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50 Of The Most Disappointing And Outright Cruel Christmas Presents Ever Received, As Shared By People Online
Deck the halls with boughs of holly
Fa la la la la, la la la la
Give the kids some burnt broccoli
Fa la la…wait what???
Christmas is right around the frozen riverbend, and most of us have been racking our brains for ideas of what to get our beloved people and pets. It’s gotta be something they’ll enjoy, something they might use, or something that won’t make them cry upon unwrapping.
It doesn’t seem like too much to ask, and people with a semblance of empathy and soul should be able to give a gift that won’t leave a trace of trauma. However, many have not been so lucky, memories of horrid Christmas presents continuing to haunt them each and every year since. Thanks to r/AskReddit, today we are bringing you a list even the Grinch would be appalled at.
You guessed it, we’re talking about the worst Christmas gifts people have ever received. Make sure to upvote your favorites and share your own experiences in the comments below. And if you're craving some more horrid gift stories, here's one, but if you'd like something nice for a change, here's an article full of sweetness. Now let’s deck into it!
More info: Reddit
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When I was eight or nine, my grandma gave me a Christmas ornament. It was a little stuffed cherub with pink cheeks and yarn hair.
I cried because I had saved up my allowance to buy it for her the year before.
Alexandra Davis 2 years ago
I really hope it's because her memory was going and the ornament reminded her of her grand daughter but she didn't remember the reason why?
StrangeOne 2 years ago
I know the feeling. My mom has returned many of my gifts to her back to me. Or thrown them out.
Ottawa 2 years ago
My mother in law does this. So now, we juat buy things we like knowing it will.come back to us 😂
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Momma Panda 2 years ago
Maybe she didn't have money to buy you something.. but it's ungrateful to not remember you gave her that ornament last year
Mulberry Juice 2 years ago
Unless there was some kind of issue with her memory, it’s really insensitive
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firecrackershrimp 2 years ago (edited)
You can say that again...everyone assumes old people are all cute and quirky like warm milk and cookies...when most are bitter and nasty and racist...sorry that's been my experience
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Jennifer Germain 2 years ago
My mother in law gave me a sweater she never wore, I had given it to her for her birthday. She is a super kind and loving soul, I am sure she just forgot that I had given it to her.
meerkatz007 2 years ago
The same stands true for this grandma! I am surprised that the majority of posters assume the worst ...
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Gift-giving and Christmas are two things that are difficult to imagine separately, similar to caramel and salt, or, to be more festive, hot chocolate and marshmallows. One colleague of mine has recently revealed that they prefer their cocoa plain, without any toppings, and to that I say, bit sad innit? I go all out—add fricking everything you got! But I digress.
The wonderful community of r/AskReddit got asked the very difficult question: “What’s the worst Christmas present you have ever received?” Sadly, hundreds of comments followed, with people sharing their stories of heartbreak, forced smiles, and unfathomable questioning of the festive season and life itself.
RELATED:
#2
My husbands step mother gave me, a 36 year old at the time, a kindergarten size back pack and when I opened it she said, “I actually bought that for ——- (a child) a few years ago and she hated it so I threw it in a closet and I saw it and thought you’d like it. None of us did, we all think it’s ugly.” That same year they gave my 3 kids gifts totaling all together $15 with the clearance stickers on them while her biological granddaughter opened a $300 unicorn. Which they made sure we knew cost $300, and then they pointed out to everyone our clearance stickers and what great deals they were (they weren’t), and then they made my kids leave the room so the grand daughter could take pics alone with her unicorn. It was the last Christmas we visited them. lol
Mildly Annoyed Penguin 2 years ago
That's so over the top s****y, you think it came from a Christmas movie, to showcase the evil nature of an antagonist.
Delta Dawn 2 years ago
Right? And I’d still be like, “That’s over the top, Hallmark Channel”. Although I had a stepfather who did this after my mom divorced him; his biological children (whom I lived with) continued to get gifts, but I didn’t. Literal red-headed step child. My mom was pissed but I was just happy to have him gone.
Load More Replies... Delta Dawn 2 years ago (edited)
Why do people do s****y stuff like this? I just can’t imagine doing that. I’d rather jump into traffic.
Cassi Lyris 2 years ago
Stop minimizing your pain by ending your tales with "LOL". Your feelings are valid and you don't need to condition us on BP to not attack you for being honest.
Shyla Bouche 2 years ago
You raise a good point, and one I hadn't thought of. Cassi's right, Pandas.
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Labellesouris 2 years ago
There's a special place in hell for folks who treat children like that.
Passiveaggressiveraven 2 years ago
WTH is wrong with some people??Several years ago my sister married a man who was bringing up his very young daughter on his own,my sister already had a child 6 years older than his daughter,my stupendous nephew 😁.And that little girl none of us knew 10 years ago?Yeah,she's my niece,not step-something or other,full on niece.Her Xmas bag is as full of pressies as my nephews is and I love the bones of her. My parents feel exactly the same,when my sister got married,they gained a granddaughter to go along with their 2 grandsons!
Diana Pahule 2 years ago (edited)
None of my grandchildren are biologically related to me because I'm the previously childless stepmom. The only reason my stepson's kids don't get actual presents instead of gift cards is because their mom wants nothing to do with us, and they live in such a tiny place I figure it's easier for them to get the boys something they'd like that won't clutter up the apartment.
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DuchessDegu 2 years ago
"oh thank you for the ugly backpack, it'll sure remind me of your face every time I look at it!"
kim davies 2 years ago
It would have been the last time i visited too, and I would have gone no contact, I would also have left, kids don't deserve to be treated like that. Horrible person
#3
So one year, my mil asked (read:demanded) that I knit a scarf for her for Christmas. She was very specific on colors and style and called several times during December to check on the status of it She opened it on Christmas day and was absolutely delighted with it and immediately put it on. Then she started to hand out her presents. Tons of stuff to the kids, my husband, her husband, her other son, and her other DIL. Nothing for me. Then I heard 'OMG, I FORGOT PRESENTS FOR YOU!' and I turned around and found her talking to my cat. She brought the cat presents later. No, I did not get anything.
Naomi van Nijnatten 2 years ago
Would've strangled her with the scarf and hang her in the tree. Most festive moment of the season...
fs 2 years ago
Your post deserves def. more upvotes. Making the world a better place.
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Inclusion2020 2 years ago
I would take that scarf back, no ma’am you aren’t about be disrespectful towards me and wear my hard work on your nasty neck.
Dina Anastasakos 2 years ago
What!!! And your husband said nothing?? No one there said a word?? WOW . Next time this a*****e cals you for any reason hang up.
SassySnowboarder 2 years ago
The OPs reply to that very question is on the Reddit post. They're NC with her now.
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Kathy Loman 2 years ago
I'd hug her and loosen the stitch. My Mom knitted and when she'd make a mistake would undo it. Seemed easy enough 😂😂
Okasan Willis 2 years ago
My ex-mil, not once in the 30yrs we were married remembered my birthday or gifts for Christmas
From absolutely nothing to the traditional lump of coal, to gifts being re-gifted back to the original gifter one year later, it’s hard not to feel sorry for lots of these fine Reddit folk. There’s no worse day to realize that you mean very little to your relatives or loved ones than the one day the Western world glorifies as the day of family unity and love.
As for myself, the one “bad” gift I recall from my youth (it wasn’t bad, just confusing) was a ceramic elephant the size of a dollhouse from my grandma. I really wanted a dollhouse that year, so I got super excited, only to find this ridiculous thing I couldn’t even use. We still laugh about the elephant to this day, the fancy gift being a stool for a little houseplant.
#4
A set of miniature butter knives with ceramic fruit and vegetables as the handles.
From an aunt who said that I was "So hard to shop for"
I was 7
Spencer's slave 2 years ago
About 20ish I was working in a charity shelter with rescued and unwanted pets/strays. These creatures were in the worst state with parasites and zoonotic diseases. I had very short, number 4 buzz cut hair. My then, now ex, husband gifted me a hairdryer and styling wands.
Lydia Languish 2 years ago
Tbh I would have loved these as a 7 year old… that being said I was a strange child
Øptimist 2 years ago
Same, I'd use them in my toy kitchen that my mom gave to my brother w/o my permission, granted I was like 9 but STILL.
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StrangeOne 2 years ago
I swear my mom had these or someone I knew had them. How is a 7 year old 'so hard to shop for"?
Kelly Coverstone 2 years ago
I got a set of those from my step-mother. They ere in a little wicker basket that was broken and still had the yard sale sticker on it.
Dolly_of TheCowboy 2 years ago
Is it just me or do others feel like if you are not wanting to give (because you do not like the recipient), or cannot afford to give, a reasonably well thought out gift to someone then just do not give them a gift? Give a card maybe? Is it so difficult to be a reasonable human at such times of the year?
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Bored_NorWeirdian 2 years ago
Who the actual fuuck gives a seven year old KNIVES and believe that is a good idea and a Christmas gift the kid would appreciate I need to know more. What did your parents say? Did you get anything else instead later? I have so many questions…
#5
I am a single guy. I think I’m a horrible gift giver. My sisters and brother tell me what my nieces and nephews want. But in the end all I do is just make a contribution in their college savings accounts. $500 for birthday and $500 for Christmas for each of them. My hope is that they will appreciate it when they get older. I love them all very much and I would do anything for them.
CouchChihuahua 2 years ago
Ikr, much more expensive than basically every single gift!
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Hailey Strong 2 years ago
That is a whole lot of money and that is in no way a horrible gift. : )
Patti Disbennet 2 years ago
That is the sweetest, most thoughtful, loving thing I have heard in a very long time. You must care for them deeply to see to their future like that. I hope they know how special you are and appreciate you for the wonderful person you are.
Josh Carpenter 2 years ago
He's right, horrible gift giver, awesome uncle. Take $50-100 out of that and buy cheap c**p they can be excited to open now. Yeah, they'll appreciate it later, but they're growing up and developing and creating Christmas memories now. This is probably one of those things I might not have figured out on my own, I read hundreds of articles and studies, etc, about kids and parenting when I started seeing someone with a 4 yr old.
Dee Pierce 2 years ago
Yes. I agree. When I was a child my Christmas gift from my grandparents was a box of kleenex that had been wrapped in holiday paper. They also gave a substantial (for their budget) check for my college fund to my parents. They had gotten the money by selling off "my" calf to eventually be butchered. They meant well, I know. But it really upset me at the time. I loved that calf. 60+ years ago.
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Kathy Loman 2 years ago
When they get old enough for college and decide not to go make sure they still get the money. Saw lot's of different stories about this. College isn't for everyone and it's insanely expensive here in the U.S.😕
#6
A diet book. I was 15. Thanks grandma, that became an eating disorder!
Alexandra Davis 2 years ago
I had an ED and in the group hearing how many people developed theirs from toxic family members doing stuff like this or parents calorie counting their pre teens foods and weighing them daily and pinching none existent fat scared me. That and the number of people who developed one from being on WW or SW! Those programmes should be banned, they teach you such awful habits!
Bonnie Buttons 2 years ago
So sorry. Are you doing better now? Eating disorders amd shame that cause them never fully go away. My family did the same to me when I was 14. Not a book but "helpful" comments and advice about what (not) to eat. Battling bulimia for 28 years.
Makayla VerMulm 2 years ago
I don’t like when I look up healthy recipes and it is all low-calorie. Eating healthy is not just for losing weight, it can be for gaining and maintaining weight, too!!
TheAnimalLady 2 years ago
Ikr, and the things that are substituted for actual sugar & such aren't exactly healthy either (according to newer research).
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You Should Do Nothing with the Fence 2 years ago
...but why is there a piece of ginger on the books in the photo? What did I miss?
When did we decide that the middle of winter was a great time for some gift exchanging to happen? Is Christmas really just a modern consumerist’s daydream? According to Love to Know, the gifts given at Christmas are symbolic of the tributes made to baby Jesus by the Three Wise Men after his birth. A modern interpretation of the custom is the recognition that Christmas is Jesus’ birthday, furthering the notion of gift-giving.
However, the custom of giving presents during the middle of winter dates back long before the birth of Jesus. Many early cultures, such as the Romans and the Norse, had winter solstice festivals that included gift-giving. One such event was the Saturnalia celebration, when the Roman pagan god of agriculture, Saturn, was celebrated on December 17.
According to History.com, Saturnalia was a day when slaves would be considered equal to their masters and free speech was embraced. It also included the exchanging of pottery figurines, sigillaria, described as symbols of human sacrifice once practiced as part of past pagan celebrations. This tradition was one of the many customs adopted by Christianity as a way to merge these cultures together.
#7
A $100 bill. I was dating and living with an ex at the time. For Christmas he wanted a very fancy and very specific looking button up shirt. I spent a month making him the shirt and making sure it was perfect. I also made us a nice Christmas dinner with some fun drinks. Christmas morning rolls around and I give him his shirt, he tries it on and loves it! Yay! He then gets a panicked look and his face, reaches in his pocket, pulls a $100 out of his wallet, and says "Um....here ya go. My friends are coming over today so...you have somewhere to be, right?" Basically he was paying me to leave. But the bright side was, I knew right then and there how he actually felt about me. He was dumped before for the new year.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
Or that you stole it and regifted it to someone deserving, such as a much nicer new boyfriend.
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Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
How do men like this exist? I just can't wrap my head around the complete lack of empathy.
Lothar Ohr 2 years ago
How to single without saying you want to be single
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RafCo (he/him) 2 years ago
So to understand what happened. That Christmas, she gave him her heart, but the very same day, he gave it away. I hope that next year, to save her from tears, she gave it to someone special.
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago (edited)
Whoopsie! Sorry honey, the red ink just jumped out of the bottle and onto your shirt all by itself! Thanks for the C note. Boy, bye!
#8
A book entitled, "How to Help Kids Cope with Divorce", given to me by my husband (at the time) on Christmas morning, in front of our kids....
...Who we hadn't yet told about the impending divorce, yet.
Oh, yes, and there was that one time he bought me "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husband's."
Auntie Bear 2 years ago
Right. Obviously she wasn't caring for and feeding him properly /s
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Labellesouris 2 years ago
You should've ditched him when you got the "Care and Feeding of Husbands" book! I've read that..omg..lol...
YaMaOnToast 2 years ago
I might buy this one as a joke but i fear it would be the last book i ever purchased
Chucky Cheezburger 2 years ago
That's what I was thinking. It would make a great gag gift for newlyweds, but there should one for "Care and feeding of wives" and they both should be written to be funny and not taken seriously.
Load More Replies... Josh Carpenter 2 years ago
Recipe One- Industrial sized potato sack, fill with old sex toys, use a stencil and black marker to label the contents, 'ONE INDUSTRIAL SIZED BAG OF D***S'
Anna Stephenson 2 years ago
Wow!- what a KEEPER!.......oh wait!? (Kidding!- thank goodness he's an ex!
