“He Became Single For Christmas”: 40 Of The Worst Xmas Gifts These People Have Ever Received
Interview With Author
Ho, ho, ho, pandas, what did Santa leave for you under the Christmas tree this year? Was it the present that you wanted? Or maybe it was Krampus who visited you and left you with a big pile of disappointment?
In that case, don't be too sad knowing you're in good company. These people from the r/AskReddit community have found some duds under the Christmas Tree too. The user SwirlyStarrs asked netizens to share what's the worst gift they received and the answers ranged from cringy to downright offensive. Perhaps Krampus possesses some people to gift empty boxes and library books that are soon to be due?
We were lucky enough to be able to chat with the person who posted this question on r/AskReddit. SwirlyStarrs agreed to have a brief chat with Bored Panda and tell us more about her reasons for posting this question.
This post may include affiliate links.
My ex got me, a 6’3” guy, a women’s medium white hoodie. I was so mad about it. She has a habit of getting others gifts that are really for her. I wore the s**t out of that hoodie. Time to mow the grass, time for the white hoodie. Need to fix the car, yep time for the white hoodie. She was so mad. Glad she’s an ex.
We were pretty poor growing up and my dad got injured on the job. It was the first Xmas since the injury settlement and my parents were having a new two story house built with a chunk of the money. I was twelve at the time and all I wanted and asked for was a guitar. I knew guitars were exspensive so I asked it to be my only gift. Christmas morning my little brother and sister start opening gifts, nice toys, games ect. My first gift was a single wash cloth. Second gift was a single towel. Next was a shower curtin... My mom had used Christmas to redecorate the bathroom for the new home and wrapped each item and just put my name on it. After the third wash cloth I stopped opening gifts and asked if they got me a guitar. They said "no because you'll just get bored of it". I asked if I could exchange the bathroom stuff to buy myself some games of something. I was called ungrateful and hard to shop for. I ended up using my college money to buy a guitar a few months later and my parents refuse to buy me any more gifts for birthdays or xmas because of the inccident so they just give me a card or cash. This was 30 years ago and they still refuse to buy me gifts. I now teach guitar to kids for free and have made a lot of friends playing in bands.
One particularly tough year, many years ago, I was battling cancer, (all good now) hubby worked part time to look after me and the kids so money was super tight.
Hubby and I decided not to do gifts for each other, every thing we saved for Christmas went to the kids and to the meal, there wasn’t much of ‘everything’ to be honest, but we made it work. Kids were young, young kids don’t need much to feel special, so we had that in our favour.
A few weeks before Christmas, We went to a charity dinner for people doing it tough and were all given Christmas gifts. Most people unwrapped it then and there, but we took the gifts home to put under the tree as there wasn’t much of anything under our tree. We waited for Christmas Day, saying it’ll be extra special to wait. It made it look at lot more festive to have more gifts under the tree.
I was delighted to have something wrapped under the tree for us parents, I felt sad that I couldn’t gift hubby anything so this was the next best thing given the circumstances. We didn’t expect much but the mystery and excitement of what they could be added a little Christmas magic for us.
The gift for hubby and I from the charity was our only gifts that year. The day finally came, it was time to unwrap!!!! Hubby got a men’s toiletry set. I got a little pamper set …. Wellllll the packaging said it was filled with bath salts and lotions - but it was empty, yup an empty box.
Someone had either donated it to charity empty, or a volunteer took the products out. Either way, the charity didn’t check to see if the stuff they wrapped actually were ok.
I was so absolutely devastated but faked delight for the kids about the pretty box it came in. I didn’t expect much, but that was nasty! What a way to kick a family when they’re down!!!
The Reddit user SwirlyStarrs tells Bored Panda why she asked other people about their worst Christmas presents. "To be honest, I was inspired by having trouble getting a gift for my grandma. She's so difficult," the Redditor says.
The amount of answers involving horses surprised the author of the post. She even left a comment under one of the posts: "A surprising amount of these stories include horses/ponies." SwirlyStarrs tells Bored Panda that she was somewhat shocked by how many answers there were about horses.
I was the adopted kid so I always lowkey got the bad end of the stick but Christmas 9 years ago was the worst.
My grandparents were loaded, my parents, not so much. My parents told me they couldn’t afford to keep me on a phone plan and come to find out it was because they were on my grandparents phone plan. I really wanted an iPhone 6 so I would finally have a reliable phone when I was working, driving ect, and I was willing to pay my part of the monthly bill, I just needed someone to buy it for me because at 16 I couldn’t get it on my own.
So Christmas comes around and I got a small box wrapped up and it was an iPhone6 box and I was so excited I started screaming and hugging my grandparents, so I ripped it open and inside was a note that said “never judge a book by it’s cover”. I didn’t cry that day but I cried for weeks following. My grandpa recorded it and posted it on Facebook and still, 9 years later, shares it every Christmas for people to laugh at. I don’t remember anything else I got for that Christmas but I do remember my cousins getting a lot of really great stuff from their list that year. It still upsets me, but that’s ok.
Someone in the extended family repeatedly gave me alcohol and shot glasses when it was well known I’d quit drinking. They did it maliciously thinking I’d fall off the wagon. What they didn’t understand was that I quit drinking because it was giving me anaphylaxis. If I started drinking again, it’s not like I’d relapse; I’d die. That s**t gets worse each time.
First Christmas with my dad, his new wife, and her kids. They opened designer handbags, DVD box sets (this was almost 20 years ago), electronics, etc.
I got: a bottle of Herbal Essences shampoo. No matching conditioner.
My sister got: A Hanes 5 pack of granny panties.
My stepmother is…not a nice lady.
Some people feel a lot of pressure during the Christmas season because they feel they have to get the right gift for everyone. The Redditor says that ideally, giving gifts shouldn't be this way.
"I don’t think gifting in and of itself should be a lot of pressure, but it just is sometimes," she admits. "I think it's worth it if the person likes the gift that you spent so much time on." SwirlyStarrs also says she believes she's a good gift-giver. "I love getting people gifts, and I feel like I’m decent at it."
A gift certificate from the spa hotel he was at on Christmas Eve with another woman. I found out because he took me there for breakfast Christmas morning and surprised me saying he had rented us a room so we could enjoy the hot mineral water . When we got to the room it wasn't made up yet so I went to the front desk to let them know. That was when I was informed that they didn't service rooms that were carried over for another day. Yeah, the same room and the same bed he had f****d that wh*re in just hours before. Sick a*****e.
