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Have you ever noticed how many excuses we have for giving bad gifts? "It's the thought that counts.” "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth.” “A gift given from the heart is worth more than gold,” and so forth. Probably because gift-giving is a highly challenging task that requires time, effort, and knowing the person. And once we fail to get what the recipient appreciates, it’s always better to focus on the positives than the negatives.
However, today we’re ruthlessly looking at the worst presents people have received in hopes that it serves as a PSA before the biggest gift-giving time of the year. Scroll down to find a what-not-to-get list and be ready to note the things that are better avoided than gifted.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
It was the worst and best gift I ever received. I was very young, grade four or five, and it was my birthday. I occasionally hung out with a girl around the block from me, and I had invited her. Even at my young age, I understood that her family was not well off. The gift she brought me was literally a box of tissue. Some of the kids laughed, of course, but I remember just being puzzled at first, maybe a joke by her. But then I clued into the notion that she had probably taken the tissue box from her house, wrapped it, and brought it to the party without her parents knowledge. I remember actually being a little choked up realizing how very kind and very brave she must have been to show up at my party with her tissue box, knowing it could be ridiculed and that she liked me enough to do that. That day was a lesson.
Wherever you are, Janet. Thank you.
Blair Logue 1 year ago
I remember as a poor kid bringing a bag of gumdrops for a gift because the 29 cents it cost was all I had
Jayjay 1 year ago
I don't think the OP realised that.... she was just baffled, and in hindsight saw the beauty of the gift. You would have been baffled as well :)
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Michael Largey 1 year ago
This is ranked #1 in a category it doesn't even belong in. Nice story, though.
Jayjay 1 year ago
I agree, and disagree... it shows that worst presents can have hidden values.
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BigCityLady 1 year ago
And courageous too as she most likely knew she would suffer from the other kids.
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Mark Kelly 1 year ago
If I had kids and I was having a party I would say no gifts at all please.
RELATED:
#2
One year on my birthday I got $15 cash from my parents. They said it was so I could buy pogs. We then went to a store where my dad said the pogs were a good price. I went in and bought the only kind they had, and apparently they were expensive. My parents then scolded me for "spending all $15 on only this many?". My dad was the one that said the price was good at this store. I ended up feeling really guilty because I assumed we were hard up for money and I wasted $15.
My brother's birthday is exactly 2 months after mine. He had a party with a lot of friends over, and my dad bought him a $25 Nerf gun. This was over 20 years ago, but still hurts my feelings lol.
Nikole 1 year ago
My parents were fairly even with us, but my younger brother definitely had a lot more freedom in high school than I had.
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Panda-sized Potato 1 year ago
Yeah. They just went to the wrong place to get POGs. They were basically everywhere for cheap. I remember buying some cheap packs at a gas station. The expensive ones tended to be the licensed ones.
Mark Kelly 1 year ago
That's awful, glad my parents tried to make everything equal between me and my brothers and sisters.
#3
My brother in law is a pretentious and spoiled prick from a wealthy family. He was snobby so I didn't like him at all. He didn't like me either. So, one Christmas we accidentally got each other the same present. Ugly, crappy $2.00 clearance sweaters from KMart.
David Morgan 1 year ago
That's actually quite funny, since you both have to pretend you don't know exactly what it is and why you got it.
Adding to the list of worst gifts, gift-giving expert Leah named three things to avoid gifting unless the person asks for it.
First up are memberships of any kind. “Unless they've explicitly told you that they want to try said membership,” she says. “Imagine getting a gym membership somewhere that you didn't ask for—think about how you might respond. This is not limited to gyms. I love to work out, I'd love a membership, but that's only because I'd ask for it."
#4
Worst gift ever?
It was my 18th birthday and I was at boarding school. I got a package in the mail and you know how that is if you've ever been away from home.
I eagerly opened it and the list was as follows:
1. A selective service draft registration card. My family knew I was adamantly anti-military.
2. A book by Andy Rooney. I thought Andy Rooney was funny when I was 8, not 18.
3. A card. The front said "Happy birthday! Don't get excited, there's no money in here." I opened the card. There was indeed no money in it and the printed message said "what are you looking in here for, we said there's no money in here."
I got a better gift from the damned house mother which was one of those crappy sheet cakes from a grocery store.
