I'll try to remember some.
I asked for a Genesis back in 92 I think, I was a big Sega nerd back then and literally knew next to nothing of Nintendo outside of the Gameboy and I already knew the Game Gear was "superior". Parents bought us a SNES, I was kind of devastated, but playing Super Mario World as my first entry into a Mario game, it changed my feckin world. Never took a second look at a Sega system ever again. This was honestly a life changing event for me. Without this event happening, I probably would've been a Sega fanboy talking down on Mario until the Dreamcast failed.
X-mas 96. The only gift I got that year was Donkey Kong Country 3. We drove to Louisiana to do x-mas with family that year. My brother had to fly back home early to go back to work, so he asked if he could take DKC3 with to play it since I couldn't play it anyways (We didn't bring the SNES with on the trip). By the time we got back home, my brother had pawned the game at a pawn shop to buy alcohol. To this day I have never played DKC3. I only got a replacement copy a few years ago off craigslist.
X-mas 98. The only gift I received that year was to be Pokemon Red Version. When we opened gifts, whomever wrapped the gifts for every one messed up the gifts and wrapped Rugrats: Time Travelers for me and wrapped Pokemon Red for my 4 year old brother. It was not a pleasant x-mas fighting over gifts because they mis-wrapped the gifts. Try explaining to a 4 year old that the gift you received was not for you, but someone else. Now the child wants what they were told they can't have. Made me let him play the game, well those games only have 1 save file, so he erased my data, very quick lesson to learn. Luckily I had only played for a little bit and I picked bulbasaur or something. Second time I picked Charmander.
x-mas 2001. The only gift I was to receive was supposed to be a PS2. No games, no memory cards. Nothing, just the system. I got a lot of gag gifts. Soap, deodorant, toothbrush, ginger soda (Not ginger ale), etc. After everyone unwrapped gifts. Someone unwrapped a PS2, and feigned ignorance and stuff. Eventually they gave me the system. Because I was such a "good sport" about the whole ordeal, they gave me some extra gifts. WWF Smackdown Just Bring It and Grand Theft Auto 3. 100% completed Smackdown but I didn't have a memory card, so I went out and bought a memory card, but the power went out while we were gone, so I had to start over anyway. 100% beat it again and then I started playing GTA3.
X-mas 2006? I really don't remember what year it was, but I accidentally bought myself 2 copies of Super Mario Bros. Super Show Vol 2.