My husband is a guitar player. He gives me music equipment that I don't know the purpose of. Of course it's for him. So since I'm an avid gardener I give him gardening tools for Christmas.
Nothing. One year, we were pretty poor due to my mother's insane spending habits. But she managed to scrounge up enough cash to get my little sisters and little brother a few things. I however, had nothing under the tree. And nothing in the stocking. My mom just acted like it wasn't a big deal, and I should be happy I still had a roof over my head. I was 12. At the family dinner later my mother had a new one ripped in to her by my grandmother when I was asked what I got. So maybe I did get a little something...
Let's face it, when it comes to Christmas presents, we've all received a stinker or two. I, personally, never know how to react without offending the giver. True, in some cases the gift might be so offensive and cruel that you might want the culprit to get some of their own medicine. But what about cases when the person didn't mean to offend and just missed the mark?
My ex husband got me Pyrex portable dishes. Seemed fine. Until the day after Christmas when I went to the bank and discovered those were the free gift when you opened a checking account. Turns out he opened a secret account, too! Wasn’t that sly…
My ex husband was 15 and went for his first Christmas with his s****y father, new stepmother, and her two sons. His dad says, (speaking to the three boys), “Come out to the garage for your big Christmas present!” And there were TWO off-road motorcycles. One for each of HER boys but nothing for him. This pattern repeated throughout the years. I hated his father from day one and if he’s still alive I hope he’s dying slowly of painful cancer.
My husband is an incredible human and talented at many things - but he gave me a truly hilarious gift once! For our very first Christmas together, 2004, we were young and broke (22, in grad school). He was so excited to give me my gift and he presented it proudly in front of my family. He got me a mini sampler of perfumes, a book, and a box of high-end chocolates. These are all great gifts on their own, but ironically, 1.) I’m allergic to most perfumes/colognes, 2.) he had already given me the exact same book a few months earlier for my birthday, and 3.) I’m lactose intolerant.
I was honestly touched by the thought, but the irony was too much - my sister burst out laughing. It’s still a joke in our family, but we were all so charmed by the fact that he’d gone to multiple stores and was so proud. Poor, sweet guy. We’re happily married now…but he definitely knows to avoid chocolate and perfume!
These were good presents from a thoughtful person, only totally unsuitable for you. I'm sure he was mortified, poor thing!
Diane Gottsman, an etiquette expert and founder of the Protocol School of Texas told CNBC that adults should accept unwanted gifts with grace and class. She claims that we're not thanking the person for the item itself. "You’re thanking them for the effort. The gift is secondary. It's the thought and the effort and the love that counts."
I had an ex take me to the mall and dismally demand I “pick something because he didn’t feel like trying to guess what I’d like. We’d been together for seven years. I didn’t pick anything, and a few days later he became single for Christmas.
A one person tent and lantern from my MIL, we were struggling to pay the bills back then and she said, in front of of everyone, "this is in case you guys get evicted". We had 3 kids at the time.
I dated a guy in college for almost six months who was really into civil war history. I bought an old Confederate dollar bill on eBay, went to Michael’s for some cheap fabric backing and a frame, framed it myself. Wrapped it and tied a ribbon around to make a bow.
He gave me a seashell from his family beach trip over the summer. From before we had met, so it wasn’t like “oh, I found this seashell and thought of you” - it was just something he already had knocking about in the back of his closet. Dude was from a wealthy family and he threw money around like it was nothing, but he couldn’t even be bothered to put the seashell in a gift bag.
I broke up with him the next day.
How to react face-to-face depends on your relationship with the giver. If it's not a family member, a simple "thank you" is enough, even if you don't plan on using the gift. If it's someone close to you, you might want to let them know politely.
If it's an item of clothing that doesn't fit, ask them if you can switch it for the right size. Gottsman says you wouldn't be out of line when asking someone you're relatively familiar with.
A taxidermy cat. I was like 9.
I had a grandma who was notorious for giving the worst possible gifts you can think of. So on Christmas Day I go to open the one from her and it’s literally a taxidermy cat. Now, me as a child, I specifically was horrified by taxidermy, I love animals and didn’t understand the whole reasoning behind it. Long story short I opened it up and immediately burst into tears, I was completely traumatized and my parents were so confused on why she would give me that.
Bonus points if it was one of those horrible taxidermies that look like something out of the Pet Sematary
When I was about 10, all I wanted was a VCR. Asked for it all year. My hateful grandmother who raised me put a bedspread in a VCR box. I’m 47 now but I’ll never forget it
What even is the POINT of that? What kind of miserable, sociopathic freak do you have to be to actively enjoy causing happiness and then extinguishing it moments later?
Gottsman also told CNBC that you should write a thank-you note to the person who gave you the gift. Doesn't matter if you think it's useless or bad – you should still thank them for thinking of you and putting in the effort.
After that, etiquette dictates that the item is yours to do with as you please. You can either donate it or re-gift it. Be careful not to hurt anyone's feelings with re-gifting, though. Gottsman has a saying for these instances: "I always say, regift in another city."
Bottle of wine from a friend who knows 100% I don't drink alcohol, especially wine.
On Reddit Secret Santa I spent time and quite a bit of money selecting and sending something cool for my secret Santa.
The person who got me sent a dirty sticker and a ripped piece of paper saying “sorry I forgot to get something and I don’t have money anyway so here’s a sticker don’t be mad”.
Like cool dude - you could’ve backed out and I would’ve been assigned to someone else. I just thought it was kinda inconsiderate and mean.
That IS mean. There are people who offer to step up if someone has to drop out. Although, my first Christmas exchange on Reddit, my original "santa" flaked and so did the replacement santa. On the other hand, I only did the exchanges because it's fun to shop for strangers so I wasn't too bothered.
I was in debate my freshman year, it was a blended grade class. The teacher arranged an optional secret santa for the class. One of the seniors got my name.
Exchange day comes around and I get a $20 gift card to Starbucks. Cool, he didn't know me that well so a gift card was fine.
At the time I'd never had Starbucks so I was happy to try it. Went to get something and found out there was $2.73 left on the card... he literally just gave me his used gift card. D**k.