My family wondered why I never went home when I was in college.
Steve Robert 1 year ago
What a really fkd up family. Next time give them a card that has no money, but a list of nursing homes that they can never afford. And then laugh when they don't get the message.
Bambi 1 year ago
Better yet put them in a shytty nursing home when the time comes.
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kitten levels tokyo 1 year ago
As far as I know, in the US, signing up for the selective service is required by law for 18 year old men. So maybe they were trying to keep him from going to jail?
Zephyr343 1 year ago
I got a selective service card from the government and a 4 pack of razors from Gilette when I turned 18....my sister got a container of Similac infant formula from Nestlé when she turned 18 (she didn't and still does not have kids)
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Schmebulock 1 year ago
Give them a card that says no money and on the inside suggest they est a bag of d***s
Otto Katz 1 year ago
On my 18th birthday, I went to the post office, and registered for the selective service. You do have to by law, if you're male. I'm female, and was offended that my male classmates had to, and I wasn't required to. The form had blocks to be checked, Male, Female. I thought that was funny. Then I went to city hall, and registered to vote. I've voted in every election since, I'm 67 now. Eddyathome, if you hadn't registered, your ability to get student loans would have been cut off.
Shark bait hoo haha 1 year ago
I happen to be love those "crappy" sheet cakes from grocery stores. So if you don't want them, more for me lol
#5
My dad didn’t get me a graduation gift, but was kind enough to bring me along the next day to buy his third wife a diamond necklace in my college town.
Three years earlier he told me he was sorry about my struggle to pay tuition and then bragged about spending $12,000 on an engagement ring.
Oddly enough third wife and I are super close now and the jewelry is getting willed to me. Although I fully expect him to steal it for wife #4 if he outlives her. He’s a scumbag.
Lyoness 1 year ago
I'd probably resent the Dad's spending too, but graduation gifts aren't really a thing where I live so that concept is weird to me. I wish it wasn't though...my family would be ponying up for a lot of missed presents!
Nikole 1 year ago
They are in the U.S., as are kids reaching religious “milestones”. I can only speak for Catholics because that’s how I was very loosely raised, but my brother and I both got like a total of $1000 dollars for making our first communion in 3rd grade. The next one was being “confirmed” in 8th grade, but my mom said we didn’t have to continue after communion if we didn’t want to. Guess how quickly I, and later my younger brother, noped out of that. It pissed me off though because my cousins who made their confirmations got at least another $1000.
Load More Replies... Nimitz 1 year ago (edited)
Yup. When I was trying to go to university your parents had to make less than $56k to get a provincial loan, or you needed a bank loan with a co-signer. My dad made low 6 figures and refused to co-sign. He knew my mom and her husband made less than $30k a year so he had me report their income to get the loan. Then in my 2nd year he oh so generously gave me $500, then declared me a dependent. My loan was immediately called due in full, my scholarships revoked. And I still wasn't old enough to get a loan without a co-signer. I was young and just listened to my dad. I started working, but rent was high. I went bankrupt within 7 months instead of getting basic human decency. I learned the hard way to never listen to my parents.
Nimitz 1 year ago
The thing that pissed me off the most was my dad could have paid for my university and never noticed the cost. Instead my future wasn't worth more to him than a chance to humiliate my mom by getting her to disclose how poor she and her husband were even with a combined income.
Load More Replies... #6
My ex-mother in law gave me a used broken tape dispenser for Christmas one year. My kids even remember this. Another year she gave me a very oversized deep purple sweater. Dragged my now ex-husband and made him wait in line to return/exchange it. Waited over an hour in line to find out it was a clearance item and only worth $1.75. Even he was a bit taken back at the time. Meanwhile sisters in law would get $100 gift cards, luxury items, and actual items off their lists we gave her for ideas. The woman is an awful human being-not because of her poor gifting of said items. Those are just minuscule examples of her poor demeanor.
Ms.GB 1 year ago
I would just start taking her gifts (still wrapped) say "Thank you!" Then walk straight over to the trash and throw it in. Then say "Oh wait!" Grab it out, take the bow off and throw it back in. "I like to save the bows for next year."
Load More Replies... Schmebulock 1 year ago
Had an ex-MIL who gave cans of beans. Getting rid of them was a sweet bonus to getting rid of the ex.
