(spin off) What is the WORST Christmas gift you've ever received?

[VandVsmama]

This is a spin off to the Christmas gift-giving thread. What is the WORST Christmas/Hanukkah gift you've ever received?

I have a few!

• Every year, my dad gives my kids weird stuff. 2 years in a row, it was books that were totally not age appropriate: the complete works of Shakespeare (for a 9 yr old), the complete history of the Roman Empire, some Leo Tolstoy books, a 300 page novel for a 7 yr old. When my dad's birthday came up after that, what did he really want for his birthday? A book about the complete history of the Roman Empire.
• 1 year, my dad gave my kids these complicated 3D puzzles. They were the sort of puzzles that you'd find at game stores. My dad loves these sort of puzzles. My kids? Hated them. We didn't keep them.
• Last Christmas, my dad wrapped up a 5-lb bag of brown sugar because he noticed that she didn't have any. He thought it was a great idea.
• 2 Christmases ago, my dad gave my husband an old sweater of his. The sweater was like 20 years old, stretched out, stained, and hadn't been washed in a long time. It wasn't even good enough to donate to Goodwill.
• My dad also gifts us with random magazine subscriptions for things that we are not interested in: Entrepreneur magazine and others. We are not entrepreneurs, nor are we interested in going into business for ourselves. But he won't tell us that he's sent us a gift subscription to a magazine. These random magazines just start showing up and we didn't sign up for them ourselves.
• Another year, somebody gave us a gift card to Macy's, but we haven't shopped at Macy's in years because anything we'd buy there we can usually get for cheaper elsewhere.
• One year, a relative sent our kids' Christmas gifts in February.

 

[VandVsmama]

Another Christmas, my mom gave me a set of 12 glasses from Crate and Barrel. I love Crate and Barrel. Except these were glasses intended to hold about 4 oz of juice. When I opened them, she said, "I hate how all of your glasses are so big. You need some small orange juice glasses. These are for me to use when I come to visit."

She only came to visit once or twice a year. I exchanged them for something else. The next time she came to visit, she also wanted to visit her juice glasses and asked where they were. Huge cat butt face when I told her that I'd exchanged them for something else.

 

[Jennasis]

My ex-husband. When we were dating, it had been over a year together. I bought him a Sony Playstation, several games, clothes. He bought me a CD.

Coincidentally, when I graduated from college (we were engaged at this point) he gave me a pair of sunglasses...from the store he owned.

 

[BlueStarryHat]

A wooden moose that poops chocolate-covered raisins.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

A bunch of white shirts

 

[Pamlur]

Still a sore subject, even though it was so long ago that I'm ashamed I still remember. I had told my ex-husband (we were married at the time, there is a reason for most ex's) that I wanted an electric typewriter for Christmas; my parents lived hours away and it was in the days of writing letters. The box was wrapped and under the tree, and I was so excited! I opened it.... but it was a sewing machine. My grandmother said she had never seen somebody's face fall like mine did! It wasn't even a very updated sewing machine, I exchanged it for one with more bells and whistles. I loved to sew and made a lot of my daughter's clothes, but I had a perfectly good machine.

 

[Andrea1975]

My ex's grandmother gave him a used nose-hair trimmer once. She was incredibly wonderful in all other ways, but when it came to gifts, she often just bought stuff and then found people to give it to rather than buying stuff with someone in mind.

 

[CinderDuffy]

From a friend - the gift I had given her the year before, re-wrapped. It wasn’t a joke. She was apparently a re-gifter and had forgotten I gave her the original gift.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

This was many years ago.

A guy at my work gave me a dead duckling in a glass globe - something like the pic below, but skinnier duckling and bigger globe. Needless to say, when I moved to a different location I left that behind for the next occupant.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

This was many years ago.

A guy at my work gave me a dead duckling in a glass globe - something like the pic below, but skinnier duckling and bigger globe. Needless to say, when I moved to a different location I left that behind for the next occupant.


View attachment 286569

You may be the WINNER without even hearing more. Haha!

 

[Cannot_Wait_4Disney]

My worst gifts seemed to multiply faster than former agent Smith from the Matrix 2 and 3.

 

[kaytieeldr]

Secret Santa at work, maybe ten years ago, apparently ran downstairs to CVS and got me two packs of the wrong cigarettes.

 

[usnuzuloose]

One year I got 3 bags of hotel room coffee wrapped in tissue paper. From a person in the family who makes a 6 figure income.....

 

[JPPT1974]

Really can't think of anything as bad. As try to find the good in everything. Small or big in gifts.