I got perfume samples, the kind you find embedded in the pages of magazines, and two 99c cans of shaving cream. My stepmonster was irritated I wasn't more appreciative of her "practical" gifts.
My stepsister got a horse.
A set of used, mismatched, still dirty kitchen knives in the box for a nice set of knives from my MIL.
What do you even say to that?
A Christmas card that said "roses are red, violets are blue, youre a jew, so no Christmas for you." Grade 4 truly was a special time.
A kitten. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love my cat and I'm so happy I have her. But when my mom got her for me it was a poorly thought-out surprise. It was even a surprise to my grandparents, who I live with, and had no idea they'd be getting a cat in their house. She also didn't provide a litter tray or litter, or cat food. So my Christmas became a fetch quest of trying to get together everything the kitten needed, with all the shops closed.
A blouse my MIL pulled out of her closet. I made her squirm by asking for the receipt so I could exchange it for a different size. She said she must’ve misplaced it. B***h.
Earrings from my boyfriend... when I didn't have pierced ears. And when I saw the box, I thought it was a ring and he was proposing. AND when I reminded him I didn't have pierced ears, he returned them and kept the money.
To be fair, people can be dumb like that. My fiance once guessed my eye color wrong whilst looking at my face, it was a pretty funny brain fart moment.
An empty box, apparently the look on my face as a kid was the present my family needed.
Got a crucifix one year from my grandmother. The same year I told my family I was atheist.
Not me, but my cousins (sisters, aged about 5 and 8) got a small bottle of Johnson's Baby Powder. As a JOINT gift from their great-aunt. SMH. It just smacks of "She's old, Rusty, she and Uncle Louis don't have a lot of money so she takes things from around the house and wraps them up."
A huge bag of disposable pink razors paired with thick off brand pads to open in front of my entire extended family.
A gift card with nothing on it.
Apparently there a huge problem with people stealing gift cards, redirecting the amount on them, and then replacing them on the rack at the store. But it somehow only works once somebody else buys and activates the card. I don’t entirely understand it, but the thread over on reddit is full of other instances.
If this happens to anyone and they believe the person giving the gift is usually a considerate, normal, person than please let the gift giver know. There have been a lot of stories on the news about gift cards being read by skimming machines then put back in the rack. I would want to know if I mistakenly gave any empty card to someone. And if the gift giver is a jerk this still gives the recipient a chance to shame them, "Oh, I've seen those news stories and I thought you would want to know the card you gave me was empty".
Also read the damn instructions! I worked for the service line of an online warehouse. The amount of people calling and complaining that their gift cards didn't work were astonishing and in many cases, you have to activate it before it works. Especially when bought online, the gift code often has to be redeemed for the actual card so the cards can't be skimmed or stolen. Also if you buy a reloadable card it can take several days till the banks process the transfer. So many cards have the explicit instructions that you have to wait a certain time until they're active. At the online shop I was working for the process was 48 hours if paid with bank transfer and 24 hours for credit card.
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Happened to my son - when he was about 10, he got a GC to GameStop as a birthday gift. I swear the parents did it on purpose bc they were jerks. Anyway, he picked out the items at GameStop and when we realized there was nothing on the card, we covered it without our son knowing and had our son send a thank you note anyway.
At least you confused them with the thank you note. :D
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Once saw a twitter post where a guy received a Texas Roadhouse $25 gift card from an enemy of his, he spent $25 at the restaurant and there was only $1 on it.
Gave a gift card with some money on it to the grandson of my late husband. The DIL called a couple days later wanting us to reload it since she used it to buy herself a new pair of shoes to wear to a party. We asked why did she need to use the grandson's gift since we sent her a nice gift card with as much on it, only to find out that she used that up already and it would be nice if we put more money on that one too. We hung up and got the grandson an online gift card and only sent it to him.
A German, meat based cookbook from my now ex mother in law. She knew I had become vegetarian and disapproved. The thing was, I dropped it at Goodwill the following week and a couple weeks after that she asked if she could borrow it.
A ziploc bag of muddy buddies, with fruit flies all over them.
A bag of tortilla chips, they were stale.
Another ziploc bag filled with nail polishes, all old and separating.
Those were all the same person.
A GF at the time was yelling at me about giving her a stupid and thoughtless gift, before tossing their gift at me and stomping away. They gave me a book. A beaten-up, used book. I know it was used because I was the original owner of the book, and had lent it to her months before.
That would be the pair of Christmas socks where they claimed "one sock was for Christmas, and one for my birthday" while laughing hysterically. My birthday is the 24th. A runner up to worst gift was a rubber band ball (i was 16) and it wasn't a gag gift.. tied in place with the book I gave my mom - 2 years later, regifted to me, as she said she didn't want it, and if I didn't either to just throw it away. It was a memory book. I canceled my birthday and only started recently doing holidays again for my kid.
I have a friend whose birthday was on Christmas. People would give her gifts and say ‘this is for Christmas and your birthday’ since she was a kid. Never had the luxury of two gifts a year. I always gave her more stuff.
Not me, but my MIL gifted someone a library book that had to be returned in a week.
Okay SO. I used to work in a library, and someone came to the door JUST as we closed on Christmas Eve and she was frantic, so I opened the door and she said she just had to pick up her holds (reservations). I said "Well we're technically closed, but if you're quick..." so she grabbed her holds, and said "Thanks so much, now I just have to get these wrapped for tomorrow" and yes indeed gentlefolk, she was going to give them as gifts and was NOT happy when I pointed out they were due back in three weeks.
My dad got me a snow shovel and even wrapped it and when I opened it up, he told me to go use it on the driveway.
A half used bottle of bubble bath. Used I know because it had ran down the sides of the bottle and dried.
A toothbrush. But here’s the rest of it- when we were kids (me, my 2 younger brothers) always got toothbrushes for a stocking stuffer. One year we opened ours and ran into the bathroom to change our old ones out. Cue my youngest brother & me reaching for the same toothbrush. We looked at each other with HORROR. We’d been unknowingly using the same toothbrush as the other for months.