Lyoness 1 year ago
I'm getting the feeling the ex partner is likely an ex in large part due to the XMIL.
Earonn - 1 year ago
Well, he's certainly hopefully an ex for refusing to reigning his s****y mother in! Who lets his mother do that to their wife?
Load More Replies... Agamemnon O'Neill 1 year ago
I would have gone over the top with gratitude and excitement. "Marjory! How did you know?! A used tape dispenser! I've always wanted one! Kids, look what grandma gave me!!" I would have run it into the ground while she sat there.
Earonn - 1 year ago
Unfortunately that only works with people who can feel shame.
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Apachebathmat 1 year ago
My ex mother in law wrapped one of my own cardigans I’d accidentally left at her house, she thought it was hilarious
Michael Largey 1 year ago
Becoming an ex-mil was the best gift the OP ever got from her. Priceless, I'll bet.
BigCityLady 1 year ago (edited)
My ex-MIL gifted me one set tea towels. That’s it…..nothing more whereas my husband raked in the gifts as if it was his birthday.
David 1 year ago
When I was about 11, our family was rather poor. Had enough food, but modest living. There were more presents under the tree than usual. It was kind of exciting. Then came Christmas morning and opening the gifts. Turns out most of the gifts were used things from around our own house. My step dad wanted it to look good for visitors so he wrapped up stuff we already owned to make it look more impressive under the tree. When you are 11 you do not want to unwrap your own stuff that you already owned. It was pretty much the definition of anticlimactic. Step dad didn't seem to get why my mom and I didn't seem to think his little joke was hilarious.
Self-improvement gifts should also be off the table. Things like teeth-whitening products, self-help books, or plastic surgery vouchers should be kept clear of. Similarly, Leah says hygiene products like deodorant, face wash, and toothpaste are presents she would be offended to receive.
#7
My aunt hates me and my sister, she would give us gift cards to pizza hut. This was the s**t we didn't have a lot of money and could afford it as a family. We would go use these gift cards she would give us but they would be the change from her using it. So it would have like $3 on it or something. Fooled me once with that, I had to call my parents to come pay for the pizza my dumb 10yr old a*s bought with the card thinking it was $50 like it said.
David Morgan 1 year ago
That's not a present, that's a deliberate insult. What a petty little person to feud with a child - if you don't like them just don't give them a gift, but this is deliberately tricking a kid. Pathetic.
Brian Droste 1 year ago
Once you figured this out, you should have saved them over the years as long as they didn't have a expiration date and once you got enough go to Pizza Hut and use them.
Steve Robert 1 year ago
For your next gift to the aunt: A card, and two dollars, and a note saying it's to be applied to the coffin of your choice!.
Schmebulock 1 year ago
You should have stolen some s**t from your aunts house to make up for it.
#8
A book " How to be a Good Jewish Mother"
I am not Jewish and I am a guy. It sits on my bookcase. Visitors see it and ask questions. I am not married and I have no kids. .
BrunoVI 1 year ago
He obviously didn't read it, because he didn't start his submission with, "you think you got a bad gift?" (I mean, from the title, I presume it teaches how to do that.)
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BigCityLady 1 year ago (edited)
Maybe they hoped you would marry a good Jewish man……and a doctor at that!
#9
When I got married my mom handed me $10.00 and said good luck. My parents were well off and paid for my 4 sisters’ weddings and my only brother’s boarding school.
Seadog 1 year ago
Not that uncommon. Quite often there's one child that always gets the shaft.
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Thee8thsense 1 year ago
One can deduce that mother didn't consider this daughter her favorite and/or she disliked the choice of spouse.
Statistics show that the top 4 worst gifts a person could receive are bad romance novels, diet plans, car manuals, and soap on a string.
In addition, a poll of 2,000 people labeled friends, children, and colleagues as the worst present givers.
However, after receiving a useless item they will probably never use, 27% graciously accept it and 17% even pretend to be overjoyed.
#10
I bought a bag of Lindt chocolate for myself, then it mysteriously disappeared before I could eat any
When Christmas rolled around, my aunt gifted me the almost-expired bag of chocolates that *I* bought and she hid for some reason.
kitten levels tokyo 1 year ago
Kleptomania is a real illness that robs many families of peace.