 

[elphaba91]

• In 2005, when I was 14, my aunt wrote in our Christmas cards that she would buy my mum, sister and I tickets to The Lion King. My older cousin got into a massive fight with my mum and ended up whacking her across the face with a bag filled with her presents. I did not end up seeing The Lion King until it returned to Melbourne in 2015 and I bought the tickets myself!
• Said cousin is absolutely terrible at giving presents. She is a hippy and I am very conservative and quite girly and while I try to buy presents that will suit her tastes she does not reciprocate. She's given hats, cushions and, worst of all, her handmade jewellery. Two years ago she gave me the exact same hideous, heavy earrings that she'd given me the year prior, but then told me that she'd have no use for the beach towel I'd given her (she lives by the beach, surfs, her mother also owns a house by the beach with a pool and she has stolen countless beach towels from us over the years!).
• In year 7 I picked the girl who was bullying me as my Kris Kringle but still gave her something really nice. She also picked me and gave me a packet of stale corn chips... Looking back it was absolutely ridiculous but it was upsetting at the time!

 

[jevs]

This was many years ago.

A guy at my work gave me a dead duckling in a glass globe - something like the pic below, but skinnier duckling and bigger globe. Needless to say, when I moved to a different location I left that behind for the next occupant.


View attachment 286569

I’m almost speechless. How anyone would think a dead animal in a jar would be well received is beyond me, unless you were admiring his taxidermy skills....

 

[Bianca and Bernard]

The year I was 16, I received a flannel nightgown and a polyester muumuu from my dad and his girlfriend. That's it; no stocking, no other gifts.

May not seem so bad, except her two youngest kids (elementary school age) received so many gifts that there wasn't room in our tiny living room for anyone to stand. Her oldest (a year older) got everything you would need to furnish your first apartment, plus a stereo system and a Walkman and a full stocking (including gift cards, candy, makeup, cassette tapes). the younger kids didn't upset me so much, as they were kids. But the older...yeah, I was pissed.


I've been doing Reddit Secret Santa for a few years, and the worst gift I've received there was a Google 3d thing. Not a bad gift for some people, but 3D rides and movies make me ill, and there is no way I can use this thing. Same Santa exchange, DD2 got a movie kit from Amazon. Expired popcorn and expired movie tickets. Amazon wouldn't replace it.

 

[monorailsilver]

The in laws...

My BIL and his girlfriend once gave me jewelry, a necklace and the gem was a tanzanite. Um...you are not my husband nor do I love you two and I don’t like tanzanite, I like diamonds but I will also take emeralds, opals or rubies but not from someone who is not my husband. Needless to say it sat in a drawer for a few years then I threw it away~didn’t care if it had monetary value.

Same BIL/GF gave me multiple years in a row the same 2 candle scents:balsam fir and evergreen (or something like that). Now I love a real Christmas tree and the smell of it but I do not like those scents. So in return I would get them candles that I liked, you know like Macintosh, pumpkin spice, etc...

Other BIL gave us one of those coffee table/side couch table zen water gardens. This is gong back about 15-20 yrs ago. I never used to and threw it away. Same BIL gave me a bunch of Disney snow globes. At least he knew I liked Disney but I am really not a dust collector person and those gloves require dusting of the small parts.

MIL- a taco salad maker, well the thing you put a wrap in and bake it so it comes crunchy in the shape of a taco bowl. Books to write about the house upkeep..um, there are computer programs for that, and pillow last year with a poinsettia. Ow I like those plants but they are not pretty on a pillow! She also gave me a blanket last year of a color I would not choose and really geared towards a males style.

I know there are more but I can’t recall. Oh one year my DH bought me a bunch of ornaments. Let’s just say quite a few are ugly, not something we participate in-he bought a Santa on a baby grand piano, um, neither of us plays a piano or has any interest in listening to a concert with a piano player. Every year I tell him a few of the ornaments I hate and he knows it! I am mean but hello...bad gift and you are my husband I had to train you that first Christmas!

 

[luvsJack]

The worst was probably a purse one of my son's ex gf's gave me. I did need a purse but it was definitely her taste not mine and more for her age not mine. But I used it and after awhile I didn't mind what it looked like so much.

As long as some thought is put into the gift and/or I can see where they were going with it, I am good.

The duck in the globe? Yuck.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

You may be the WINNER without even hearing more. Haha!

I’m almost speechless. How anyone would think a dead animal in a jar would be well received is beyond me, unless you were admiring his taxidermy skills....

He was trying to impress me. I kid you not.