#9
When the tamagotchi craze was in full swing my siblings and I asked for one.
My sisters both got one, and I got a jacket because mine was torn up and small.
When I asked my dad why I didn't get one and if Santa thought I did something bad that year. He told me I was too old for Santa and needed to learn life isn't fair.
I was 8.
My sisters were 7 and 5.
From that point forward I only ever received clothing.
Naomi van Nijnatten 2 years ago
In the Netherlands we have clothing, for kids especially, for free if needed. Toys as well. So sad to here this story cause if I would have known you at that moment, I'd gotten you a Tamagotchi personally even though I am on welfare myself. No child should live to these kind of events, no child wherever on earth.
Jaaawn 2 years ago
Now as an adult, getting clothes sounds amazing. Heck, getting anything! Granted, I'm not Christian but I do love presents.
glowworm2 2 years ago
Same. A coworker actually got me something for the holidays this year for helping everyone out. I felt really touched.
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Auntriarch 2 years ago
Nah, one sock for Christmas and one for his birthday
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The Silly Stellar Jay 2 years ago
It could have been a resource issue, you needed a jacket at the time and that's all they could afford? Not sure about the total circumstances.
Marie 2 years ago
Indeed, but you can explain that to an 8yo child with the right words, they should be able to understand. (But checking the original post, there's still a difference of treatment between the OP and their siblings, so...)
Load More Replies... Satan Laughs 2 years ago
I’m sorry. I’m 41 and Santa visits my family and me every year still.
What followed was the emergence of various gift-givers. St. Nicholas was the most prominent figure in many European countries, morphing into Father Christmas, and then the well-loved Santa Claus. There’s also Christkind, La Befana, Babadimri, Jõuluvana, Senis Šaltis, Baba Noël and The Smallest Camel.
As explained by GiftsInternational, in the 20th century USA, Christmas became a phenomenon. The boom of the American dream and times of economic prosperity after World War Two fuelled a whole industry around the holiday. Instead of being a religious endeavor, it pushed the focus toward the material aspects, such as decorating the home, buying gifts, and preparing meals, emphasizing it all as the best way to enjoy the celebration.
Although the commercialization of the festive season has come under a lot of criticism, some arguing that it obscures the true meaning of Christmas, it’s important to consider the fact that people give gifts to show their appreciation and love for others. But what happens when the gifts show the complete opposite of that?
#10
My step family was a giant group of total a******s. My step sisters got designer clothes and jewelry, shoes etc. Actual toys. They got mounds of gifts. My brother and I literally got a bag of switches and/or coal. Like that joke about bad kids? What sucks so much is that my step dad loved hitting us with switches when we were in trouble. We'd have to go pick out one ourselves too. And how we'd be considered the bad kids is beyond me. They were the ones who were terrible. One of my step sisters broke my arm twice just being a sadistic psycho. Cut off my eyelashes while I slept. Among other f****d up things over the years. God I was so glad when my mom finally left him and his piece of s**t family. I was 9 when we left. And 2 when they married. So this went on for 7 years of my youngest ages. Oh yeah, I guess one year the grandma gave me a coloring book. (No colors) With my switches. Edit for those who don't know. Switches are basically long, thin, limbs of a bush or young tree with the leaves stripped off. Not a branch or limb, bit the very thin ones that are bendy. They hurt like a MF and split your skin open sometimes.
A C 2 years ago
This is abuse. I'm sorry you were put through this. I hope you're getting support in healing.
WoodenLion 2 years ago
both my parents and a lot of my schoolteachers would go to prison in a flash for what was done to me growing up.
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Sachi Knight 2 years ago
Wow! A mum who stays put for 7 years while her kids are abused by her OH & his family. There is no way she didn't know what was happening. Shameful.
Dina Anastasakos 2 years ago
Of course she knew, she saw the switches and coal at christmas. Boggles my.mind how she stayes for 7 yrs watching her poor babaies get abused.
Load More Replies... Delta Dawn 2 years ago
switches and coal????? was your stepdad a Bond villain? the literal Grinch? that’s so messed up!
simply.Taz 2 years ago
I absolutely HATED it when my cruel stepfather(s) made me go get a switch. God forbid you picked a smaller one that you hoped wouldn't cause as much pain and damage, as you had suffered in the past. Because, if you did, he would go get a "real" one, his words, and beat you bloody with it!! Getting "switched", is both very painful and traumatizing. :(
Dina Anastasakos 2 years ago
Yet if you, as an adult, beat your stepdad with a switch (which that bastard fully dersrves) you'd be charged with assault. But somehow its ok to do that to a child. smh Society sucks
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simply.Taz 2 years ago
It's heartbreaking reading their stories! I always thought, as a kid, that it was only myself and sometimes my siblings, that experienced these bleak Christmases.
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Somebodys grandmother 2 years ago
I don't know what to say... I wan"t to kick him in his b@lls to the moon....
LMr 2 years ago
I thought this was my bio father for a second!!! F****r was a bad father and I got switched too. For not talking to a super old man. He looked like the old man that molested me. I was switched at alarmingly young age. My bio is not in my life, but him and his entire family have relationships with my older brother and sister. Sharing Blood doesn't mean s**t. Step anything's are risky. It's sad humans have to treat each other so vile.
Warrior Mama 2 years ago
Sending so much love to any of you who need it. Gentle mom hugs all around.
#11
I’m 2 years older than my sister. When she was 5 we walked up to the tree a couple weeks before Christmas and found a huge box with her name on it. I was pissssed. I would cry and she would brag about it every night.
Then Christmas came and she opened the huge box. It was a large reading lamp. She couldn’t stop crying, I couldn’t stop laughing.
Best Christmas ever. Wait what was the question?
ILoveMySon 2 years ago
My sister is five years my senior and we are very close. However, one year she convinced me to tell her what special gift she was to receive if she told me mine. She was to receive a stereo (we are old), I was to receive a JUMP ROPE!😂 It wasn't my special gift, btw. We still laugh of my naivete.😂
Eric S. 2 years ago
Meanwhile she got enormous from sitting on her butt listening to the stereo eating bonbons while you got totally ripped jumping rope so you win.
Load More Replies... Cassi Lyris 2 years ago (edited)
Your parents have rewarded you both by pitting you against each other. I hope you get yourself some therapy for Christmas this year. Celebrating your own sibling's sadness is not the great thing you've been conditioned to think it is.
TheAnimalLady 2 years ago
You are correct, our mother did that to us bc she liked us to "fight over her"...a true narcissist too. But they were only 5 & 7 at the time. Hopefully, they've outgrown it by now
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Tahani 2 years ago
In the app I can only read that she opened the box but then the text is cut off... what did she get?
Erica Cochrane 2 years ago
once year at my birthday, a friend wrapped a big box as a gift for me. i unwrapped and it was for some kind of wall sconce lamp. so i didn't open the box because a) didn't want to break it and b) it was a really weird gift and i didn't really get why he'd got me it. one of my other friends asked him quietly 'why'd you get her a wall lamp?' and he was like 'i didnt! that's just the box, the present is inside'. he'd got me 2 VHS tapes of 2 movies that he knew i didn't like. now don't get me wrong, i'm not stuck up, i was pleased just to get gifts. but he was notorious for getting me gifts he really wanted for himself. but also it was weird putting 2 vhs tapes inside a box that was massive....
TheAnimalLady 2 years ago
Seriously? They were 5 & 7 years old at the time.
Load More Replies... #12
A goose. Like, a real life full sized female goose. It was fun tho, I named her Rufina
Just_for_this 2 years ago
depends if it was a 'you look after it' and then 'we eat it' kinda thing
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Auntriarch 2 years ago
I wanted a goose once, even chose a name (Gucinda). Luckily my husband wasn't daft enough to get me one.
Bec 2 years ago
I always joke about being spoiled because I had a pony as a kid, lived on a farm and she was a hand-me-down from a family friend whose daughter outgrew her. 1980s on a farm were actually pretty lean times and having a pony is not all it's cracked up to be. Sugar was decidedly not sweet and riding her usually ended in tears.
TheAnimalLady 2 years ago
We call it SHS (Short Horse Syndrome). The smaller the man, the bigger the attitude!
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KittyGotClaws 2 years ago
That is a Peking duck. I raised them for 4-H as a kid.
Load More Replies... TheAnimalLady 2 years ago
That's right! Better than most dogs!!! Training not required.
Load More Replies... simply.Taz 2 years ago
I'm glad you got, and liked, the goose, but why....just why would anyone decide a goose was what you needed? Lol
Yoga Kitty 2 years ago
Just a wild guess - somebody ordered it for Christmas (as food) and then could not do the evil deed. Now, what shall they do with a living goose in an appartement...
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Yamile Torres, a psychologist at Tecnológico de Monterrey, argues that receiving a gift that you don’t like may feel like you’re not being validated as a person. “On a psycho-emotional level, you don’t feel observed; that gift without any words indicates that ‘I did not observe you, I was not interested in you. There is no recognition, you are not important to me,’” he explains.
Sometimes it may happen by accident—the ‘I wanted to do the best I could but it didn’t work out this time’—but it’s more perplexing when someone gives a rotten gift on purpose. Deborah Y. Cohn, an associate professor of marketing, argues that there are 5 types of inconsiderate gifts: confrontational (gifts that are essentially personal affronts), selfish (gifts that benefit givers more than recipients), aggressive (meant to offend), obligatory, competitive (intended to out-gift someone else).
The best thing to do when receiving one of these gifts is to say ‘thank you.’ Don’t let it affect you too badly unless you know the person’s intention is to directly harm you. A conversation between the two of you should follow in that case, to get you closer to a middle ground. If they can’t be reasoned with, maybe don’t spend Christmas with them. Lastly, donate or sell the gifts you don’t like; you know what they say, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure.
#13
Nothing. My parents are Muslim and Christmas was f*****g miserable every year. I'd go back to school after winter break and hear about all the cool stuff my classmates got while I got nothing. Imagine what that does to a kid over the years.
Now as a parent, I spoil my son every Christmas. I don't believe in religion but every kid deserves Christmas.
F**k you mom and dad. You were s****y parents. Rant over
Zedrapazia 2 years ago
Christmas as reg current time is anyway not a Christian ceremony anymore. We celebrate a chubby man in red in a sledge with flying reindeer coming down from the north pole in a big sledge, sliding down chimneys to put presents from his large bag under decorated firtrees in our living rooms. Not the birth of Jesus.
Little Wonder 2 years ago
I celebrate it as an end of year festival and a time to get together with family. Not that most of my family is worth getting together with, so we ignore those ones and just invite the cool ones.
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Lauren S 2 years ago
I grew up Jewish in a very small town. Nobody else was Jewish. My parents gave my brother and I both Hanukkah and Christmas when we were little. Tree, stockings, and all. Sometimes people question why I got both. Try to explain to a 5 year old why Santa didn’t bring you any presents but gave them to every single person you know. Think about it, Santa only give presents to the good kids, what would that mean about you? It tapered off as we got older, stopped believing in Santa. I’m very grateful to them. It had nothing to do with Jesus and Christianity.
Katherine Stevens 2 years ago
Awesome parents! I knew a few Jewish kids growing up, and their families did similar things to make the holidays easier and in my opinion better. And Christmas isn't about christ, it's about coming together, sharing gifts, and getting fat and drunk with lived ones. To me it's about coming together and enjoying one another. Oh and Christmas lights and music, can't forget that. I love the lights and decorations.
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Smiley MG 2 years ago
There’s nothing wrong in not wanting to follow other religious customs. But the parents were jerks for not explaining their belief in a healthy and endearing way so that the kid won't feel so miserable. They've got TWO big festivals, the Eids... Why not make that a big deal and explain that what happens around Christmas for christians, is going to happen twice a year for Muslims. Make those occasions fun and celebrate with gifts and merriments. So the kid will look forward to the Eid festivals and not feel miserable about Christmas. That is fully the parent's fault for not making their own festivals worthwhile...
sadeka parbin 2 years ago
This is 100% correct. I'm also Muslim and I explained to my children why we don't Christmas. They fully understand and we make a big fuss about Eid
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Kimberly Bertram 2 years ago
And birthdays. Nothing. No party, no cake. I always felt so alienated from my peers at school.
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Minnie Not Mouse 2 years ago
As a muslim, good on you for leaving the faith. Some people i know (Mother) are batshirt crazy, and have really made me consider leaving. One day i will make the descion!
Terd Fergison 2 years ago
Do you believe that the supernatural claims of Islamic holy texts actually happened? Do you believe Muhammad flew up to the moon on a winged horse? If no, then you are closeted atheist.
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K Tigress 2 years ago
They probably just didn't get it. My parents really didn't get Halloween and school plays. Not to mention Girl scouts. I'm sure if she had relatives in the current residing country, they would have learned the customs. Some just do what they know and what's comfortable and don't wanna change. Sad for the kids.
Justaboredpotato 2 years ago (edited)
Me and my family are Muslim but luckily my b-day is just 3 days before Christmas so I get gifts :D
Courtney Bostwick 2 years ago
I remember a girl in grade school where her family didnt celebrate any holiday so every time we didn anything fun for any holiday she would go sit in the hallway by herself because she wasnt allowed to participate in the fun. I wonder how she is doing these days.
TheAnimalLady 2 years ago
Probably a Jehovah's Witness, they had to sit in the principal's office at our schools. I was room mother & would go sit with them during class parties. It was brutal😿 I hope that she's doing better than my ex-husband. His JW family was messed up and messed with his head too.
Load More Replies... #14
Titanic DVD, pirated copy, already seen it before twice, didn't have a case, just had Titanic written in marker pen, it didn't belong to the person who gifted it, the DVD was SCRATCHED AND DIDN'T EVEN PLAY!
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
$1,000.00 per year is $18,000.00 plus interest by the time each kid turns 18. Not a shabby gift at all, and way more useful than whatever toy they’re going to forget about tomorrow.
ThatBiBookLover 2 years ago
I think you meant to reply to the post above :D
Load More Replies... Erica Cochrane 2 years ago
i remember one year my sister got my brother some gifts. she had to tell him which to open first. because one lot was a pile of new cds, and the other was a pile of copies of the same cds. my brother's car had been broken into, they'd stolen his stereo and all his cd's. so my sister had replaced all of them, then also made copies so if they got stolen again, he still had the originals. but she wanted to make sure he opened the originals first, so he didn't think she was just giving him a bunch of pirated cds :P
Terri Rimmer 2 years ago
My boss gave me "a Christmas bonus" in the form of an old used huge stereo that just hummed.