My entire life my parents have teased me for enjoying soggy cereal (I don't like things that are too crunchy and I prefer a texture closer to oatmeal). I don't mind the teasing; I think it's funny too and have made a lot of jokes about it myself. I just like my cereal soggy, end of story. Christmas morning, my brother opens up the novelty bowl which keeps the cereal and milk separate. I thought it was a neat invention, but I remarked jokingly that I would never use something like that, because as everybody knows I want my cereal to be soggy. My parents gave me a withering look like I'd deeply offended them, and my dad told me something along the lines of "Don't be rude". Little did I know they'd bought one for me as well, and I was VERY confused when I opened it. It was not a gag gift, and my parents were genuinely annoyed that I didn't like it but I couldn't pretend otherwise because I'd already blown my cover by commenting on my brother's bowl. The gift itself wasn't insulting or stupid, but the way my family suddenly collectively forgot something that they'd teased me about for 20 years was weirdly hurtful. I still don't get how that happened.
I was five. My grandmother got me a solar powered/hand crank radio. I didn't have any interest in the radio. I had no interest in letting it charge in the sun. I had no interest in cranking it.
Worst part is my cousin and I are two months apart in age. We always go the same gifts from our grandma and they were always so strange. Now we send each other strange Christmas gifts each year in her honor.
I was a third grade teacher. One of the student’s moms had her own business selling sex toys at home parties. She gave me a vibrator, which I opened in front of the whole class, because the girl insisted I open her present. Mom wrote me a note that said it would keep me warm on cold winter nights.
We went over to my grandma's to wrap presents. So we were wrapping gifts for our cousins and vice versa (she was old and bedridden. We were wrapping such cool things, poly pockets, Barbies, easy bake ovens! I was so excited to go over for Christmas to see what she got us. I opened a container of hand sanitizer… like a gallon sized container of hand sanitizer. And that was my only gift… I was 9.
My ex gave me a blank dollar store photo album with some of the pages labeled and told me my job was to fill the album with photos of us. So basically he gave me a homework assignment for Christmas.
My dad got me a gun when i was really young. I just wanted a f****n barbie or something.
I had asked my boyfriend of four years for a nice (not cheap, but certainly not expensive) digital camera (this was Christmas ‘07). I researched the kind I wanted, priced it out, told him all about it.
On Christmas day, he hands me my gift and I excitedly open it to find….. a camcorder. He says, “so we can record concerts and stuff!” He spent more money on a camcorder that would never make it into a concert without getting taken by security, than the camera I had been talking to him about for a few months.
We ended up breaking up 8 days later… not due to the camera/camcorder, but I realized he didn’t listen to me or take my opinion into account for the four years we had been together. I guess ultimately it was a great gift because it opened my eyes to a lot of s****y things he was doing.
Peanut butter filled pretzels.
I’m deathly allergic to peanuts.
I was told going into Christmas that we were broke and I shouldn’t expect much if anything. Which I was fine with tbh. We chose to celebrate at the grandparents so no gift openings at home apart from some chocolate in my stocking from dad.
At the grandparents I open my gift first. New set of pajamas. I was 13 so they were nice but not something I was really excited about.
Everyone else opens their modest gifts. Parents grandparents cousins aunts and uncles all had a few gifts each. Usually my grandparents hand out checks to everyone $100-200 each grand kid but this year they said there was no checks. Instead there was a big surprise.
My mom hands my sister a card the final gift.
Inside was a photo of my sisters new $6,000 Horse, which was big so we had to get a new $8,000 horse trailer and because the horse and trailer were so big a new $24,000 truck was needed.
Ok I was 6 at the time. So it was Christmas and I did the usual, screaming "ITS CHRISTMAS WAKE UP EVERYONE!" then I went downstairs to check under the tree to see if Santa left me any presents. Underneath, there was a present wrapped in baby blue. It felt soft like cloth. I didn't think much of it and opened the box. Inside there was a baby sized baby blue Onesie that said "Baby boy" then there was a note for me. It said "Congratulations (My name) you are going to be a big sister!" That present still is a pain in my a*s to this day (Don't worry I also got a kitchen set)
An omelette pan to “make my husband an omelette on Sunday mornings” from my mother-in-law for my first Xmas in their family. She died the year after and we divorced after 13 yrs because he cheated. Good riddance to all of those nut bars.
I'd have told her that she can use it to teach her useless son how to use it.
my grandma knew i loved cartoons and animation and my uncle, who loved family guy, knew i HATED family guy with a passion. so he told grandma since i was a adult and loved animation that she should get me some family guy PJs. I could not contain the loathing i felt opening them and seeing peter gryphon looking at me and my grandma waiting for me to cheer like i have been all night. Turns out my uncle did that to get 2 presents from grandma that year cause he knew i would hate it and not want them so he took them.
When I say I like adult animation, I mean stuff like Blue Eye Samurai, Pantheon or Arcane - definitely NOT the abomination that's Family Guy.
I once got a notepad from my mum that she'd clearly nabbed from her cleaning job in an office. That was the only gift.
She would normally spend thousands on my younger brother's (different Dad's). They'd have a pile of gifts waist high, spanning the entire living room.
I got a notepad.
I'd get her a bag of depends since she full of sh@@#t, nicely gift wrapped. With a big red bow on top for good measure.
From my (now ex) husband. A Christmas card addressed to him with his name crossed out and mine wrote in and a massage envy gift card with scuff marks so it looked old and had $5 on it.
K-cups, like the cheap gift set from Gordmans around the holidays….followed up by an acknowledgement that I don’t own a keurig.
My biological mother showed up christmas eve after no contact for two years and gave me pet mice. I already had a pet cat there were no supplies.
I think she just did that to be petty and inconvenience the family.
Age 7 crocheted coat hangers. my step grandma got all the grandkids normal gifts. Mine was a dozen metal coat hangers crocheted over. I still have one 30+ years later out of sheer spite. Now that’s a long term resentment.
Ooh, I’ve gotten those! My great-grandmother had done a shed-load before she died and my (unmedicated) bipolar mother has regifted them to me multiple times. Once while packaging them with a dress she’s borrowed, and the metal hangar poked several holes in the dress & ruined it. Loved great-grandma, hate those hangers. I leave some at my jobs before I quit, just to spread confusion. :)
I got braces when I was 12 and my mom told me that was my xmas present that year. I think I got them early in the year too.. 😬
AAA card. I’m epileptic and can’t drive.