Thee8thsense 1 year ago
The more of these I read, the more thankful I am for the family I had.
Earonn - 1 year ago
Honestly, if your family was just reasonably normal, be grateful.
Load More Replies... Phoenix Reign 1 year ago
When i was 15 I bought Xmas presents for my whole family. When I opened my gift I was devastated because they gave me ketchup packs.
#11
I love to cook and my food is good. Everyone who knows me knows this including my mother in law. On my wedding day she gave me a gift of a beginner cook book. It was so long ago I forget the name of this book i have since tossed but I still remember the glee on her face on my special day as she tried to ruin it. It was a hurtful gift. The book basically told you how to make a grill cheese sandwich or reheat canned soup. She knew what she was doing. Fast forward twenty five years we see her about an hour a year. She’s still full of hate and spiteful.
David Morgan 1 year ago
You reap what you sow - if you mistreat people, don't be surprised that they avoid you and aren't there for you.
Jaeger (Jaeger) 12 months ago
Or, take the recipes and amp it up, make it fancy and serve the dish at a family gathering saying it’s from that cookbook
Jaeger (Jaeger) 12 months ago
Gift it back to her, or get her one like that that assumes the reader freaking sucks at it
#12
My grandfather once sent me a birthday card for my 16th birthday. It was made on his color printer using PaintShop Pro on a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper then folded in half twice.
The front was a stretched clip art cartoon teenager next to 16 clip art poops all stacked up.
The inside said "Sixteen years old?! I didn't know they could stack s**t that high!"
The envelope contained 1 dime.
He was of sound mind, but also a huge a*****e.
Steve Robert 1 year ago
I would have given him back the dime and said "Here, call yourself an assshole.
David Morgan 1 year ago
That joke doesn't even work, the setup and payoff are mismatched - military instructors have been using a better version of that joke for centuries.
Roni Stone 1 year ago
That sounds so much like my ex's father. Jesus, the man was horrid. Kept say c**p like that and saying it's a joke. No. It isn't.
#13
Not me, but my mom. Of all 6 grand kids (my mom and her 5 siblings), my great grandma absolutely hated my mom in particular, even in early childhood. My mom looked and I guess had a personality most similar to my grandma, and my great grandma HATED my grandma. One year for Christmas, my great grandma got presents for all the kids except my mom. This made my grandma furious obviously. After they had a screaming match about it. My great grandma picked up a magazine and cut out some pictures of models. She gave them to my mom and called them "paper dolls".
kitten levels tokyo 1 year ago
I am learning to not expect good gifts from anyone who hates me.
Bored Trash Panda 1 year ago
I just don't expect any gifts from anyone (aside from my husband and son) and I don't get let down. I don't even know the last time I got a gift from my dad.
Load More Replies... Schmebulock 1 year ago
She should have returned all the gifts the kids got and used the money to get them all something of equal value.
#14
On my 16th birthday my mother took us to an spa to wait for her to get a facial for HERSELF. Can’t say it was too enjoyable.
Kanzi 1 year ago
My biological father gave me a blank card for my 18th birthday. Not a single word. But my younger sister got a car. I try not to think about it now that I have to help pay for a place for him to stay. I mainly help out because of my siblings.
#15
My step mom bought me a shirt that said, "blondes have more fun." I have always been a brunette.
CrunChewy McSandybutt 1 year ago
The term "blondes have more fun" is from the 40s, meaning that blondes are promiscuous.
Seadog 1 year ago
Reminds me of the Pizza Hut commercial which became a joke. What do you call 3 blondes and brunette standing on the corner? Regular price, 4 bucks, 4 bucks, 4 bucks.
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Nikole 1 year ago (edited)
I was born blonde but then my hair eventually darkened a bit. I dye it a “tasteful” red now anyway.
Load More Replies... #16
I gave my girl friend $300+ in jewelry, she gave me $10 cleaning supplies and said “I know you like to clean so here”.
Schmebulock 1 year ago
Sounds like you should have taken back her gifts and told her to f**k off
kitten levels tokyo 1 year ago (edited)
The OP's name has the word "Chatbot" in it. 🤔 Edit: or maybe its the photo credit.