Alex Taylor 2 years ago
Every time Celine Dion sings that song, somewhere, somehow...another boat sinks...Every. DAMN. Time!
Maggie Dinzler Shaw 2 years ago
why do I have the feeling this was just the tip of the iceberg?
W0lfiest W0lfAlive 2 years ago
At a white elephant, my sister wound up with an old gift card with two cents on it.
#15
The year I gave my ex husband a Tag Heuer watch he gave me a $19.99 Walmart blender. We already had 3 blenders.
Josh Carpenter 2 years ago
You're kidding, right? She took all 4. You know that MF never went in the kitchen and cared for himself! And why deprive him of a gift giving idea for his next victim!? To be fair tho, if he DID take 2, it still wouldn't probably affect his gift giving next year. You should ask him what he gets his mistresses!
Load More Replies... Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
"Tag Heuer watch" Is that good or bad? I've never heard of it.
Mildly Annoyed Penguin 2 years ago
Good and fairly expensive. The cheaper models are easily priced in the 1.5k range.
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simply.Taz 2 years ago
So sad he made her feel forgotten by giving her a cheap gift she DIDN'T need, while she gave him a gift she chose with love and care.
Momma Panda 2 years ago
Why do you have 3? Why would anyone need 3? You plan on opening a smoothie bar?
Judith 2 years ago (edited)
Probably because the (thankfully) ex husband didn't care enough about his wife to give her anything other than a cheap blender every year
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Vasana Phong 2 years ago
This is such a no no as gifts for a woman on a special occasion, gifts like these are ok for ‘justbecause’
Quinn Enestvedt 2 years ago
Tag Heuer watches apparently cost a few grand, for anyone who was confused like I was
Vera Modrić 2 years ago
Why gift your spouse house appliances? If you need them, just buy them. Then go and buy or make some small meaningfull gift for your life partner
Regardless of everything, Christmas is coming! You don’t have to follow any stereotypes to have a good time, especially as these days the prices are higher than high, so gifts may not be as fancy as before. And they don’t have to be! Just make sure it comes from the heart and it’ll all be well.
As you continue reading through the stories, make sure you upvote your favorites, or those that you find most heartbreaking. Either or works. Leave your thoughts in the comments below, maybe share your own horrid gifts if you have those kinds of stories, and I shall see you in the next one! Toodaloo!
#16
Not one I got, one I didn’t get. My mom crocheted my two sisters tablecloths and gave it to them in front of me. I just stood there, trying not to cry.
keighterz 2 years ago
My grandma passed away last year. She was everything to our family so we are all still very broken up about it. Cardinals were her thing. My mum gave each of my sisters and cousins a very pretty cardinal ornament for their Christmas trees since it was our first Christmas ever without Grandma. She wrote a beautiful Bible verse on the back so it was a sentimental gift. I did not get one. I assume because my husband had found a little cardinal ornament and that’s what gave my mum the idea in the first place. But why would you make such a sentimental gift for every one but me?
Shushadei 2 years ago
Why do we always cover these things up? " Trying not to cry" to keep the peace and more. Why not express the hurt? Why not show them what they are doing? They deserve it!
JoJo Anisko 2 years ago
My mother liked to quilt. She made one each for my sister and two brothers, then started on a second round. I finally asked if she would make me one; she reluctantly said, "oh, didn't I make you one already?" I ended up wishing I hadn't brought it up.
simply.Taz 2 years ago
OMG! Same here! My mom made all my siblings a quilt. Finally, after many years, I told her I would LOVE to have a quilt made by her. She said ok. That was 20 years ago. She has early onset Alzheimer's now, and several health issues. Only my memories of my mom are what I will have. But thank God, I will treasure those.
Load More Replies... Jo Firth 2 years ago
Same here... last time I went home for Xmas my grandmother gave my mother, father and brother $50 each in a card. I didn't even get a card. Then overheard her asking my mother if she should have given me the same. My mother's response? No, don't worry about her. As I said, last time I went home for Xmas.
Jennifer Critchley 2 years ago
The exact thing happened to me but with 20$ instead. My Grandmother gave each of my cousins and sister cards with 20$ in them , when I opened up my card there was nothing (at least I got the card, I guess) .
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Kim Lorton 2 years ago
I would not go back home again and when I had kids, they won't go there either. What a total bit**!!
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
But did you WANT one? Just because your sisters got them doesn't mean she left you out to be mean. Maybe she thought it wasn't your style? I wouldn't want one tbh. I'm not a delicate person. Bull in a china shop is more my thing. Cotton table cloths are better 😁
Yoga Kitty 2 years ago
I am also more team bull in the china shop, however, if I use a pretty table cloth I just throw a thin transparent plastic cloth over it - then I can just wipe off any spills...
Load More Replies... Amanda perry 2 years ago
Reminds me of the time my mother told me not to take it personally that I wasn't in her will, she just liked my sister better
#17
When I was 12 I bought myself a kindle. Me and my sister spent an entire summer working for our grandpa and stepdad to save up for them, each of us spending about 200$. My mom got all 3 of my brothers a kindle for Christmas and I got some Clothes from old navy. I was livid and when I talked to my mom about it she told me that my sister and I had been excluding our brothers from hanging out while we played videogames and it was unfair. She never apologized or saw anything wrong with what she did, and I honestly still haven't forgiven her almost a decade later.
Erin Eubanks 2 years ago (edited)
I love watching parents fostering a "never want to see my kid again" relationship.
Mistletoe 2 years ago
My (adopted) daughter was the age when kids don’t want toys, but more electronic kinds of gifts. Well we were invited to my husband’s family Christmas. The cousins got laptops. Our daughter got some junk toys. She was so polite about it (taught very young to show appreciation even when she didn’t like a gift or if it was something she already had). She was hurt to the core. Quite a few years later her father and I got divorced. She now thinks this same family that treated her so poorly is the greatest and I am chopped liver. (Her father and his family are Hispanic and she was adopted from Mexico. I am White. And yes this is a very big hurt. She makes a point of telling me how anything bad that happens to her is because she is being discriminated against by white people. I hurt for how she she was treated at that Christmas way back then. I hurt when she spends every holiday with them and only comes up so we can have ‘our Christmas’. She often comes with nothing. “no $”.
Daffydillz' Cold Contagious 2 years ago
It's very sad and shîtty parenting to make big differences between your children when it comes to gifts. It doesn't mention the brothers ages, they may be too young to work for grandpa and step-dad, but there's still many ways to make it more worthwhile for the sisters.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
I got clothes from Zayres - kinda like the old Kmart. And seriously don't let this bug you anymore. It's truly not worth your braincells. Btdt. My brother got a beautiful 10 speed bike for Christmas one year. He convinced Mom that she'd better get me one too or I'd be a monster- true. She bought me the cheapest one she could find and I had to fix it before I could ride it. Brother never let me forget it was because of him I got the bike in the first place 😡
Cyber Returns 2 years ago
Give her a hug and whisper in her ear, "I gripped the sides with my teeth and nails when you gave birth to me. Wait until Mother's Day comes around"
Vasana Phong 2 years ago
I don’t understand why parents do this, instead of awarding them for their hard work, it just shows them things can just be handled to them
Lena Flising 1 year ago
Children are allowed to do stupid things, as they are CHILDREN! Parents should then inform them about what was wrong/stupid, and what to do instead. This is malicious punshment for being immature, which the kids can't help being. I bet the boys were doing stuff that the sisters weren't involved in, too.
#18
When my dad was young he was hell-bent on becoming a drummer. He would make full drum kits out of my grandmother's pots and pans and whatever he could find. Very detailed setups. After months and months of building drum sets and drumming on anything, he could find he woke up Christmas morning…to acoustic guitar and guitar lessons.
He told me he took a few lessons and would always end up flipping the guitar over in the class with the other students and just play it like bongos.
Perfumista Perfumista 2 years ago
My parents got one of my brothers drums. Definitely regretted it.
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Šimon Špaček 2 years ago
As a parent I kind of understand why they tried to bring him to guitar instead of drums. But Christmas is not the proper time to do it, they should try it in August, bring some guitarist to campfire and let the boy see how amazing guitar is. And when it fails (what a shock, right?) you still have time to get drums and soundproof room for Christmas.
Josh Carpenter 2 years ago
That sucks! My dad was a huge music buff, so when I got into it he went crazy! Like full studio and professional guitar rigs, recording equipment, etc. You've probably heard it on the radio as we had a little success before I finished school and quit playing. But he's also the guy who gifts my nephew a drum and guitar kit. If you're a parent, support your kids! If you're buying for someone else's kid, ASK THEM BEFORE you buy some god awful loud thing.
Upstaged75 2 years ago
I'm still bitter over the fact that my mother would not let me play the drums. My dad was a drummer (his band played the prom in high school) as was my favorite (boy) cousin. Her reasoning was that "girls didn't play the drums". :( And before you think she did it just because she didn't want all the noise, guess who also became a drummer? That's right, my younger brother!! I still bring it up occasionally and she claims she doesn't remember saying that. So when it was time to pick an instrument for the school band I chose the trumpet. LOL! I bet she wished she had let me play the drums. I was AWFUL at it. Thankfully I had been playing piano since I was 5, so I had that to fall back on. :)
Catte West 2 years ago
I asked for piano lessons. I got accordion lessons. I asked for ballet lessons. I got tap lessons. Piano and ballet were "above my social class".
Brandon Holloway 2 years ago
I'd never get my kid a drum set. big and loud like where do you put it.
Eric S. 2 years ago
You can get electronic ones! They fold up and you can play them with headphones. Like this one: https://a.co/d/f24IoMk
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Molly Whuppie 2 years ago
Drums are also crazy expensive compared to guitars, so this may have been a compromise on the parents behalf to at least give him access to learn something musical.
Inclusion2020 2 years ago
I get it. Drums are crazy loud 😂And back then they didn’t have the electric kits where you could play without shaking the whole house.
Peggy J. 2 years ago
I wanted a guitar for Christmas. That's all I asked for. My ex decided that he wanted me to play piano. I was enormously pregnant at the time, so emotional anyway, and just before Christmas his truck rolls up to the front door and he and his brother unload a piano. I sat there and cried. I hated piano lessons with a passion, which I had told him many times. He decided that since I would have "so much time on my hands" after the baby came (while working two jobs as well) that it would be an excellent time for me to learn piano. All I could do was cry. His brother called me a b*tch and stormed out.
#19
A case of Slim-Fast. Was I overweight? Yes, but my (not so) passive aggressive ex sister-in-law was a b***h. She fairly soon after was talking about weight loss items and specifically told my then-wife and I we should never use products like Slim-Fast as they will poison you. I can't decide if she was trying to kill me or was just a stupid a*****e.
BlackestDawn 2 years ago
Ohh it counts alright. The thing is that "count" in this case is not always a positive.
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Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Lmao I'd give them to her every time you saw her. Thanks for the gift so now we have something for YOU to drink when you visit 😂😂 I'm petty that way.
Kitty White 2 years ago
“… was trying to kill me or was just a stupid a*****e.” ¿Porqué no los dos?
#20
A bottle of allergy medication from Costco. The med I took had recently gone from prescription to OTC & my mom thought it would be great to get me a year's supply. I was in my 20's & by that point you're not supposed to care as much anymore, but I had worked dozens of hours of overtime at my s****y factory job to buy my mom a custom made birthstone ring for Christmas that year. My sister got beautiful leather boots, my brother got an XBox. I cried all the way home.
Freelove 2 years ago
This has nothing to do with being an adult and everything to do with being a human being with feelings. You got a s****y present from someone you gave such a beautifully thoughtful and special gift to, and that person gave incredible gifts to everyone else. Kind of in a similar vein, but just last year I spent all year making a photo calendar for my grandmother filled with pictures of her great grandchildren. I spent so much time working on it, it's something she wants every year, and she gave me a bag of chocolate. That one hurt. You're allowed to be hurt when something like that happens!
Amused panda 2 years ago
I mean, there is an element of 'I care about your health' to the gift, but yes you still get to care as adult.
Upstaged75 2 years ago
I'd be thrilled tp get a year's supply of allergy meds! That can get expensive. But I'm old now and don't really care about gifts anymore. I don't think I would have taken it well in my 20's either. Especially if my siblings got really nice things.
Alex Boyd 2 years ago
Yeah, I was thinking it could be OK as one present among several, or if practical gifts are the family's tradition. But as your main/only present, when other people are getting fun things, that's pretty crummy.
Load More Replies... Passiveaggressiveraven 2 years ago
My parents are scrupulously fair,my Mum makes me laugh though,if there is even a quid difference in the presents myself and my sister ask for,she will properly work herself up about it!And also,we are both adults with children of our own but still,if one gets something,the other has to have something of an equal amount lol.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Ugh. Now I know why someone invented fruitcake. Sounds like an even trade. Give her a lifetime supply. And I understand your pain. 🫂
Erin Eubanks 2 years ago
Hubby and I make all gifts fair. No life is not fair, but at home it can and should be.
Mary Kelly 2 years ago
well, when i was in grad school (in us), i would always ask my dad for a year's worth of prescriptions, which were expensive for a whole year...i loved that gift...it meant i could use what little money i had for more fun things....BUT...he would always shoot me a little something on the side just b/c i was making sensible choices...so, i kind of have mixed feelings on this one...sounds like it is a culmination of a series of underlying events involving favoritism or neglect
#21
A used cookbook, graciously given to me by the same people that gave my little sister a full snowboarding set, snowboard and all that other stuff you use when you snowboard
Looks like an Angel 2 years ago
This might not be a terrible gift, taken in context. I had an aunt who was in the Guiness book of world records in the 80s for having the "Largest collection of cookbooks in Canada." She was recently killed by a drunk driver (RIP) and I would be sooooooo honoured to be gifted one of her many loved and well used cookbooks.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Oooo. If you don't like cooking then yeah this sucks. But if you do those old recipes are the best imho. I miss my old Betty Crocker cookbook. Besides - look at the recipes and see if anyone wrote notes. Could be a gold mine recipe in there. 😁
Kim Lorton 2 years ago
Plus, revenge? Is a dish best served prepared with love and all the wrong spices!!
Cat Chat 2 years ago (edited)
My Grandmother once gave everyone a DIY cookbook of her favorite recipes. Every year after she would include a new recipe as part as her gifts. She also made a family history book, and every following year added new stories, one ancestor at a time. Edited to add: We all thought they were awesome gifts, btw
Jane Cortez 2 years ago
Why do parents, ( step parents in particular), feel the need to isolate one child and lavish love, praise, affection, material things? This is emotional and mental torture. Wtf. Seriously. I wish I could address all of the cruel/evil parents who think abusing a child is okay.
