreciate that.

What’s the worst Christmas gift you’ve ever received?

It was always the soft parcels, and they were always a disappointment. Always! Because I would have preferred the harder packages that contained Lego and that type of thing. So as a child, the soft packages were the worst gifts I could receive.