There was a Hewlett Packard printer commercial that I saw at Christmastime when I was three or four if I recall, where an old man tries to cheer a baby up by shoving dolls and pictures in his face. I don't remember it fully, but I really, really hated it.
Another strange thing happened to me around Christmastime when I was three of four. I remember walking downstairs in the middle of the night and seeing an advertisement on the TV, which my dad was watching. In the ad, It showed a snow globe full of figures of happy children standing next to a snowman holding an umbrella. As I recall, the kids then flipped over into the snow, letting out a loud "Oof!", and the snowman's umbrella popped open. It then panned to show a creepy old man staring into the snow globe and smiling.
Perhaps I may never see these ads again, but they still reside in my brain. If anyone has pictures or videos, please put them up.
Interesting traumas. It would probably help, however, if you told us what year you were 3-4.