Jane Cortez 2 years ago
*correction* ‘ and lavish love, praise, affection, material things on the other chid/children?’
Load More Replies... Kim Lorton 2 years ago
Use it to cook something that smells wonderful, but make sure to add a LOT of lemon and then watch them eat it ...politely or not! Lol.
#22
Eons ago I worked for a company owned by the richest man in Minnesota. One year, all of us peons (and there were a couple thousand of us) got a copy of his book; it was al about how he became the richest man in Minnesota. Cheap bastard.
Raven Sheridan 2 years ago
Hey, that's the gift that keeps on giving all year round. (Read with sarcasm.)
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Delta Dawn 2 years ago
I worked for a very wealthy woman once , a high powered attorney , who gave all her “help” a Starbucks card for Christmas… a $5 Starbucks card. Five whole dollars.
BeaBea 2 years ago
To some people, a dollar is enough when giving tips or similar. That's because when they were younger (30 years ago) a dollar was a considerable amount
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Dan Bexell 2 years ago
That had to be Harvey MacKay, who owns Mackay Envelope. He was also known for handing out Turkeys for Thanksgiving to the grateful employees, with a film crew present. to document his generosity. He bought pallets of his books so he could get on the NY Times best seller lists. I could write a book just about his ego.
Upstaged75 2 years ago
You worked for Prince? I would have thought he was the richest man in Minnesota. :)
Lena Flising 1 year ago
Chapter one: Had rich parents. Chapter two: Was enrolled in expensive schools and had class mates with influential parents. Chapter three: Profit. Usually....
Angie Falzarano 1 year ago
Had a supervisor from bank of America (she was high up and made a high salary) gave me a 99cent christmas ornament (from a 99 cent store).
#23
My dad, his first christmas divorced and living alone, first time ever shopping for us clearly lmao because my mom did all the shopping before, got me a nose hair trimmer... I was 12. And definitely did not understand why I got that gift.
K Tigress 2 years ago
Yeah those are basically "Charlie Brown gifts". I have had those often in the past.
Warrior Mama 2 years ago
Goodness, was he never a kid himself? Even if you didn't get good presents as a kid, it's hard to imagine not remembering what would have been fun. Sounds like this dad may have forgotten to shop and gave the kid something he already had that was still in the package
DuchessDegu 2 years ago
If you don't know what to get, just give money, not even a gift card, just cash - it is that easy!
#24
Temporary glittery metallic tattoo kit made for an 8-year-old girl (butterflies and phrases like "GIRLS RULE!") when I was 15... I am male too.
Nicole Weymann 2 years ago
A cousin of mine got a music cassette from his granny when he was about twelve or thirteen. The title translates roughly to "wee-woo, wee-woo, the fire brigade is there" with a matching cute drawing à la Fireman Sam on the cover. She was NOT senile, although her presents had a way of making the family smile, if occasionally somewhat fixedly, and made for funny conversation objects once she left.
Stardust she/her 2 years ago
I personally would love that gift. I’ve not worn those temporary tattoos since I was 8 so I’d be willing to get them for christmas
mateo pineda 2 years ago
did something like this once, got my brother a barbie car and my sister a toy stormtrooper, but i knew they would find it funny and didn't even want to trade.
Analyn Lahr 2 years ago
Sure that wasn't a gag gift from an annoying older sibling? It sounds like something a sibling would do.
and_a_touch_of_the_’tism 2 years ago
Hey those are cool… just use the silver/gold/red to draw skulls or swords or whatever.
#25
I flat out got a lump of coal when I was 11 or 12. I was such a handful s**t head kid man. I deserved that lump of coal.
Got Myself 4 Pandas 2 years ago
I just wouldn't have the heart to not give my kids presents no matter what they do.
Vicky De Raedemaeker 2 years ago
You were too young to get nothing. That's just mean of your parents.
Pluto 2 years ago
I got a piece of coal once. The day before Christmas I got mad at my parents and threw a little rubber ball at them. So they readdressed all my presents to my two little sisters and gave me a lump of coal. I named it Rocky and threw it in the fire :)
JMC5003 2 years ago
That seems a little extreme, unless you were aiming for an eye and seriously trying to injure them, would've been a grounding event when my kids were growing up.
Load More Replies... Marilyn Russell 2 years ago
When I was a kid, I gave my sister coal slag in her stocking as a joke, which I had picked up beside the railway tracks. So not even usable coal, but used up slag. I was a smartass kid in some ways.
Ovata Acronicta 2 years ago
I jokingly asked for coal one of my early teenage years and my Grandma (Mom's mom) came through with a little baggie and three charcoal briquettes tucked nicely inside. She gave me other things, but the only present I remember is the (char)coal I requested and how hilarious that whole thing was. I still have the baggie and coals. Everyone else was horrified but man I asked for it and she pulled it off.
Riley Quinn 2 years ago
Don't agree. If you were a sh!thead kid, it means there were sh!tty adults in your life. The coal proves my point.
#26
A ceramic jar for holding dog treats when I was 15 when we had JUST given him away. Miss u Rascal
TheReader19 2 years ago
My mum did, I'm 55 and I've never gotten over it. Ridiculous I know 😂
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R Dennis 2 years ago (edited)
Calm down people! Can we ever assume innocence? One year, my mil did a silly 12 days of Christmas for us. She had made it a few months early. I opened one day when she was there and it was cat treats. Our cat had disappeared a month earlier... I began to grown a*s man cry. She forgot what she had put in the gifts. In the spring, the cat came back! She was fluffy and clean, so we figured someone took her in as a stray and she escaped once the weather got better.
Stacey Thompson 2 years ago
When my parents divorced my Dad had my dog put down then gave my Mom the collar as a gift out of spite...I hear you, man.
Jen 2 years ago
Depending on why he put the dog down it could have been sweet. My ex had to say goodbye to her cat over the phone from college a couple weeks before Christmas because she had severe throat cancer and nothing was working. Dad wanted to wait until she got home but he woke up to a gasping cat one morning and had no choice. He gave both kids one of her rabies tags (had kept them all) and pawprint ornaments the Vet made right after the euthanasia for Christmas. And when we had to put our cat down we also added her tags and her pawprints to the tree the next year.
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Sara McDonald 2 years ago
My husband's aunt and uncle gave us a Xmas ornament with our sogs picture on it even though we had to put her down for being aggressive and almost killing me so yeah I think I win here!!!!
Riley Quinn 2 years ago
Even if Rascal was still around, what 15 yo wants a ceramic dog treat jar?
#27
My very first period. This wouldn't have been so bad if I had been told to expect it beforehand, but no. I cried and said I was dying in front of my entire family. Grandparents, cousins, everyone. Of course they laughed at me, but I am still mortified 25 years after the fact.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
You know one good thing about being raised during the AIDS epidemic? People took sex-ed seriously when I was a kid. Knowing about your bits and pieces was literally life or death in the late 80 and early 90s.
Heather 2 years ago
I got mine when I was 11 in 1993 and I hadn't had any sex-ed in school at that point. I knew from my mom that I would get a period but I just kind of vaguely had the idea that I would bleed and she hadn't really mentioned that it would hurt. I think she thought she had more time to go into details. She was pretty embarrassed when we were at the mall with the old man from next door and I started complaining loudly about how my tummy hurt and it felt like I had to pee but I didn't have to pee. I had no idea what cramps were or what it meant. I just thought I was sick.
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Amused panda 2 years ago
I followed the link, and OP explained a little more. Apparently the mom didn't think they'd get their period before 12, so hadn't explained, and also the mom thought they would have learnt about it in school - but OP also thinks they might have missed that day due to being sick a lot that year. Having said that, OP also said they were 11 at the time, so imo the mother should have at least made some reference to periods by then even if she planned to give more detail at 12.
Load More Replies... Kathy Loman 2 years ago
At least it didn't happen at your grandmother's wake like mine did. All the local AND out of town family new I started my cycle AND I was wearing all white.☹️ My grandmother said she didn't want anyone wearing dark clothes to her funeral so my mom decided on a white dress with white stockings and white dress shoes.
Kim Lorton 2 years ago
There is no reason in this day and age to not prepare a young girl about her period. What crappy female relatives!!! I am so very sorry!!
Paulo Freitas 2 years ago
Sexual education classes, i.learnef that stuff when i was 10, and Im a male.
Marlene Ricker 2 years ago
When I was a kid, my parents never talked to me about sex or bodily functions. Happily I had a wonderful teacher by the name of Mrs. Bowering who taught the girls everything we needed to know about periods. She even kept a box of pads in her desk in case of an emergency. I'm 74 years old now and I still remember her as a kind person who I loved. Best teacher ever!
RandomHumanBean 2 years ago
i got mine ON my sisters birthday. luckily i knew what it was tho. but we left for hershey park the next day so that was fun for me
Yasmin Janette 2 years ago
I'm now 80 yrs old but when this first happened to me I called for my Mum and told her I had cut myself, she didn't tell me what was happening just said 'Oh that will happen every month' and that was that.
Sarah Louise Cashman née Bartlett 2 years ago
Why the hell did no one explain the female body to you? My mother told me, as did the school. Which was good cos there was a girl who's mother was a Jehovah's Witness & didn't tell her anything. It saddens me that the human body and it's natural functions are looked on as nasty/dirty & not to be discussed.
#28
My mom bought me one of those 3D posters that were all the rage on the 90s. I am blind in one eye.
MaggieMay85 2 years ago
🤣 oh she probably didn’t think about the logistics of the posters. Gosh I used to love those posters, don’t know why.
Heather Fordham 2 years ago
I have never seen one. But she was cruel to that person.IMO
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Eloise_Is_Weird 2 years ago
It probably wasn't her intention to be cruel but that still really sucks
Mary Kelly 2 years ago
wasn't her intention, or wasn't given much thought...thoughtlessness can be as painful as over cruelty...this wasn't a secret santa gift...it was from her mom
Load More Replies... Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
I had perfect eyesight and those posters never worked for me anyway. It drove me nuts! They had an entire book of them in the school library and not one page looked like anything but random patterns to me. Bah!
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
So you can't see in 3D from your one eye? Sorry not being mean. Just wanting to understand the issue. Oh and FYI I am not blind and couldn't stand looking at those posters and can't watch 3D movies.
Twinbowser 2 years ago
3d works because the perspective you get from your two eyes are slightly different (because the eyes are a few centimetres apart) and the brain puts the two ‘images’ together to make the 3d image. If you have no vision in one of your eyes, the brain has only one perspective or ‘image’ and so you’ll only see in 2d. Those magic images and 3d films don’t work if your eyes have trouble focusing or you have slight vision issues in one of your eyes and some people find it causes eye strain (tbf I barely knew anyone as a kid in the 90s who could actually see the magic images)
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#29
My dad played a running prank on me for years where he would either wrap up a toy he dug out of my room I forgot about, or he would do something like fill a small box with rocks and put it with the other presents. Without fail every year I would beg and plead to open a single present early of my choosing, and EVERY time I got the joke box. The rocks sounded like legos which I loved so I opened that one. One year he put one of my forgotten toys right out front begging for attention, bamboozled again. Another year he nestled it towards the very back like he was hiding a real present, he got me again. Without fail he got in my head somehow to guide me towards that present.
Kitty White 2 years ago
It seems like this one doesn’t really fit here, it’s certainly not cruel, and probably not disappointing, either. Now, if Dad had said “you only get *one* gift, whichever one you choose,” and OP had always been bamboozled into picking the prank gift, that would be different. To me, this just sounds like harmless fun- probably for both of them.
Michele Black 2 years ago
I really like this story and your being good natured about it! I miss my prankster. Once I had my son, my dad gave him "Lightbrights & Legos- now YOU get to step on them" :)
Cyber Returns 2 years ago
That's funny and I hope you learned your lesson about patience and to wait until Christmas morning
Mary Kelly 2 years ago
what lesson?...parents bullying their kids for laughs is not creating great memories...or teaching them "a lesson"...at best, it teaches them not to complain about bullying, which is not a v. good lesson either...i hate all those people who play mean tricks on their kids and then laugh about it or post it on the internet...
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Theo Blackwood 2 years ago
My dad did that for me once. I was like 19 and he had found and washed my old Pikachu from when I was 7 and wrapped it for me on Christmas Day.
David 2 years ago
UGH! Bad memories. Background: Me 11 YO Male. Stepdad: Habitual liar, always trying to impress people, often with fake flexes (lies). We were poor. Not dirt poor starving, we had food - but life was fairly humble. Lots of hot dogs and baloney and stuff in my childhood. So that year there were quite a few presents under the tree. 11 yo me thinks, great, gonna be a good Christmas. Come christmas day and start unwrapping - all of those gifts were used stuff from around our house. stepdad joked about it being a "Salvation Army Christmas" and stuff like that. It would have been better if he had actually gone to salvation army and bought some misc used stuff instead of wrapping up our own stuff. It would have been better if there were no presents and he just said, "sorry we are poor so nothing this year". But to get my hopes up and then that. I WAS P_I_S_S_E_D_! My mom was pissed. He didn't understand why we didn't think it was hilarious. Dead now I think no loss.
Samantha Rivenburg 2 years ago
Every year we give my kids on Christmas Eve, pjs and a book to settled down for Christmas, one year my ex put my oldest son's PJs in an old cereal box and cheese it box, then wrapped the boxes, the look on his face was worth it.
Betsy Green 2 years ago
😆 this reminds me of my mom. She used any and every box to wrap with. I learned open the box to see what was inside. It was funny when your cereal box magically disappeared and just the clipped bag of cereal remained. One year I looked everywhere for a particular book , that happened to be the one she borrowed to disguise earrings with! I didn't get that book back until Christmas day.
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CrazyCatLady 2 years ago
I think some people could like this and some hate this. I would find this funny tbh but somebody else might not.
#30
The information that my parents were getting a divorce when I was 12. The Christmas spirit in me died that day.
Katherine Stevens 2 years ago
Are you the kid of the "kids coping with divorce book" lady? Sorry bad joke. I'm a product of divorce as well. I'm sorry that happened on Christmas to you.
Vasana Phong 2 years ago
What a way to traumatize someone on a special day, not just that day but for life
Kitty White 2 years ago
Did you ever ask them why they did that? I can *almost* see parents thinking that the joy of Christmas, all the new toys, etc might be something like a counterbalance to this awful news. Their thinking was likely warped by their own emotional turmoil.
Amused panda 2 years ago
Is this from one of the kids of the person whose MIL gave a ‘How to Help Kids Cope With Divorce’ book?
Amy Taylor 2 years ago
I'm so sorry :( I remember the first Christmas after my parents split so vividly.... me: 12 years old and my world just fell apart. My mom and brother screaming at each other and crying then slamming both of their bedroom doors and me making Christmas dinner all by myself because, dammit!! I wanted a good Christmas. To this day I can't handle the sound of doors slamming and I'm 54 years old.
