A couple of months ago I bought some Himalayan salt lamps for Christmas presents to give to some family members. They are supposed to absorb moisture and deodorize. In addition they are supposed to have some health benefits, relating to mood improvement. Knowing some family members would really enjoy having them, partly because they are pretty, and partly because of their holistic approach to better health, I went ahead and bought a couple of them to tuck away and give them as presents at a later time.

Much to my surprise, a couple of weeks later one of the intended recipients told me that she was thinking about buying one of those Himalayan salt lamps online. She showed me the picture of what she wanted, and it was exactly the same one that I had already bought for her! I told her that I had bought one for her for her Christmas present, and not to buy one herself. She asked me to give it to her now because she wanted to start “enjoying the benefits” immediately. Well, I agreed and I gave it to her. She was happy and took it home with her.

Less than a week later she told me that her daughter told her that she hated it, that it made her feel depressed instead of happy, and she gave the lamp back to me and asked me to give her something different for Christmas. I agreed to do that, and now I am using it in one of my bathrooms. I like how it deodorizes and helps to dehumidify the room. As for the original recipient, well, I ended up giving her a gift card to Wal-Mart. I know she buys things there, and I think that maybe I’ll just keep giving her gift cards in the future.