On Dec. 25, Thomas Whitfield’s extended family gathered around to open gifts as a part of the Christmas day tradition.

The senior retail management major gave his 16-year-old cousin a long, small box with a not-so-traditional gift inside – a dildo.

‘My entire family burst out laughing,’ Whitfield said. ‘She’s 16. Gotta start exploring.’

Most Syracuse University students who celebrate Christmas received far less stimulating gifts – mostly the standard money and gift cards, CDs, DVDs and clothes. These gifts, along with some calculated pre-holiday shopping and name dropping, erased the need for a post-Christmas shopping headache, many students said. Freshman biology major Edie Dooley avoided the post-Christmas frenzy by picking out all of her gifts at the Carousel Center before the holiday.

But despite the best intentions of the gift-givers, Christmas presents are not always quite what the recipients need or want. Some people older than the age of five might like a blue and red knit hat, with large ear flaps, a tie under the chin, and a big pompom ball on top, but Mike Crosby was far from thrilled.

‘My Dad got it for me, and he was serious about it,’ the freshman secondary education major said. ‘My mom said, ‘Put it in your car, in case you get cold one night.”

When Mark Dupuis, a freshman architecture major, received a yo-yo-like toy filled with water, his friend was baffled and upset that it was ruined before he had a chance to enjoy it.

‘It was broken when I opened it,’ Dupuis said. ‘It started leaking all over the place.’

In addition to a mini-fridge, a leather jacket and a reversible belt – one side black, one side brown – Daniel Salloum, a sophomore Spanish major, was quite pleased to receive several packages of Irish Spring bar soap.

‘I go through soap a lot,’ he said with a shrug.

Meanwhile, Tony Dini headed off to British Columbia for a week of skiing as his friends relaxed with their socks, CDs and other exciting gifts.

‘It was a great experience,’ Dini said of his vacation gift.

Not all students received gifts, though. Instead of eight Hanukkah gifts, freshman Esther Siegel received a single a rain check.

‘My family forgot about me,’ Siegel said. ‘They told me I’d get them later.’

Published on January 17, 2005 at 12:00 pm