#31
A bottle of raccoon urine. Not joking. A completely sealed, brand new bottle of raccoon urine.
SobyKay 2 years ago
so does this have some kind of use, traditional or otherwise? Is it a cleaner? A cat deterrent for gardens? just please tell me its not for consumptive or collection purposes!
Naomi van Nijnatten 2 years ago
What the f.. do you even do with it? (I live in the Netherlands, Europe so I honestly don't know this concept)
DonnerDinnerParty 2 years ago
It can be used to deter other racoons and can be used as a scent mask for hunters. Perhaps other things, I'm not sure.
Load More Replies... Perfumista Perfumista 2 years ago
Amazon and hunting supplies. Cover up that annoying human smell (but can attract raccoons).
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#32
Sensory toys. Very degrading. It's like my mom didn't know what I would like, so instead of asking any of my siblings, she took my autism and just picked out a random bundle of sensory toys on Craigslist. I haven't used sensory toys since I was 10. I just wish she would put more thought into it, yknow? It would have been better if she didn't get me anything at all.
V 2 years ago
But, did you know, once you get diagnosed with something like autism, that's all you are for the rest of your life. You can't have hobbies or anything 'normal' /s
Wood Carver 2 years ago
This. I am grateful in some ways that my autism wasn't clear to my parents they thought I was Wierd and pedantic and sensitive. I was 24 when I asked a doctor for the first time. Formal diagnosis as an adult in canada is very tough to get but several doctors seem to agree. While my parents continue to reject the idea one of my inlaws embraced it in the most condescending way possible and now makes anything and everything about it. All gifts thereafter have been kids autism toys or a book on autism. If I'm not enjoying an activity it's the autism not her being obnoxious about how she is "in charge" of any board game we play.
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Eloise_Is_Weird 2 years ago
That was thoughtless,cruel, and degrading and I am so, so very sorry you went through this
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
It's so horrible when people act like you being autistic (or deaf or blind or whatever) is your entire personality and/or the thing your entire world revolves around. I'm autistic. It ain't. If people gave me nothing but autism related stuff for Christmas/my birthday I'd burst a blood vessel.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Did you TELL her? Hey Mom I don't use those anymore how about... Then show her what you'd prefer. As a Mom I didn't want the pain of knowing my little ones were growing up. Sounds ridiculous but most Moms will understand what I mean. I got my kids some things before that were not age appropriate like this. 😕 They aren't mad about it because they told me and we worked it out. 😁
RandomFrog(He/They️️) 2 years ago
Give them all to me!! I love sensory toys becuase my masking is so severe. They’re the only break I get during the day
Kim Lorton 2 years ago
Tell her that. And you'd rather she just be i sensitive all the time. Most people are uncomfortable around anyone with a disability, visible or not. Especially parents that have a kid or kids with autism. I am so sorry! One of my nephews is autistic and is such an astute character judge! He is always on the mark especially with people who have bad characters and are fakes and just don't care. Also very very smart! He drives, went to and graduated from college , lives in a group home with 3 other autistic dudes and is really happy. But.... no thanks to his dad, who falls into the group of bad charactered people! My nephew had his number when he was just a small kid!
Heather Talma 2 years ago
A friend of mine specifically wanted some of these one year so I got her a big pack of them, but you shouldn't just assume.
#33
My step sister and I both received a box inside was a roll on Avon deodorant and one of them rainbow lollipops . Meanwhile my mother and her girlfriend were exchanging $1000 gifts The boxes they put our "presents" in cost more then the deodorant and lollipop seeing they got our presents from the cupboard 😑 My mums girlfriend was a Avon sales lady , the lollipop from a show bag 😂
Amused panda 2 years ago (edited)
That's sad....but a part of me is happy that the stepsister and OP were treated to equally crappy gifts. Edit: I mean because the stepsiblings were being treated equally, not because I think they deserved such bad gifts.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
🙄 sorry my pettiness is showing again. Go around the house and find some old forgotten thing of your Mom's that hopefully the gf gave her and regift it to her. Get the camera ready for the looks when she opens it.😂😂
Cyber Returns 2 years ago
Now you are older, you can gift them with a box holding a used roll on deodorant (Bonus points if you add a pube to the ball) and a lollipop stick you found on the street. Be sure to use a fancy box
Diana Pahule 2 years ago
They weren't even trying. Even Avon had/has things that little girls wouldn't mind.
#34
I hate soap bags. I get at least one every year. I have never once worn through a soap bag.
One year i came home for Christmas. made the dinner. 11 courses/sides etc.
Got up at 6am to start making it.
Presents opening at 9.00 am my parents get me a posh leather soap bag. I hate it. In side is a mediocre bottle of after shave that i will feel compelled to keep but will never use.
I kick off cos tired stressed drunk, bit of a d**k
I rant about the no thought present.
Joining us for Christmas is my aunt. Recently divorced, son committed suicide.
I open her present next.
A s****y soap bag and a really cheap bottle of aftershave
And Thats how i ruined Christmas
Seanette Blaylock 2 years ago
Wondering if the poster had sobered up yet when they wrote this.
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Amused panda 2 years ago
I believe they are referring to a toiletries set, OP refers to as posh leather bag so it possibly wasn't cheap, even though OP does call the aftershave bottle mediocre.
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Anne Van Staden 2 years ago
I know it sounds silly, but when I buy gifts for people I listen to what they like. All through the year. I ask questions and pay attention. Sometimes I even start buying gifts earlier in the year because I want it to be special. It's not about the money it's about the thought. I want that person to know I was thinking of them when I bought it. Some people are just a*s%*$&. Especially parents
Naesil 🇫🇮 2 years ago
Issue with my family is that when we say we need something everyone of us just buys it ourselves. And asking closer to christmas will just result to "i dont need anything". I am the same so Im not blaming them, thats just how we are.
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Rebecca Slater 2 years ago
In the UK a soap bag is the same as a toiletry bag or a wash bag. A small-ish bag you use while travelling and keep things like shampoo, conditioner, soap, toothbrush etc :)
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Amused panda 2 years ago
His 'horrible family' gave him an impersonal gift that he didn't appreciate, but if he's made show of being appreciative in previous years they might think he likes them. Though getting them every year shows a lack of imagination, and he had liked receiving them it a boxed gift set, rather than one including a bag every year, might be less wasteful (I doubt even people who travel regularly for work need a new toiletry bag every year).
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Esme Love and Squalor 2 years ago
Seems pretty small to “ruin Christmas” over some gifts you didn’t like. Your poor aunt just lost a kid to suicide and you pop off cuz you didn’t like the present she got you? Seems pretty self centered.
Diana Pahule 2 years ago
He didn't know what she'd given him until after the rant.
Load More Replies... Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Wow. You really did put both feet up to the knees in your mouth on this one. TAKE THEM BACK. Exchange the unwanted gifts for something you do want. No need to be rude about it. Or develop an allergy to the stuff. Tell them you can't use whatever because your dermatologist says you're allergic. Problem solved. Your Aunt probably gave you the gift she was going to give her son. ☹️
#35
This was actually a recent one. Been with my girlfriend for like 2-3 years now. Her family considers me a part of their family, but my girlfriend’s mom, and aunt, are probably the most hypocritical and bat s**t insane people you could ever meet. Aunt believes that if you use a gps you are a b***h that doesn’t deserve to live in that state (she proceeded to get everyone lost when she was driving us around on vacation. She lives in Florida for 27 years by that time). The mom is a manipulative narcissist, that actually said to my girlfriend and a mutual friend of ours that the only reason she has my girlfriend around is because she is the person that she uses to let her anger out on, (I.e. yells about nonsensical c**p, pushes her, or makes her feel like she is worth nothing 24/7). For Christmas, I went over to my girlfriend’s home to celebrate with them before celebrating with my girlfriend t my house. Got a present from the aunt who sent something over. I received, a single rubber duck, that had the bottom torn out, a note was stuffed in the opening, and on that note, was the sentence, “If you are reading this, you killed the birdie!”, and a painted rock that was just painted black with the words “best buds” on it. The mom was the worst one though, I got a nutcracker. I didn’t fully understand it at the time. But I finally got it when my girlfriend’s dad took me aside and said in a hushed tone, “I’m sorry for the gift, but Tray has given that to [eldest daughters] boyfriends as a threat.” That’s right, I got a broken rubber duck that blamed me for killing it, a painted rock, and a threat that if I did ANYTHING to hurt my girlfriend (more than what the mom already does), that her mother will use the NUTCRACKER.
Garth Bock 2 years ago
Sounds like you are involved with a mob family. Do something wrong and you find a rocking horse head in your bed ???
#36
I was six years old and I really really wanted an electric train set. I was like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story" harping on about his BB gun that he wanted. The big day arrives and there's a large box that looked pretty close to electric train set size but my parents would dictate in which order the presents were opened and of course it was saved for last. I don't remember the other gifts, but I do remember the big electric train set sized box. I'll give you a hint. It wasn't an electric train set. It was a box filled with sweaters and socks. No joke. Just what a six year old boy wants. Sweaters and socks. Worst part was that the person giving me this wanted to see me model the sweaters and my parents forced me to. Yes, because a six year old boy with his heart set on an electric train set really wants to be disappointed and have to model sweaters he didn't want in the first place.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
Once you hit your 20s, trust me, you WANT sweaters and socks.
The Redhead 2 years ago
My family didn't do "bait" gifts, however I've seen videos of people doing that to kids; it's terrible. To make a child who has their heart set on something think they're getting it only for their heart to be broken when it's an amusement to everyone else is just wrong.
Kitty White 2 years ago
Wow! Being forced to model the clothing gifts is very Ralphie-like, too!
#37
Butt plugs from my stepfather
Kathryn Baylis 2 years ago
Is that your only concern about a stepfather giving his stepchild butt plugs for Christmas?
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simply.Taz 2 years ago
Pervert/pedophile flag waving FURIOUSLY!! What the hell?? Did the mom not question this??
Melissa 2 years ago
Hopefully they were an adult when they got this gift. Still inappropriate just icky
Load More Replies... Daffydillz' Cold Contagious 2 years ago
That's so disturbing based on my childhood experience.
Cyber Returns 2 years ago
I had a gift one year that I thought was miniature butt plugs. Turns out they were wine bottle stoppers
#38
A size 3xl dark pink sweater from my sister. I wore xl and was very vocal about hating the color pink. But my sister had just lost like 80 pounds. Probably about the sweater for herself before she lost weight then never wore it. So she took it out of her closet and gave it to me. My sister is 25 years older than me and I was in my twenties at the time. This wasn't just youthful ignorance
Reece Aster 2 years ago
I hate when people gift clothes that are totally the wrong size. That really f'ed me up when I was young and on the verge of an eating disorder.
Jen 2 years ago
Its one thing when its a child and a "here is something you can wear oversized now and then grow into" type of clothing gift. Although jokes on my grandparents - the sweatshirt they gave me in 1994 with that message is STILL oversized on me. Grandma did appologize to me at 16 that I got her genes instead of my mom's dad's and stopped growing at 13. She was 4'11" (dad's dad was 5'6") but mom's parents were much taller, her mom was 5'6" and her dad was 6'3". Im in my 40s and still have and wear that sweatshirt.
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Xenia Harley 2 years ago
One year, my mother asked me what I wanted for Christmas (I was a single mother, so struggled financially). I said a sweater, any color but yellow because it makes me look sick. Guess which color they got a sweater for me? The next morning, since I was upset, my mother made me put it on to prove it would look like c**p! It did, and she returned it. My family is crappy and always has been.
Reta Murphy 2 years ago
At the time I wore size large to xL depending on style. I had lost a lot of weight just a couple of years before and was keeping it off. My dear sister (my kids called her Satan) was always much larger than I was. She gave me a 4X ugly Christmas vest. Shoulders went from neck to elbows and was so long it hit my knees. She then had the nerve to say it looked like I was gaining weight so she got me a size I could use. I was 5 ft. tall and weighed about 150 at the time.
Irishwoman abroad 2 years ago
My b***h of an EX-MIL gave me ENORMOUS, synthetic silky cheap pyjamas one year, obviously cheap as dirt. No. 1, there's no way I could wear that material in Spain - always either too hot or too cold, as she well knew. And secondly, XXXL?? Seriously? I was at most a size 42 at the time!! Bloody b***h waz always trying to get me to lose weight like her daughters, who are all obsessed with their weight. I gave them away ASAP.
Alisha Walker 2 years ago
My step dad bought me 3x pajamas for Christmas, and my sis who is almost twice my size a size lg pajamas. I was pissed. But they sure were comfy when I was pregnant with my son
#39
Worst was from my grandparents. Me, my brother and dad all got a used book each from a charity shop. Like the cover was bent and pages yellowed. My brother and dad have barely read any books in their lives and mine was some adult drama romance novel (I was about 12 at the time) that nobody has ever heard of by some author nobody knows. To top it off these grandparents were ridiculously wealthy, my granddad was making almost 2 million a year, and their other grandchild got a ps3, which had just came out, and big stack of games to go with it plus other toys and some clothes.
Lauren S 2 years ago (edited)
We absolutely get my son used books from charity shops. He always gets a pile every birthday and Christmas/Hanukkah. We’re doing a book advent this year so he’s literally getting 24 of them. 🫤 So I hope the problem with this is one book only of an inappropriate age range and inequality of gifts and not actually getting books from thrift stores. Edit: well, we’re starting to get some lovely comments down below. 1) used books is only one of many things my kid gets for birthdays/holidays, he gets plenty of toys and “fun” things too 2) my kid loves books/reading, we snuggle and read every night, when he was 2/3 ish we had to set the limit to 10 books max before bed, the number is much lower now but the books are much longer 3) thank you to everyone who like this idea and shared they also love buying used books too 🥰 Read on my friends! 📚
Matt Smith 2 years ago
I think the problem is less the thrift store itself, and more with the wealthy grandparents buying the OP, hus brother, and dad thrift store items while the other grandkid got a PS3 & a bunch of games
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Sachi Knight 2 years ago (edited)
I adore books, even used - as long as they are in good condition tbh, but I can understand why you'd feel so upset at the state and inappropriateness of your gifts. You usually find that the majority of the wealthy are so, due to being greedy, tight ar*es.
Elizabeth Krigsvold 2 years ago
My GMA always got my sister Xmas gifts but never once got me one. Parents were the same. On my bday, sis got gift and me? If I wanted a cake I had to bake it
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Now you know where you stand in the family. I was blessed with awesome rich relatives. They never went overboard because Mom wouldn't allow it but I was NEVER disappointed by anything they gave me.