What the actual hell??? AAA is something that people buy for themselves, not for others. What if the recipient already has AAA?
An Atari 2600.
My dad had basically no involvement in my life but thought that getting a nice gift would make up for it. He got me an Atari 2600 for my birthday in July and had given it so little thought that he got me another one for Christmas because he forgot that he had already bought one for me.
I know people who obviously had it worse but this was the moment I realized at 8 years old that my dad didn’t give a s**t about me.
Same situation here. My father bought me a laptop when I was like 12, but that was the only thing he has ever done for me (or my mom). We see each other like 1-2x per year and I prefer it that way since we are polar opposites and would probably hate each other if we shared a home.
We did a “white elephant” gift exchange thing growing up, my family would do it every year instead of having to buy a ton of gifts for the family. So all the adults would buy one gift, and extras so the kids could each get one gift each as well.. I was 13/14 at the time, and I got Dr Pepper chapstick, and a big toy wooden pencil. It’s funny now, but back then seeing my Brothers and Sister get money, it was devastating.
That's the thing about kris kringle/white elephant, not everyone places the same amount of value on things. Even with a spend limit you run the risk of getting something that is meaningless to you, while someone else gets something amazing.
Me- stepladder. Brother at 5 years old. He loved sweaters. Opened a box from aunt who was a great knitter. Very excited until he lifted sweater, found out it was a vest. “Where are my sleeves?” Poor kid cried hysterically.
A receipt for my favourite perfume I my husbands pocket just before Christmas.. Unfortunately I didn’t get the perfume. Long long long story. Long long long marriage. Short story.
A pack of all yellow highlighters which I was gifted because I “like art”.
I was a little kid and my great aunt was well meaning, but losing her marbles.
A purple, polyester pantsuit when I was 15. It looked like it was for a 50 year old woman. No offense to 50 year old women. This was in the mid-seventies.
During my high school years... when I was in the formative moments of forging a political viewpoint... A TON of my relatives gave me a bunch of books written by a certain biased political commentator that definitely leans strongly towards one side of the political spectrum over the other. Not gonna name names, but... yeah, it was very obvious that they were just trying to influence my political ideology to match with theirs.
And then as an adult... I went to the complete opposite end of the political spectrum.
I don't drink coffee. My (now ex) partner didn't drink coffee either. My (now ex) mother in law knew this. She knew this because every time she came over, she would complain that we didn’t offer her any coffee, and we would explain that since neither of us drink coffee, we didn't have coffee.
Well, one Christmas she gave me ...
... a coffee maker.
Isn't it generally considered polite to have a small amount of coffee on hand for guests, especially when they are regular visitors and ask for it each time? Or tea/hot chocolate even if you don't drink them?
A broken ornament. No, I’m not even kidding. My grandpa’s wife (not my grandma) gave both me and my adult cousin blown glass ornaments, only mine was broken inside the bag. Now I wouldn’t’ve cared had my cousin gotten one and not me, we were adults so it didn’t matter. I opened it and she was like “I know it’s broken but you can fix it right?” It’s a blown glass ornament, no, I can’t fix it, and even if I wanted to I’d cut myself trying to. She knew it was broken and still gave it to me. Needless to say she’s not the brightest.
This is actually a fantastic gift, but I think with context you'll understand why it sucked.
A skateboard.
When I was about 12 years old, my dad (whom I saw a few times a year) bought me a skateboard after I had expressed mild interest. I think I had admired a certain skateboarder and said it looked fun. I don't remember ever saying I wanted to pursue it myself or asking for one. I am notorious in my family for having poor balance and coordination, and I have virtually no depth perception.
He knew how to skateboard, but he lived almost 9 hours away and I saw him a few times a year because he worked and had 5 kids with his new wife where they lived, so he couldn't really give me lessons. No one else in my family could skate, we didn't live anywhere near a skatepark, and there was no one older than me in our neighborhood who could mentor me. I lived with my grandparents, one of whom worked full-time out of town and the other thought skateboarding was a horrible idea.
So I just had this board that I couldn't really do anything with. I tried to teach myself, but with poor balance, coordination, and depth perception already, I never even managed to stay on the board without holding onto something. It was such an embarrassing gift because it was a reminder of how my dad wasn't in my life, knew little to nothing about my interests, and how crappy my brain and body worked together (I was undiagnosed autistic).
editing to add: It really sucked even more when he later taught my stepbrother and little brothers (who lived with him) to skateboard and put my little sister in ballet classes like I always wanted but was "too uncoordinated" for.
A couple years ago my older sister got me some Summer's Eve feminine spray. I mentioned I had a yeast infection the week before. Um thanks said no one ever.
I got a shirt from one of my aunt's. It was a short sleeve flannel shirt with a sweatshirt hood on it. She thought it was perfect for me because she thought that I wore ugly clothes.
When my cousin was 15, everyone asked her what she wanted for Christmas. She said clothes. This made the adults uncomfortable, because they didn't want to get her something she wouldn't like. She told them to buy the ugliest thing they could find, and she'd love it. Smart kid. Most of them did exactly that, and she loved her new clothes.
My cousin once gave me some aftershave. I have a full beard. And he realized this as I was opening the gift, ha ha.
We had a good laugh.
5th grade. 1981. We had a grab bag at school. You were supposed to spend .75 to $1. Teacher gave us time to play with our gifts for a while after we opened them. The other kids were playing with Matchbox cars, Chinese jump ropes and coloring books.
I got a 50-cent McDonald’s coupon and a quarter.
I had to look up what a Chinese jump rope is. Even by the 90s we just called them elastics, or maybe it was because it was a different country, but I've never heard them called that before.
From my mom. I got a bottle of Old Navy perfume. My sisters and my brothers girlfriend were given necklaces. Real gold necklaces. My gift still had the $10 price tag.
I purchased my SIL some really dope harry potter themed office accesories for her first new job out of college. Shes's a diehard HP fan and they were super classy, not chidlish at all. Spent almost $100 on her Christmas present and several hours deciding.
She got me one of those cheap $9 holiday bath gift sets from walmarts gift section. I have severe psoriasis and these kinda things give me a flare up because they are heavily scented with cheap ingredients. I thanked her and when I got home threw it in the trash. I now no longer bother buying presents for anyone except my absolute closest friends and my own immediate family.
