EMMA PHILBROOK: STUDENT LIFE

I t's almost Christmas, and if any of you are anything like me you'll still be trying to get some last-minute shopping in - in order, of course, to ensure that all of your loved ones get the perfect gift.

When it doesn't quite work out like that, however, the results can be faintly amusing. So here's my gift to all of you: A list of the worst gift-giving predicaments I've ever been in. (But I put the entire list in the second person, just to lessen the personal shame I feel.)

At the end of a long day of shopping, you find the perfect present for your little brother. You immediately buy it and...