Lena Flising 1 year ago
If it's a series of good books, that someone really-really wants, then it's fine to get a stack of them second-hand. ONE old book by some Nobody is not OK.
Evelyn Haskins 2 years ago
Depends on the book. A good or wanted used book is FAR FAR better than a stupid glossy NEW book.
#40
The Christmas after my grandmother passed away, my aunt gave us all the various and sundry junk that she cleaned out of my gma’s house as presents, but signed the tags with my gma’s name. So I got a rusty broken bell ornament from my dead gma that year
Eloise_Is_Weird 2 years ago
That's so insensitive and thoughtless. I mean what kind of person does this?
Shenanigan McFlanigan 2 years ago
There may have been something lost in translation in that gift, they might have meant something to aunt or grandma it may not have been as insensitive and thoughtless as perceived. My sister and I love my grandma, when she passed, the most important thing to my sister was this little pig keychain, the only keychain my grandma ever had on her keyring. I'm pretty sure my sister still carries it with her after 15 years.
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Limey 2 years ago
The Christmas my husbands grandmother went into a care home my MIL (her daughter) gave everyone… EVERYONE… wrapped items from her home. Things like ornaments and glass dishes. Things the old lady had possessed for years and probably loved. The poor lady was in early stages of dementia and looked so confused as person after person opened parcels to reveal HER stuff. I have never forgotten it. I suppose MIL considered it “practical” but I still think it was thoughtless and cruel.
Passiveaggressiveraven 2 years ago
That really is horrible.What my sister did for me the Xmas after our Nan died was the complete opposite.She commissioned an absolutely beautiful teddy bear for me,made from some of our Nan's clothes,it's one of the most precious things I own and it made the first Xmas without my lovely Nan a bit easier,it felt like a present from not just my sister but my Nanny as well.
KatKaleen 2 years ago
Giving the grandchildren something to remember their grandma by is actually quite sweet, but it should have had an actual sentimental value and have been an additional gift. My grandma had a set of three wooden elephant figures on top of her china cabinet, and ever since I can remember, when we visited grandma and the adults just sat around the dining table chatting and I got bored, I'd ask to play with the elephants, and she would hand them to me. I must've spend hours sitting on the carpet in the adjacent living room playing with them. When grandma became too frail for our dad to take care of her and had to move into a nursing home, dad had to clean out her apartment. I asked for the elephant figures and was CRUSHED when he told me that grandma's cleaning lady had asked him for them, and he'd said she could take them. He'd had no idea they held sentimental value to me.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
This is why I told someone else not to be mad if a grandparent gives you back a gift you gave them. They know they're not going to be around forever so at least they know you got something you liked back. It also avoids this debacle. 🙄
Mary Kelly 2 years ago
i would have to know your aunt's character more before making a judgment call...that sounds like she may have had sweet intentions...
Sasha Twin 2 years ago
Maybe she was trying to gift memories attached to the items? Hopefully.
#41
So with the ex wife, I made a effort with gifts. Got her the second gen iPod one Christmas, then because she got big into hiking, I picked out an expensive GPS with an SOS. What would I get? Lame a*s excuses. “Christmas is really for the kids.” Or my favorite, “Well, we buy stuff throughout the year, so that is our gift.”
Sachi Knight 2 years ago (edited)
I bet she would have had hysterics if you'd said/done the same (and can see why she's now an ex).
Kise Miarse 2 years ago
My husband and I don't exchange gifts, but this is mutual and discussed ahead of time. As it needs to be.
Zephyr343 2 years ago
I am terrible at doing gifts with my wife. I wish we would do this...
Load More Replies... Kathy Loman 2 years ago
I can't stand one sided gift giving with spouses. My Dad only bought Mom stuff at Christmas except one year I decided to throw her a surprise birthday party. Bought a card for him to sign. Lol he put $100 in it because he only knew Christmas stuff. 😂😂
Daffydillz' Cold Contagious 2 years ago
That's horribly sad, I'd feel so guilty if someone gave me gifts like this and I gave them nothing. Even if they were homemade gifts I'd feel horrible, that's just not who I am.
Dando 2 years ago (edited)
Same. I painstakingly collected photos of us, our kids and our family dog, printed them on iron-ons and transferred to a pillow case as a special gift for my then wife one year. Another year I got her a custom made gold teddy bear pendant with our kids’ birthstones as the buttons. I always put a ton of thought and effort into her gifts. ONE year, out of 18 years together, she had some of my photography printed and framed. That meant a ton to me. But every other year, she would just ask me what I wanted. If I didn’t tell her exactly what to buy and where, which I hated doing as well as the thoughtlessness behind it, I got bags of Dove or Ghirardelli chocolates from the grocery store. Candy we all shared eventually anyway. Other than that one year, never anything even remotely thoughtful. She wasn’t a bad person. Very giving in many ways. She just had zero ability to think creatively when it came to gifts. Birthdays we’re much the same. 😂
Lucas Jackson 2 years ago
This just shows why people need to talk more openly about Christmas and finances. Although the ex wife sounds like the bad person here, thre is also a chance that she felt that as she bought gifts throughout the year that she didn’t need to do #so for Xmas.
Dina Anastasakos 2 years ago
Should have stopped buying her gifts and if she complained tell her christmas is for kids
#42
Last year my dad promised me a whole bunch of steaks at Christmas whenever i bought a deep freezer to store them in. I bought a deep freezer immediately, then in April of this year he gave me the steaks, which were packaged in March of 2018, the only taste left was freezer burn
#43
When I was 10 years old money was rather tight for my family. So my parents bought a hammer and nails for my 5 siblings and i and told us to get creative and build something. That was a really sad Christmas. That was also all any of us got. A hammer and nails.
GlitterQueen541 2 years ago
I read it as they all got one hammer and some nails to share... either way, not good
Load More Replies... Bec 2 years ago
Positive hammer gift story. When my parents helped my sister move into her college apartment, she wanted to hang something on the wall, and didn't have any tools, so Dad gave her a hammer he had in his truck. Giving a set of basic tools to any kid graduating high school became Dad's go to gift.
Garth Bock 2 years ago (edited)
A story to tell your friends... "When we were kids.. One Christmas we all got hammered and nailed
Fight Hypocrites 2 years ago
My brothers and boy cousins all got these one year. They evidently had a blast and talked about it often. My oldest sister got a doll. She was pissed. My mother remembered it as The Loudest Christmas Ever.
Jeff Gabrisl 2 years ago
IDK about this one, if it was the only gift, that sucks, but I was gifted tools all my life, and I always made sure I had fun with them. My parents didn't always enjoy what I did with them, so you would think that they wouldn't buy me more, but they did. Now that I'm in my 40s, I love getting tools as presents, give me that Big Fn Hammer, a good socket set, or anything that makes working on the lawn easier, and I'm a happy man. However, I have learned that you can't do that for girls. My fiancee was talking about this Dyson vacuum for months, so I saved up to get her one for Christmas. It didn't go well, even though she only bought me the tools I would need to refinish the kitchen and make custom cabinet doors, which is what I asked for.
Bron 2 years ago
The difference being you wanted the tools and enjoyed using them. Few people enjoy vacuuming. Imagine if you weren’t a reader but the tools were books. Or tea towels. Or a basket full of cleaning cloths, spray etc.
Load More Replies... Mistletoe 2 years ago
I’m sorry that you got this, but every year our church does Christmas gifts for children in third world countries. One of the things we always put in the teen boy boxes is a decent short hammer with containers of nails. This is one item that is a hit. I can see it wouldn’t be in the US but I just figured I’d share this with you.
#44
I received a pair of used earrings that had obviously been purchased at a second hand store. They had a sewing needle in th box with it. He tried to tell me he got them from an artisan street vender. One earring had green growth on it. Totally vile.
Zedrapazia 2 years ago
Still an awful gift, but the green growth isn't disgusting. That's just what copper does on the air, it oxidates and creates that greenstuff.
Upstaged75 2 years ago
What about when it turns your skin green? :) I once bought a watch at the airport on the way to a work trip because I forgot to bring mine. By the time I was on the way home my wrist was stained green. It wasn't a cheap watch either!
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Dina Anastasakos 2 years ago
My brother bought me a used hair straightner from ebay. No box, not wrapped. Just handed it to me. It was in bad shape too...cracked wire etc. That was the yr l finally realized how much he valued me. From that day on l stopped buy him and his wife gifts.
Daffydillz' Cold Contagious 2 years ago
Eewww, just no. I'm not against any pre-owned items ever, I love them, but don't give me something with a growth on it.
Yoga Kitty 2 years ago
Sounds just like copper - bathe in saltwater with lemon juice and it cleans up...
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#45
My ex wife bought me snowshoes for Christmas the last year we were together, after multiple discussions about the fact that I was not interested in going snowshoeing with her and her friends.
Bob La Capra 2 years ago (edited)
Reminds me of a coworker whose boyfriend teased her about the BIG Christmas present he was getting her. She was thinking engagement ring, she got cross-country skis
Ines Olabarria-Smith 2 years ago
My mum got a hunting rifle. My father liked to hunt and wanted something to do together with her. She hated it.
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elcee 2 years ago
ha ha I had a f*****g ex who would buy me gifts HE wanted. bright orange poly Adidas pants (his were getting old?) snowboard pants. then ice skates!! I was having health probs, told him my legs/feet didn't want to wear these BEFORE he got them. THANK GOD we finally managed to break up for good!
Justin Trouble 2 years ago
Funny, I got blackout drunk last Wednesday and ordered snowshoes, I've never wanted to try it but what the hell. It was snowing out so maybe that's why I ordered them.
SlothyK8 2 years ago
I'm pretty sure my husband bought me snowshoes this year (which I wanted). He left the box in the hallway for days after it was delivered and we NEVER shop at REI. When he wrapped it, he cut the paper too short and I can clearly see what it is. I suspect he left out the poles and I have no idea if he knows how to size snowshoes. But we'll see. He also ruined MY gift to him by buying something similar to what I'd bought (which was rather expensive) about a week ago. Second time he's done this.
W0lfiest W0lfAlive 2 years ago
Reminds me of the kind of stuff my step dad always gets me for gifts: things he's interested in that I'm absolutely not. A lot of outdoorsy stuff. I don't HATE camping or fishing but I wouldn't ever think to put it on a list of things I like doing. Let alone with him. I've literally skipped all of our family camping trips for years purely because he was going to be there.
Carrie Cole 2 years ago (edited)
#38--She needs Lots of Practice LISTENING!! Glad you Escaped.
#46
My boyfriend got me a can of pears last year.
Kim Lorton 2 years ago
Open the can put it in the hallway call him to look at something out there, then toss his coat and stuff out with him, slam the door shut on him forever
KittyGotClaws 2 years ago
Are you two struggling financially? If not, and he has no other redeeming qualities, get rid of the cheap bastard.
#47
My father wrapped and gifted me a wrecked front bumper. It was from his car that I wrecked earlier that fall while in college. Fords fly nice, but landing is a b***h.
Paulo Freitas 2 years ago
You clearly have never seen a Fiesta or a Focus WRC Land, they Land perfectly.
Mistletoe 2 years ago
Toyotas do a nice rollover and come up on their tires. My father gave me his post rollover car to take to college. I was working and paying my own way through school so I really did appreciate the car. We all called it ‘the dent’.
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Anne Mitchell 2 years ago
If you didn't contribute to the repair of the car then you deserved it.
#48
A barrel of Quaker Oats. It was f*****g hilarious though
Soup 2 years ago
Those things are awesome tho! I love my George Forman grill!
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PissedOffProfessor 2 years ago
Gave my dad a big mixing bowl with a rubber bottom--so it won't move around--and a few cans of his favorites of Campbell's Split Pea Soup and Bean 'n Bacon, and he always said it was the best gift he had ever received--minus the "gift certificate" for Goodwill. He was a pure hoot, and I sure miss him everyday.
BlueCat 2 years ago
I bought my mom a dish to make green bean casserole in that had the recipe on the bottom, acc6 she loved it!
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Ovata Acronicta 2 years ago
Best gift if you're having a lil...well, you know, trouble. Trouble in the bathroom. That kinda trouble.
#49
Grandma got me a dollar store electric toothbrush. Y'all know that thing didn't even turn on
indiecognition 2 years ago (edited)
Due to unforseen circumstances, the electric toothbrush is now a manual toothbrush that never needs to be recharged. Sorry for the convenience. (Mitch Hedberg...💖)
TeenieMeanie 2 years ago (edited)
Every time I come across a broken escalator, I give a salute to Mitch.
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Maple Porkly 2 years ago
I grew up with a very traditional family. Being the only girl out of 8 cousins and siblings, I was forced to act and be a certain way; make meals but eat last with the other women, watch but never play video games/sports, etc. After I turned 12 I felt like Christmas and birthdays were just another day of disappointments. My grandparents were the worst for this. I remember getting a little sewing machine (at 12) so I could "learn to mend clothing for my husband later in life". The year after was satin pillows for my "marital bed". I can't remember all the other terrible gifts but they were similar in nature for my impending nuptials. Fast forward to Christmas when I'm 20. I visited them after they move back to "the old country". Flew all day and night from Canada. The day I arrived with bags in the car and very jet lagged, they drive to someone's house and introduce me to a person I've never met. Yup, Christmas that year was the guy they picked out for me. No thanks.
Kim Maurer 2 years ago
My 18th birthday my dad and stepmother realised it was actually my birthday. Dad opened the cupboard and gave me one of their pottery coffee mugs. Yay? My younger sister (full blood) got a car for her 18th. Happy for her though.
#50
Cheap cologne (I don't wear cologne) that I suspect was shoplifted.
Snorkeldorf 2 years ago (edited)
My boyfriend of long ago had a younger brother in high school. One year for Christmas, he gifted me with a key chain with my initial. I was so touched that this kid spent his money on a gift for me. I kept that key chain for years. Ran into him at a club one night after he had grown up and moved out of state. He was home for the holidays. I showed him the key chain, which I still carried. He laughed and said....."Oh.....I remember! I stole those one year and gave 'em out." Got a new key chain after that.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
They couldn't get the good stuff? If you're going to steal at least grab the good stuff 😂😂😂
Paulo Freitas 2 years ago
Why are you complain lol, once we made a secret santa at school, max value 5€, só i bought i gift for my secret santa ( don't recall what it was, it was Over 30 years ago ), and i got a stolen Germán horror book, Im frikking Portuguese, and i was 11.
KittyGotClaws 2 years ago
Tell me how you feel about me without telling me how you feel about me.
#51
When I was 5, I had gotten a sephora gift card from my grandma. My mom ended up using it.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Your Mom was the bad guy here imho. There was lots of stuff you could have used from there.