I honestly would have preferred to have gotten nothing under the premise of she didn't have money then a very no-thought gift that showed how little f***s she gave about me!
This is why I hate xmas, "I sent you a card but you didn't send me one", "I spend twice as much as you did on a gift" etc. If I see something I think you will like I'll get it, be it $5 or $500, or nothing at all rather than spend money on some c**p you won't like or don't need.
A washbag jam-packed full of small sample shampoos, conditioners and body washes that had clearly been hoarded from the givers’ hotel stays.
This reminds me of one year when my SIL gave me a pouch that came with free samples of makeup (the kind she received for buying said makeup) but no actual makeup or fullsized products that she spent money on. Oh, and an EXPIRED 50% discount card for a wine club...
Collection of hotel toiletries ("But they're Louis Vuitton!" and a loaf of sourdough bread with a tin of tuna. All in the same year, from my husband's family.
The only person who was happy that night was the cat. He likes tuna.
Novelty ties. My SIL buys me one every 2nd year. In the 30 years I've known her, has she not noticed that I NEVER wear a tie??
One year, my MIL got me a pair of nice jeans. They were nice and well made. The issue was that she got my BIL's wife 4 court side seats to an NBA game. She got my other BIL's girlfriend a weekend Spa trip for her and 2 friends. How can your MIL tell everyone she hates you without actually saying it out loud.
Last year my MIL gave my partner and I multiple fancy gift bags, tissue paper and all, very obviously full of random clutter she had cleared from her spare room. Not like nice extra items to give away, truly just useless odds and ends.
Made even more obvious because that month she had been talking a lot about how she was finally going through and decluttering, like it was a big conversational topic with her every time we met.
On the bright side it kind of helped me get through to him that maybe she was a little weird and sometimes rude. Cracked his wall of only-son-mummy-denial lol. A year later his boundaries have gotten a lot healthier. So I suppose that’s a good gift.
A very stinky hair iron quilted heat pad. Used. From the 80s. Smelled like actual pee and cheese.
Someone forgot their secret Santa gift and the after school program dug around in storage to find me something ($10 was the gift price) and found the stinkiest thing in the world. I would have been happier not participating. Everyone got the coolest gifts, I got a piece of soggy stinky trash that had burn holes in it. It was damp. Literally wet from the bottom of the storage shed.
It was an important lesson as a kid:
1) if you forget secret Santa gift, it’s ok, but you MUST step out and not participate.
2) I put all my excitement into giving gifts that I forget I’m getting one!
One of my co workers was given a large bag of pistachios. He was my secret Santa and gave me a snack bag size of pistachios a week later at the company meeting.
Worst was a present that never showed up. They told me “It’s on the way”. They being the people who were the givers. Never saw that present. But the worst present I received was a “special” homemade organic bar of soap. It lasted one showed and fell apart in the beginning of shower #2. From the same person.
I got one of those "one the way" presents once. It also never showed up, which was honestly fine because it was a personalized license plate that they came up with. So weird.
Not me but this girl I knew was gifted birth control/spermicide stuff by her family.
This is... kinda considerate in some twisted way. Better than the kind of ultra-conservative family that expects their precious girl to stay chaste until she's ready to become a servant of her husband.
My ex was the absolute worst gift-giver. One birthday I received a $60 milk frother—neither of us drink milk. ETA another birthday gift: a custom license plate with a fish on it. But the best-worst gift? A box covered in assorted Christmas wrapping paper scraps, and with one of the bulb ornaments from the tree taped on top. Inside was one lime green bath towel… and a Glock. I know people say “it’s the thought that counts,” but I think that assumes the thought count itself is greater than zero lmao
From my girlfriend’s grandparents (I was 17/18 at the time), they bought me… a toy magnet.
Not even a decent strength magnet, but one of those ones that are 99% plastic in the shape of a horseshoe with the remaining 1% consisting of a tiny little bar magnet at each end.
This thing didn’t even have enough magnetism to pick up a single paperclip.
A borat mankini.
We got that for my boss for his previous birthday. He loved it even tried it on in front us, over his clothes tho. lol
2007: first Christmas as an adult where I have a boyfriend. I got him some decent presents. I hand them to him, thinking he's gotten his for me hidden somewhere. He turns to me and says "Remember how I upgraded you laptop with better RAM?" "MERRY CHRISTMAS" - not something I cared about or needed in the slightest.
2006: new boyfriend. I tell him about my s****y Christmas present the year before and that I just want something to open. I should have been more specific. The night before Christmas he asked to borrow my wrapping paper and some boxes. I was kind of miffed that I had to supply my own boxes and wrapping paper, but at least he got me something. Or so I thought. Christmas morning comes around and he has a huge a*s box for me, which I proceed on open. A smaller box. Inside of the smaller box. And so on, until I got to a f*****g pill bottle. On the pill bottle was the following "IOU: $100 gift card to glamour shots."
As a teen, my dad didn't have much concept of technology and largely assumed that equal cost was equal value. One Christmas, he bought my brother an iPod and bought me iPod accessories of roughly the same cost. He spent the same amount on both of us and I didn't have the heart to tell him that my gifts, without an iPod to use them on, were entirely useless.
A gift exchange at work.. was given 2 cups from a Baileys gift box. No Baileys. Only the cups 😶💩
was around 10 years old.... i got a plant, a **poinsettia**, i was left without a word.... asking myself why i was punished when everyone else got cool stuff they actually liked even if it was not pricey stuff. a PLANT ? i had never showed any interest in plants !?
i still dont get it.
Years ago my wife asked what I wanted for Christmas and I asked for a Kramer chefs knife and she agreed. Christmas rolls around and I got a $10 clock radio. F**k I was pissed off.
Maybe people who get pissed off that easily shouldn't be given knives.
My brother in law for 3 years in a row now gets me these like “desk toys”. They’re almost like fidget toys, things to pass the time while at work.
And he doesn’t even get me like one or two, he gets me like a whole box full of them. I have no idea how or why this started. I always just say thank you and immediately put them in the box to donate.
Now this one sounds kinda fun...but I'm old ish. I'd love a box of desk toys 😆😇
Nothing. When I was 7 I would read The Giving Tree every time I went to the store with my mom. She would come find me and see that I was reading it. That Christmas at our one present on Christmas Eve tradition I open mine to find the book. Not thinking straight! Or like a 7 year old I stated, ‘I didn’t want this.’ This made my dad angry. He took the book and “scolded” me. I was then told I wouldn’t be getting anything on Christmas Day. I did not.