#52
One year, I was maybe eight years old, my sister and I got just a card from my grandparents saying that instead of buying gifts for us that christmas they would give money to missionaries in South America.
Sachi Knight 2 years ago (edited)
This is a fine and thoughtful idea when it comes to adults, but for kids? Let them have a childhood, fgs! BTW, When I think of 'missionaries', I think of peeps being forced/coerced into religion in return for the promise of aid (many examples in History). You don't need religion to be a good peep (if you do: that says more about the peep, imo).
Richard Henderson 2 years ago
F****n’ missionaries! At least they could have given the money to someone who actually needed it. Like: buy a goat for some African family or something.
KittyGotClaws 2 years ago
I get the gist of what they were trying to do, but why not give gifts, too?
#53
I have a story within a story. In my family, large/ exciting gifts get bespoke riddles/ clues leading on a hunt culminating in the gift. One year, I drew a sister of mine in the exchange who HATES frogs. So I purchased her a pair of well made, stylish scarves as she was about to move to a colder part of the nation. I also bought her perhaps the most grotesque frog shaped coffee mug I have ever seen in my life. And then I wrote out a 5 step scavenger hunt to the mug. As I was setting everything up on Christmas Eve, I was telling my dad about what I was doing. He laughed, but then he got a little somber. He then told me about the gift he gave his youngest sister for her 5th Christmas. It was a gigantic box, beautifully wrapped. In it, he carefully layered pastel tissue paper. As she peeled back layer after layer, her excitement became palpable. The tension was building. WHAT COULD IT BE? It was a single piece of nickel gum. "She was absolutely crushed. I'll never forget how badly I hurt her. So just keep that in mind." In spite of his warning, I didn't feel too bad--I'd gotten her a real gift too, after all. So Christmas morning arrived. And, as fate would have it, this same sister drew MY name for the gift. It was a decent sized box, maybe 8x10x4 inches. It was heavy, but not noisy. There were many things on my list that would have been a good fit in that box. So I opened it. It was an Amazon box. Within it? Another, wrapped, box. I opened it. Another slightly smaller wrapped box. Inside that one? Several rocks embedded in a tissue nest, and another. WRAPPED. BOX. I opened that one to find a packet of duct tape. At that point, I just looked at my dad. He starting laughing and finally choked out "forget about that story!" My gift ended up being a gift card, which was plenty and appreciated. And she got a kick out of her frog mug, even if it only gets used by her husband to creep her out.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
I checked the original post and alas, there is no picture of the ugly frog mug. :(
#54
A Starbucks gift card with a $0 balance and a gallon size ziplock bag of coffee straws. The straws are at least useful, the gift card was just mean. I’m glad I had enough money when I tried to use it though. Lol
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Did you tell them it was 0 balance? Some people don't understand that you HAVE to pay money to put on the card. I know I didn't until I was in my 40s. I thought the money was already one the card.🙄 Like if you see a $20 gift card and you pay a couple dollars for it you assume it's got $20 on it. Ignorant I know now. But you have to assume the person was ignorant like I was and ask them.
Rhonda Quick 2 years ago
One year I received a $25 Starbucks card that had $19 on it. It had been used
#55
My ex's parents gave him an alarm clock for Christmas when he was 15. Not even a clock radio. Just an alarm clock. That was his "big gift" because it was "electronic." These same people gave their grandson (my son) a book about manners for his 3rd birthday, and me one (1) kitchen towel for my birthday. Today my ex was over here picking up our kids and he announced, "guess what?!? Grandma and papa are getting you SHOES for Christmas!!!" My kids already had shoes on their feet. They were like, Oh-kay. Good? It's bleak.
Tinderella 2 years ago
My aunt gave me an alarm clock when I was 9. I f*****g loved that thing. It was just an alarm clock, no radio. The traditional kind with the two bells on top except it was clear and you could see all the clock parts. I wish I still had it.
Potty pagan panda 2 years ago
Well kids grow out of their shoes so quickly so maybe a good thing?
Richard Henderson 2 years ago
It’s possible to own more than one pair of shoes. But I think I know where this is going.
#56
My sisters father. I wanted Pokemon sapphire or ruby so bad for Christmas it was the only thing I asked for. A few days before Christmas he came home with a GBA cartridge wrapped in wrapping paper and set it on one of the Christmas tree branches. He said "you can't open it until Christmas" excitedly so my 3rd grade brain assumed he had gotten what I asked for. Christmas day comes and I open it immediately to see Ice Age 2: The Meltdown staring at me. It was the first time I faked liking a present. Edit: For those wondering I did indeed get the game a year later, my moms good friend bought a used version of sapphire for me.
Luke Branwen 2 years ago
So like that episode of The Simpsons where Bart asked for a Mortal Kombat-style game and got a golf game instead?
TeenieMeanie 2 years ago
Bonestorm. Yes, I’ve definitely used the handle “Thrillho” for game play.
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Dominique Coates 2 years ago
Pokémon is both cards or video games. The games are just like the anime. While the you play a battle game with decks of cards. What's also kinda sad. But might give explanation is that when the games are brand new they are pretty expensive. So I bet he got the ice age game bc it was cheaper.
Load More Replies... Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Can I have the ice age game 😂😂😂 I'm 54 and have been a gamer forever. I prefer these types of games.
#57
My aunt. Poor lady. She wasn't in the best financial situation and she had arthritis and cancer. But was sweet beyond what she should have been. She gave me 2 gifts. When I was 16: a vampire makeup kit. I had never mentioned anything about vampires. I was kind of your run of the mill jock just worried about sports and friends. When I was 15: a floppy black hat with an elastic piece on the back, with pennies glued to the bill with glitter glue.
Kiss Army 2 years ago
My husband's aunt lived on a very limited income but she would always send us each a birthday card and Christmas card with $2 and she would write "have a treat on me". When our son was born, she sent us a pack of baby socks for him and started sending him a $2 birthday treat too. I have to say, knowing that she must have had to budget for that $2, plus take the time to write the card and mail it meant the world to us. We would be sure to spoil her the best we could in return... I miss her!
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
That's so cool. I hope you hugged her for the gifts. They truly came from the heart ❤️🫂
Skullface VonHornhelm 2 years ago
I would have loved to have gotten a vampire makeup kit at that age.
#58
I grew up in the 90s and two different years we got bible video games. 1. Bible Adventures https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bible_Adventures 2. Exodus https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exodus_(video_game) These games were terrible, repetitive, hard, and boring with s****y controls. The only exception being the one where you play as Noah and have to kidnap animals and force them on your boat. My brother got a toothpick dispenser from our grandparents one year. We had a strange childhood...
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
I can't stand repetitive games. And biblical ones that aren't any good just make you feel the opposite about religion.🙄
#59
My nana once got me this really creepy looking porcelain doll. It only had one eye and it was dusty and I’d never, ever played with dolls like that before, let alone one that is definitely haunted. I don’t know if she was trying to offload a cursed doll on me or something.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
I know someone who would LOVE to have gotten it, but then she also collects skulls, so...
readingthequibbler 2 years ago
I want to meet her so bad. She sounds interesting
Load More Replies... Kathy Loman 2 years ago
My guess is it's a family antique. I'd ask her about it. Get ALL the info you can BEFORE you dispose of it. The eye can be repaired. Some of those old creepy dolls are worth a fortune.
#60
I was 8 or 9, I really wanted one of those Furbies who were really popular back in the days. Come Christmas, my aunt is all proud to give me my present, hyping me it's something I really wanted. Then I open it and it's a... plushies furby keychain. I don't remember much but I was told my face fell when I saw it. Though I was raised to not complain about receiving gifts so when she asked me "you don't like it?", I forcefully (and badly) smiled, reassuring her that yes, I liked it and I was just surprised. I even put it on my jacket zipper to prove my point. Turned out it was a joke and she did get me a real furby that she gifted me after, but still, the immediate disappointment was something hard to hide!
Erica Ventura 2 years ago
I fail to see the humor in disappointing a kid. It's actually just cruel.
Lil Leota 2 years ago
I don't know, My parents would tell me that what I wanted was too expensive and then actually get it for me. That was my parents version of that kind of gift.
Load More Replies... #61
A pencil
VonBlade 2 years ago
Exactly. If they're a budding artist and got a Blackwing, good times. If they want to be a fire engine and got a 50 for $1 pencil, less so.
Load More Replies... Garth Bock 2 years ago
Best to reply graciously.. "Thanks for the pencil... As a gift it was definitely #2 😂
#62
My aunt and uncle are comfortably off, but get us presents from TK Maxx. I could tell you about my mother's 'glamour poncho' or my brother's 'airport thriller novel', but their most recent Christmas gift is the one that's caused me the most inconvenience. Last Christmas, they gave me a small anthology of short plays based on Shakespeare, which I actually thought was quite nice - I did my undergrad dissertation on Shakespeare, and I have [this poster](https://imgc.allpostersimages.com/img/print/posters/shakespeare-big-w***y-funny-poster_a-G-9843569-0.jpg) up in my room - but I must admit I haven't read it yet. In fact, I'm not entirely sure where it is. More recently, however, I learned that their AmDram group have been trying to perform the anthology since before the pandemic, and are just about to do so now that lockdown is lifting. They must have brought the books in bulk for the group and given me a leftover. And what's worse is that my uncle actually reminded my dad that he'd brought me this book, and my dad lied that I'd read it and loved it so as not to offend him. We're seeing them soon. I've got to read that bloody anthology cover-to-cover and find things I liked about it, or my dad and I are toast.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
You already know Shakespeare so where's the problem? Oh and FYI Google is your friend. Amazon to the rescue 😂😂😂
#63
One sock.
Kathy Loman 2 years ago (edited)
Hung by the chimney with care. I'd have made a sock puppet and drove my family crazy because I'd only talk with it. 😂😂😂
#64
My great grandma gave my cousin a jock strap from goodwill. Her mental health was bad at this time. 1992ish? He started crying. He was 9.
Ellie J 2 years ago
This is sad but I can't help but feel other family members should have stepped in to prevent this especially if they knew the circumstances of her bad mental health?
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
I want to assume the family didn't know. Otherwise the grown-ups suck. Poor kid. ☹️
Vasana Phong 2 years ago
So much good stuff at a second hand shop, especially for kids, but this is what you pick?
#65
I was getting into photography and there was a very specific lens I wanted. A close friend of mine mentioned that she knew someone who sold lenses super cheap and she might be able to get in contact with them. Christmas comes and she got me a gift. It was an exact replica of the lens, but a coffee mug. The only problem is that nowhere on the box did it say it was a coffee mug. I was thrilled and didn’t realize what it was and she had to awkwardly explain that it was not actually the lens.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
My dad is into photography and I got him a coffee mug shaped like a camera lens - on purpose, that is. Might even have been the same one! He was thrilled. I also got him a t-shirt with a picture of a camera and the slogan "I Shoot People". Heheh.
RandomHumanBean 2 years ago
im just gonna go ahead and assume you dont live in the us XD
Load More Replies... #66
My brother’s ex gave me a boyfriend pillow and a stepper one Christmas. Bit of a slap in the face with that combo.
Katie Lutesinger 2 years ago
It's one of those exercise machines with two "pedals" that you step up and down on. How incredibly tactless! (Unless you actually had been saying you wanted to get in shape with some home exercise equipment, of course).
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#67
A pogo stick. I was 14 years old. I wanted a BB gun and when I picked up the box I was like YES! Same size and weight. When I opened my Dad says “A pogo stick?”. My mom swore I said I wanted one. We returned it and I got the green light for a BB gun. It became a family joke. I guess the memory made it a good gift after all.
#68
My sperm donor and my stepmother had a Christmas tradition: My (half) brother and I got a split gift every year, something too expensive to buy individually but we both wanted. Or, at least that was what it was supposed to be. One year my brother wanted a Playstation 4. Of course, being ten years older and 18 at the time, I explained it may be too expensive for Santa to bring him. Spoiled brat that he is, he didn't believe me. Cut to the morning. Opening gifts, drinking coco, all is well. Last package is the joint gift. Guess what it is? A Playstation 4. I was pissed. I know how bratty this sounds, but it isn't that I was pissed about getting a PS4. I was upset that they were pretending this was a joint gift, that they expected me to excited about something I had never so much as mentioned before. I would have been fine if they had gotten just him the PS4, even if it meant skipping the joint gift that year. He's their blood son, and I'm just a half, obviously they will care more about him. But it was still like a punch to the gut. It was like the gift was them saying that my brother will always be above me. Merry freakin' Christmas, right? I don't even know why I was surprised, the year before "we" got a rifle. My brother loves shooting guns, especially rifles and shotguns. I don't care too much for it, but my prefered choice are handguns and revolvers if I have to choose. Before that was an air hockey table. Guess who's the sporty one between the two of us? Year before that was a TV, to be used for my brother's Wii and other gaming systems. Anyways, that was the straw that broke the camel's back. We haven't done joint gifts since, mostly because I refused to come over for visitation during holidays since then. Of course, that means stepmom thinks I'm a brat for picking up gifts anyways, but I've made it clear I don't expect gifts from them. I'll pick them up, because I'm not an idiot, but I never ask for anything more than a Merry Christmas and maybe a candy cane. ....Well that turned into a rant. My apologies. TL:DR Worst gift was the crushing realization I meant less than my half brother, even more so than I thought. Edit: Thank you everyone for the reassurances and hugs, I really appreciate it. Thankfully I have an awesome mom, who took care of me most of the time(only had visitation on weekends every other week until I was 18). And yeah, I guess I kind of get that their behavior is kind of messed up, but eh, at the same time, I was only around four or five days a month from five to eighteen, didn't see them often enough for them to really bond with me while my brother saw them daily.
Delta Dawn 2 years ago
“He's their blood son, and I'm just a half, obviously they will care more about him.” That’s not the way it should be though. I wouldn’t treat my kids differently, regardless of bloodline.
Well-Dressed Wolf 2 years ago
It can be so painful. I’m adopted, and my parents had a biological daughter before they adopted me. My mother treats me like I’m a second-class citizen and constantly (still!) reminds me I should be “grateful” I was adopted. My dad was wonderful though, he clearly loved me as a daughter regardless of being adopted and treated me with just as much love and care as my sister. My sister was my mom’s “golden child” (she is just like my mother) and cannot understand why I don’t want to spend time with my mom in her elderly years.
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Kathy Loman 2 years ago
Y'all must not have realized that by the time you were 14 you could have petitioned the court to abolish your visitation all together.
#69
When I was 5 years old I got a belt, a comb, a frisbee, and a piggy bank as presents from my relatives for Christmas. [Here is a video](https://youtu.be/LkLYEqq7c4s) of me opening them and slowly breaking down into tears because I just wanted a toy.
Lynne Hammar 2 years ago
Omg, cute video! You were a real trouper up til the last strange gift.
Lauren S 2 years ago
Nada jugetes? No toys? Sweet video! You handled that so much better than most kids would have. (I’m going to apologize in advance for trying to quote the vid, I am sure I didn’t spell that correctly. But you guessed it! I’m a monolingual American! Lol! But I think jugar means to play in Spanish… maybe.)
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
A frisbee IS a toy. And if you practice you can turn it into a boomerang. Btdt. I'd have asked where the money was for the piggy bank. 😂
MongoMarcia 2 years ago
What a handsome boy. I've never seen a kid so dressed up on Christmas.
#70
A 1000 piece Nightmare Before Christmas puzzle Now at first glance that sounds pretty sweet, but the completed picture was that of the final scene of the movie where Jack and Sally hold each other’s hands on Spiral Hill. Still sounds nice? Yea, well do you know how much of that shot is just black background??? I must’ve spent 3 weeks putting together that puzzle which was 80% colorless and featureless black pieces before ultimately giving up on it.
#71
My mum is notorious for bad presents, I've had such delights as toothpaste and vitamin pills wrapped up for me at Christmas. But one that stands out was a car crash kit. It had a disposable camera for recording the scene, a form for both parties to fill out, a tape measure for measuring... I dunno stuff and some chalk, for what I assume was for marking out where the dead bodies landed, or something, I dunno.
Fish Fingers 2 years ago
A bit old school now with everyone having decent phones to record everything, but these used to be a really good idea. It was something that you didn't know you needed until the time you suddenly did, by which point it was too late.
Esme Love and Squalor 2 years ago
This is interesting! And yes, with phones these days, not super necessary. Every year my parents get me an AAA membership which is so useful!!
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
The car crash one is EXTREMELY handy to have. People are so upset about the accident they forget to take pictures. Even now with cellphones.
#72
When I was 13, I asked for Dungeons & Dragons books. I even wrote out directions to the 4 local stores that sold them. My aunt and uncle were known to deviate and try to give whimsical gifts, and hated pre-planned gifts. I got a He-Man pop up book.
Heather 2 years ago
I would also love it as an exactly 40 year old woman.
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#73
100 piece Tupperware set. I was 19 and living in a dorm. Edit: well this blew up while is was sleeping. To address some comments 100 pieces absolutely means 50 bottoms and 50 tops. Of the 50 shapes, only 4 were large enough to hold a piece of American sliced bread. So think small. Many were odd shapes. Like the four half circles, and 8 quarter circles. Those were probably meant for dips and dressings. They were low quality, so the lids didn’t stay on. I realize I wrote Tupperware and should have said “food container storage set from Big Lots.” I also know it was from Big Lots because the price tag was still on it. It was gifted to me by my boyfriend’s grandma from her “gift closet,” which was a literal closet full of things she regifted to people. I saw it the next year. When I was told to just pick something out from it by my boyfriend’s mom so I didn’t open something strange in front of the their entire 55 person family gathering again. The grandma always wanted everyone to have something to open, and I was the only one she either forgot or just didn’t buy for. For three years. Of the 100 pieces I have 98 left. They sit in the box they came in. I have used them many times for sorting small things when needed. Again I can’t use them for food as the lids never really stay on very well.
Ray Ceeya (RayCeeYa) 2 years ago
Only one thing to do with a gift like that. Start selling drugs.
#74
It was more of a gift for my family to enjoy rather than just for me. I don't know what it's actually called, but in my family we called it the pizza cookie. It was an inedible mass of mostly cashews baked on a pizza pan. We got one every year, we'd politely thank my aunt for her thoughtful gift, and throw it away when we got home.
SobyKay 2 years ago
thats so bizarre, now Im really curious about what that pizza cookie was supposed to be!
Kathy Loman 2 years ago
It's like peanut brittle but with cashews. Actually very tasty if it's freshly made.
Bec 2 years ago
I also have a family member who sends everyone a food type gift. Probably spends a small fortune shipping them all. No one knows how to tell her no one in our family likes it.
Hey! 2 years ago
My husband had to tell his mother at some point that he didn't like ground horse meat. She's get packages for each of her adult children and he would leave his to one of his brothers.
Load More Replies... #75
A notebook made out of elephant poop
Penny Lost 2 years ago (edited)
I had to Google it & now I know that something called PООРООPAPER actually exists. BP is educational.
#76
First married Christmas my brother inlaw gave me a fake cat turd with kitty litter and all. Welcome to the family! He gives similarly gross/funny gifts to someone every year.
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What do you think ?
Mabelbabel 2 years ago
I had a friend that I used to be close to-one of my hobbies is cross stitch embroidery, so one year I decided to do her a tapestry. They take hours and hours to do, and the cost of getting them professionally framed is high. She really liked it and hung it in her hallway, and the following year asked me to do her another one. This went on about 5 years, she basically had a gallery of tapestries going up her stairs. And every year, without fail, she would phone me in early December and say I was really hard to buy for, and did I have any ideas what I wanted. So I gave her some ideas-yellow cushions, a garden bird feeding station, a jewellery box with drawers. And every year I ended up with a basic pack of shower gel, body lotion and cheap eau de toilette and the comment, sorry, I didn't the time to get anything else. I know its not the monetary value that's important, it was the lack of thought, the lack of engagement, the fact I wasn't worth spending time on.
RMA 2 years ago
I’m sorry. She’s cruelly thoughtless. Embroidery of any kind takes time and patience and is even more expensive to frame than many pictures. You were a good and kind friend.
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Lu 2 years ago
First Xmas with my now wife, I gave her a board game I wish I had gotten as a kid but never got (Mouse Trap). I was excited to play it with her, but I’ve learned over the years that you’re supposed to give people stuff they like. My point is I was young, immature and of course selfish… but people can change, took about 10 years but it happens.
RMA 2 years ago
My best friend at school had Mouse Trap and I have always wanted to get it but would never think to buy it for myself. I’ll play a game or two of it with you :)
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Carol Emory 2 years ago
My father always gave our son, his grandson, the loudest of toys. Once is was a Rugrats clock that would yell out a phrase every quarter hour. It did have a light indicator on it so it would sense when there was low light and shut the sound off. Then it was a little mower with loud popping sounds, then a toy xylophone. Every noisy toy came with "Oh look, another toy that you can play with when you visit grandpa." My father said "Why are you making him leave his toys here." My mother piped up "Because they live in an apartment, dear, and they don't want complaints from the neighbors." It had never dawned on him that we lived in an apartment and not a house like we grew up in. He bought quieter toys after that.
Happy Panda 2 years ago
Christmas can be cruel, it often reveals your worth in front of other people's eyes :')
Got Myself 4 Pandas 2 years ago
It's hardly the worst gift but accidentally discovered my husband and I have bought each other the same Lego set for Xmas this year - guess it shows how alike we are. And yes, I still play with Lego at the grand age of forty and will continue to do so
Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago
I read all of these and they’re downright cruel. Thoughtless and emotionally abusive. My parents, even when we were poor, I don’t know how they did it, but they made it magical for me. Not a lot of presents, but nice toys, one year my first watch, a Chatty Cathy another year. And somehow we always had a wonderful Christmas dinner. I am so blessed to have had the parents I did. They always, somehow managed.
talliloo 2 years ago
i guess i am an OK gift giver. i love getting weird/unusual but appropriate for the person gifts. my dad is the hardest bc he doesn't need/want anything. best things i have gotten for him was one year a deodorized compressed fertilizer shaped like a snail for his roses. as the weather/time goes on it looks like concrete & is absorbed by the soil. he had the best time telling his friends that i gave him s**t for xmas. the other thing was when i first heard him exclaim he didn't give a flying f about something. that yr i got him the literal word f shaped helicopter.
Cassi Lyris 2 years ago
Trauma dump time: When I was 5 I nearly died from bacterial meningitis. The vast quantity of medication I was on absolutely ruined my metabolism/digestion. I packed on weight despite not eating much. Even now I can look at food and gain weight. So flash forward to Christmas one year later, I'm 6. Everybody is packed up to go to my Aunt and Uncle's house and their then 3 sons. Whole family is there. Think a solid 25 people. Our family had a tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve. I had two gifts under the tree. Cool. Yeah, no. Opened the first box; it was an old used pillow. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. Open box 2; an old adult's Santa suit. I was promptly forced to put the suit on and be Santa for the rest of the kids that night. My cousins were egged on by the very drunk adults to come up with the "funniest" fat jokes to toss at me. Reminder: I was 6 and I nearly fùcking died a year prior. I knew if I didn't play along "Santa" was going to get her àss beaten.
Cassi Lyris 2 years ago
I couldn't tell you how the rest of that Christmas Eve went. Pretty sure I stole a glass of whiskey and beer to get through it. Yes, really. Fast forward to Christmas morning. My stocking was full. An apology maybe? Nope. A massive package of enormous adult sized underwear. I was "instructed" to put the Santa suit back on and to place several pairs of the undies over it. I was to keep it on the whole day. This torture became a yearly "tradition" until I was 12 and spent my first Christmas with a foster family. That was the happiest Christmas of my life. I didn't even get anything and it was still the best by a long shot.
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Jason 2 years ago
My dad gave me a used copy of mouse trap missing the trap and most other pieces. Another year he gave me a used lite Brite with no papers and only a few of the pegs. That same year my mom had picked up one too from "Dad" that was new, without knowing he got me the half there one. My mom was a stay at home mom, my dad worked and made decent money but was just super cheap. Good thing he saved all that money as kids so he can buy his girlfriend plastic surgery.
Mabelbabel 2 years ago
I had a friend that I used to be close to-one of my hobbies is cross stitch embroidery, so one year I decided to do her a tapestry. They take hours and hours to do, and the cost of getting them professionally framed is high. She really liked it and hung it in her hallway, and the following year asked me to do her another one. This went on about 5 years, she basically had a gallery of tapestries going up her stairs. And every year, without fail, she would phone me in early December and say I was really hard to buy for, and did I have any ideas what I wanted. So I gave her some ideas-yellow cushions, a garden bird feeding station, a jewellery box with drawers. And every year I ended up with a basic pack of shower gel, body lotion and cheap eau de toilette and the comment, sorry, I didn't the time to get anything else. I know its not the monetary value that's important, it was the lack of thought, the lack of engagement, the fact I wasn't worth spending time on.
RMA 2 years ago
I’m sorry. She’s cruelly thoughtless. Embroidery of any kind takes time and patience and is even more expensive to frame than many pictures. You were a good and kind friend.
Load More Replies... Lu 2 years ago
First Xmas with my now wife, I gave her a board game I wish I had gotten as a kid but never got (Mouse Trap). I was excited to play it with her, but I’ve learned over the years that you’re supposed to give people stuff they like. My point is I was young, immature and of course selfish… but people can change, took about 10 years but it happens.
RMA 2 years ago
My best friend at school had Mouse Trap and I have always wanted to get it but would never think to buy it for myself. I’ll play a game or two of it with you :)
Load More Replies... Carol Emory 2 years ago
My father always gave our son, his grandson, the loudest of toys. Once is was a Rugrats clock that would yell out a phrase every quarter hour. It did have a light indicator on it so it would sense when there was low light and shut the sound off. Then it was a little mower with loud popping sounds, then a toy xylophone. Every noisy toy came with "Oh look, another toy that you can play with when you visit grandpa." My father said "Why are you making him leave his toys here." My mother piped up "Because they live in an apartment, dear, and they don't want complaints from the neighbors." It had never dawned on him that we lived in an apartment and not a house like we grew up in. He bought quieter toys after that.
Happy Panda 2 years ago
Christmas can be cruel, it often reveals your worth in front of other people's eyes :')
Got Myself 4 Pandas 2 years ago
It's hardly the worst gift but accidentally discovered my husband and I have bought each other the same Lego set for Xmas this year - guess it shows how alike we are. And yes, I still play with Lego at the grand age of forty and will continue to do so
Miss Frankfurter 2 years ago
I read all of these and they’re downright cruel. Thoughtless and emotionally abusive. My parents, even when we were poor, I don’t know how they did it, but they made it magical for me. Not a lot of presents, but nice toys, one year my first watch, a Chatty Cathy another year. And somehow we always had a wonderful Christmas dinner. I am so blessed to have had the parents I did. They always, somehow managed.
talliloo 2 years ago
i guess i am an OK gift giver. i love getting weird/unusual but appropriate for the person gifts. my dad is the hardest bc he doesn't need/want anything. best things i have gotten for him was one year a deodorized compressed fertilizer shaped like a snail for his roses. as the weather/time goes on it looks like concrete & is absorbed by the soil. he had the best time telling his friends that i gave him s**t for xmas. the other thing was when i first heard him exclaim he didn't give a flying f about something. that yr i got him the literal word f shaped helicopter.
Cassi Lyris 2 years ago
Trauma dump time: When I was 5 I nearly died from bacterial meningitis. The vast quantity of medication I was on absolutely ruined my metabolism/digestion. I packed on weight despite not eating much. Even now I can look at food and gain weight. So flash forward to Christmas one year later, I'm 6. Everybody is packed up to go to my Aunt and Uncle's house and their then 3 sons. Whole family is there. Think a solid 25 people. Our family had a tradition of opening gifts on Christmas Eve. I had two gifts under the tree. Cool. Yeah, no. Opened the first box; it was an old used pillow. I got a sinking feeling in my stomach. Open box 2; an old adult's Santa suit. I was promptly forced to put the suit on and be Santa for the rest of the kids that night. My cousins were egged on by the very drunk adults to come up with the "funniest" fat jokes to toss at me. Reminder: I was 6 and I nearly fùcking died a year prior. I knew if I didn't play along "Santa" was going to get her àss beaten.
Cassi Lyris 2 years ago
I couldn't tell you how the rest of that Christmas Eve went. Pretty sure I stole a glass of whiskey and beer to get through it. Yes, really. Fast forward to Christmas morning. My stocking was full. An apology maybe? Nope. A massive package of enormous adult sized underwear. I was "instructed" to put the Santa suit back on and to place several pairs of the undies over it. I was to keep it on the whole day. This torture became a yearly "tradition" until I was 12 and spent my first Christmas with a foster family. That was the happiest Christmas of my life. I didn't even get anything and it was still the best by a long shot.
Load More Replies... Jason 2 years ago
My dad gave me a used copy of mouse trap missing the trap and most other pieces. Another year he gave me a used lite Brite with no papers and only a few of the pegs. That same year my mom had picked up one too from "Dad" that was new, without knowing he got me the half there one. My mom was a stay at home mom, my dad worked and made decent money but was just super cheap. Good thing he saved all that money as kids so he can buy his girlfriend plastic surgery.
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