A John Wayne movie box set from my grandparents. They meant well, but I don’t think I ever even opened it.
My little sister once gave me and brother used chapstick.
Towards the bottom of my Christmas list I wrote "Nelly CD". My sister and I were big time snoopers and would find most of our gifts scattered throughout the house (other than the "big" ones, which to this day I'm not sure where/how my mom pulled off hiding them). Well, we happened to find a Nelly CD hidden in a laundry room cabinet, but it was a CD by pop singer Nelly Furtado instead of the intended CD by rapper Nelly. In the days leading up to Christmas I felt annoyed, and being a kid I couldn't hide my disappointment upon opening it on Christmas day either.
My mom took ownership of the CD and it featured heavily into the family car music rotation and played during all of our family trips, with my sister and I mocking my mom's blunder and mocking all the songs (especially "I'm Like a Bird") all the while. Meanwhile, we both secretly liked the CD and Nelly Furtado really blew up a few years later.
My mum used to store our big presents at my grandparent's place. One year we got a trampoline, with a set of clues written by Santa (on my grandad's typewriter, but I never said anything) that ended in the backyard where it was set up. It was pretty awesome that he put in the work to set it up on Christmas eve as well, without us knowing.
BF gave me an angel painted on velvet. I hid it in the attic and went back to college. Parents found it years later when they sold the house and had no idea where it came from.
Back when I was about 10 years old, my nana (grandma) got me a gift. God bless her soul but to me, when I look back I still think wtf.
We are Mexican, so for Christmas she got me not a Power Ranger, but a ‘Para Ranger’ the Mexican equivalent. I threw that poncho wearing son of a b***h as far underneath my bed as I could.
A freaking pony.... it bit me every time I got near it. It was just an a*****e with a saddle. I gave that pony away and sold the saddle for 50.00.
My MIL has always been a stingy, miserable person. The Christmas after her mother went into a dementia unit, she wrapped as gifts for everyone items from her mother’s house (glass dishes, ornaments, stuff like that ). She didn’t provide any other gifts (they weren’t hard up for money) which might have made it a BIT more acceptable, but the worst part was the old lady was there. Already a little confused (she had just started with dementia) and not really understanding why she couldn’t “go home “, she was visibly perplexed at seeing people open presents that contained items she knew were her things, from her house. One of the many things for which I have never forgiven my MIL.
My mom and my brother visited me in the early 2000s. She was his favorite, I was anything but. I could tell my mom the sky was blue and she'd tell me I was wrong. Fun life, right? Going out with my brother one night he asked to borrow cologne. I told him that I didn't have any because I hate cologne. My mother accused me of lying because I didn't want to share with him. I invited her to search my bathroom and my bedroom. That Christmas my gift was a really expensive bottle of cologne. Like wtf? I gave it away. People suck when they use gifts to be passive aggressive.
Didn‘t you realise ? You got that, so there would be some for your brother, if he ever visited again! Jokes aside, I‘m sorry you had such a bad Mom. Are you no contact now?
Load More Replies... My husband is a great gift giver, but one year one if my presents was tent stakes. I just laughed and my daughter and I still joke about it. It was really cute though. They were on my wish list, but I use my wish list for stuff I want to buy also, but wouldn't necessarily be good gifts. The worst thing was what my dad did this year though. He bought my nephews something really cool, put a ton of effort into an activity to do with them, and also added another $50 in cash. My daughter got about $20 worth of craft supplies that he texted me about 3 days before. Zero thought. They are all close in age, teenagers or close to. My daughter didn't say anything about it, but it made me really sad.
Boys vs girl? Maybe your Dad did not know what to do with a girl? You know your Dad. Might it have been that? If so, you could just talk to him and tell him what she would have liked
Load More Replies...
My step family. They always gave all the kids literally a trash bag full of presents to each kid. There was like 10 kids. I got a baby toy. That's it. I wasn't "family"
Four boxes of chocolates(cheap store ones....not the issue), two exactly the same - one of the others stale. Turned out they were all Christmas presents from people he worked with. Thanks son x
my great aunt gifted my brother the family bible which had been in our family for generations and had a page for recording births and deaths. my gift was Christmas ornaments in a small gift bag that had a dead cockroach in the bottom of the bag. took everything in me not to scream.
The worst Christmas present that I ever GAVE was a used thrift store 3D floral swimming cap from the 50s. I gave it to an ex GF as an insult. I had moved out 10 days after my 18th birthday. My mom immediately asked a girl, that I only dated for 1 month because she cheated on me, to move into my old room. She lived there rent-free for 3 years and even had a baby. I had to see her way too often. My crazy mom was the reason that I moved out ASAP.
My cousin once gifted me a stack of lottery tickets he'd already scratched and didn't have any winnings.
I understand the disappointment as a kid or teen over a bad/wrong gift. Or about no gift at all. As a grown up though we stopped giving gifts to each other in the closest family. The money we save we use e.g. to invite each other for a good dinner out (or a nice home-cooked meal with some good wine) on a regular weekend. Making a normal day special. Or my wife last year surprised me with a city trip to Paris, from the saved money over the past few years. I on the other hand will see that we can have a nice vacation in Italy in spring 2024. We're not Grinches or the Kranks. We have a good meal on Xmas, watch a nice movie. Got some decorations. We just use the saved money for other nice things for each other. No wrong or bad gifts no more. No more stressful shopping. No disappointments.
Yeah. My older sister always got nice brand new stuff from relatives. I got used second hand stuff. At least my mom cared about me. Other relatives couldn't remember that I even existed. I mean that literally.
My ex MIL hated me and my kids, her step-grandchildren. She bought brand new video games for her biological grandchildren, and used tag sale clothing for my kids.
I asked my BIL if his 8 years old daughter had pierced ears, since im thinking of getting her something that's a keepsake. My BIL said they are not from Alabama? Huh? So she's not getting the valuable stuff from good dad's response. Might you, he took ALL of my late MIL's jewelleries including reasons for her daughter. EVERYTHING
The only Christmas I got in 15 yrs with my ex was a pair of work gloves. I did get another random gift once. After a visit to my folks house, he gifted me with a winter hat. MY MOM'S HAT.
There are common threads running through these stories. Stingyness, carelessness and maliciousness.
My husband and I were separated but thinking about getting back together one Christmas. He gave me a very small package and I could feel something shaped like a ring through the paper. I thought maybe he bought me a getting-back-together ring and I couldn't wait to open the gift. Turns out it was an air-freshener shaped like a bear, holding a little plastic ring to hang it from. Not only that, but he left the price tag on it - 10 cents. Believe it or not, this was one of the best Christmas gifts he'd ever given me. I usually got nothing. To say the least, we never did get back together and that was the best gift of all!
My ex was the best gift giver. Once he gave me a box, as well as other things including a mini break to Rome, with a toy car, a letter O sparkly keyring (not my initial), 2 teabags & a tin of peas. I was confused, as you would be and he said, if you put it altogether, it's us as a couple because we go together like peas & carrots (car-O-ts). Bless him, lol.
My MIL has always been a stingy, miserable person. The Christmas after her mother went into a dementia unit, she wrapped as gifts for everyone items from her mother’s house (glass dishes, ornaments, stuff like that ). She didn’t provide any other gifts (they weren’t hard up for money) which might have made it a BIT more acceptable, but the worst part was the old lady was there. Already a little confused (she had just started with dementia) and not really understanding why she couldn’t “go home “, she was visibly perplexed at seeing people open presents that contained items she knew were her things, from her house. One of the many things for which I have never forgiven my MIL.
My mom and my brother visited me in the early 2000s. She was his favorite, I was anything but. I could tell my mom the sky was blue and she'd tell me I was wrong. Fun life, right? Going out with my brother one night he asked to borrow cologne. I told him that I didn't have any because I hate cologne. My mother accused me of lying because I didn't want to share with him. I invited her to search my bathroom and my bedroom. That Christmas my gift was a really expensive bottle of cologne. Like wtf? I gave it away. People suck when they use gifts to be passive aggressive.
Didn‘t you realise ? You got that, so there would be some for your brother, if he ever visited again! Jokes aside, I‘m sorry you had such a bad Mom. Are you no contact now?
Load More Replies... My husband is a great gift giver, but one year one if my presents was tent stakes. I just laughed and my daughter and I still joke about it. It was really cute though. They were on my wish list, but I use my wish list for stuff I want to buy also, but wouldn't necessarily be good gifts. The worst thing was what my dad did this year though. He bought my nephews something really cool, put a ton of effort into an activity to do with them, and also added another $50 in cash. My daughter got about $20 worth of craft supplies that he texted me about 3 days before. Zero thought. They are all close in age, teenagers or close to. My daughter didn't say anything about it, but it made me really sad.
Boys vs girl? Maybe your Dad did not know what to do with a girl? You know your Dad. Might it have been that? If so, you could just talk to him and tell him what she would have liked
Load More Replies... My step family. They always gave all the kids literally a trash bag full of presents to each kid. There was like 10 kids. I got a baby toy. That's it. I wasn't "family"
Four boxes of chocolates(cheap store ones....not the issue), two exactly the same - one of the others stale. Turned out they were all Christmas presents from people he worked with. Thanks son x
my great aunt gifted my brother the family bible which had been in our family for generations and had a page for recording births and deaths. my gift was Christmas ornaments in a small gift bag that had a dead cockroach in the bottom of the bag. took everything in me not to scream.
The worst Christmas present that I ever GAVE was a used thrift store 3D floral swimming cap from the 50s. I gave it to an ex GF as an insult. I had moved out 10 days after my 18th birthday. My mom immediately asked a girl, that I only dated for 1 month because she cheated on me, to move into my old room. She lived there rent-free for 3 years and even had a baby. I had to see her way too often. My crazy mom was the reason that I moved out ASAP.
My cousin once gifted me a stack of lottery tickets he'd already scratched and didn't have any winnings.
I understand the disappointment as a kid or teen over a bad/wrong gift. Or about no gift at all. As a grown up though we stopped giving gifts to each other in the closest family. The money we save we use e.g. to invite each other for a good dinner out (or a nice home-cooked meal with some good wine) on a regular weekend. Making a normal day special. Or my wife last year surprised me with a city trip to Paris, from the saved money over the past few years. I on the other hand will see that we can have a nice vacation in Italy in spring 2024. We're not Grinches or the Kranks. We have a good meal on Xmas, watch a nice movie. Got some decorations. We just use the saved money for other nice things for each other. No wrong or bad gifts no more. No more stressful shopping. No disappointments.
Yeah. My older sister always got nice brand new stuff from relatives. I got used second hand stuff. At least my mom cared about me. Other relatives couldn't remember that I even existed. I mean that literally.
My ex MIL hated me and my kids, her step-grandchildren. She bought brand new video games for her biological grandchildren, and used tag sale clothing for my kids.
I asked my BIL if his 8 years old daughter had pierced ears, since im thinking of getting her something that's a keepsake. My BIL said they are not from Alabama? Huh? So she's not getting the valuable stuff from good dad's response. Might you, he took ALL of my late MIL's jewelleries including reasons for her daughter. EVERYTHING
The only Christmas I got in 15 yrs with my ex was a pair of work gloves. I did get another random gift once. After a visit to my folks house, he gifted me with a winter hat. MY MOM'S HAT.
There are common threads running through these stories. Stingyness, carelessness and maliciousness.
My husband and I were separated but thinking about getting back together one Christmas. He gave me a very small package and I could feel something shaped like a ring through the paper. I thought maybe he bought me a getting-back-together ring and I couldn't wait to open the gift. Turns out it was an air-freshener shaped like a bear, holding a little plastic ring to hang it from. Not only that, but he left the price tag on it - 10 cents. Believe it or not, this was one of the best Christmas gifts he'd ever given me. I usually got nothing. To say the least, we never did get back together and that was the best gift of all!
My ex was the best gift giver. Once he gave me a box, as well as other things including a mini break to Rome, with a toy car, a letter O sparkly keyring (not my initial), 2 teabags & a tin of peas. I was confused, as you would be and he said, if you put it altogether, it's us as a couple because we go together like peas & carrots (car-O-ts). Bless him, lol.