Jossh Nine 1 year ago
Ifa woman wants nice, expensive jewelry, that's on her. I'll buy my girl that nice dress she showed me instead.
#17
The promise from my parents that they would pay for my drivers license when I turn 18. (16th birthday). Then one year later the promise that they would pay for half of my drivers license. And when I turned 18 the promise that they would help me with paying for my drivers license. When I finally got it at age 20, they paid for one of the 15 (or more, I can’t remember) lessons.
Steve Robert 1 year ago
Tell them that now you can drive them to the nursing home when the time comes.
Phantom Phoenix 1 year ago
Next year, tell them you'll drive them half of the way to the nursing home...
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Lyoness 1 year ago
Same here but it was university. First it was all paid for (didn't happen at all) then just tuition and books (ditto) then the first half of the year's first tuition payment (actually got that), then nothing. They weren't struggling either, same year they bought all new furniture for our living room and leased 2 new cars. I'm still salty about it.
Joshua David 1 year ago
I dont know. If they said they would do it they should've but at the end of the day a lot of people in our lives are going to say they will do something but not do it. Work, college etc. It probably felt real good when you yourself got it all paid off. Feels different when you do it yourself.
person (i think) 1 year ago
This reminds me of my friend… she was going to buy a used car, but then her dad insisted on buying her a _new_ a car before she went to college. Used wasn’t good enough for a child of his. He made like 4 payments on it then decided he didn’t feel like doing it anymore so then my friend was stuck paying way more for a car than she had intended, on top of pay for college :\
Earonn - 1 year ago
Sell the unwanted car, buy a cheaper new one... Not that this would remove father's shittiness. Just a solution to the problem. If only she could have sold her prick of a father and bought a nice second hand dad, too...
Load More Replies... Michael Largey 1 year ago
Growing up, my parents always told me "You get your driver's license only when you can afford your own car and pay for your own insurance. By the time I was eligible to drive my father had passed away and I had four younger siblings who needed to be taken places. Then my mom was always asking "Is it soon enough for you to take the driving test?"
#18
No gift at all. The ex and I were supposed to exchange gifts, but he didn't care enough to buy mine.
#19
Ok. I have a couple and it is not the gifts, but the presentation. A CD walkman for my 13th birthday. OMG I was so happy and excited and then I walk into the living room and my two sisters are wearing the exact same ones. Not their birthday. I guess there was a sale.
Then, on my 40th, my mom gets me a beautiful birthstone ring. Again, over the moon. Then she tells me that my sisters love theirs too. What? Their birthdays are not near mine.
Paulina 1 year ago
Ugh, I know how that feels! When I was a kid first communion in Catholic Church was a big deal in my family and meant big party with big gifts. My godfather (who's traditionally expected to be most generous) got me gold earrings. I was really happy until I've seen his two daughters wear the same ones too my party...
Rebekah Krause 1 year ago
I don’t get it? Were they supposed to be one of a kind or some thing? I’m not Catholic and I’m American (in case there is a cultural difference) so maybe there is some thing I’m not getting? Gold earrings seem like a nice gift?
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Mark Kelly 1 year ago
Oh your sisters one of those bratty people that whines before a gift that someone gets even though it's not their birthday?
#20
True story. I was storing some boxes of things I didn't want anymore in a shed at my boyfriends house. I was going to put it all in a yard sale eventually. I went to his parents house for their family Christmas later that year. Every person that opened a gift from him were items from my yard sale stuff. To say I was humiliated would be an understatement.
Robin Roper 1 year ago
Why would the OP be humiliated. The BF stole and gifted her yard sale items, she didn't.
David Morgan 1 year ago
Yes, but we don't know who knows what - possibly the family know about the unwanted items but not the theft, so might assume that OP suggested giving them away rather than paying for new gifts.
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Brian Droste 1 year ago
Many years ago I had a garage sale. One of the items I had for sale was the reading of TLOR books on the radio or a production of it, this was long before the movies. I had recorded them on cassettes. My SIL. My younger brothers wife after I had the sale and before I could take care of everything. She end up taking them and gifting them to one of my nephews for Christmas I think.
#21
An opened bag of peanut m&ms from my dad. My dad is an amazing and kind human but remembering events/holidays just isn’t his thing. The running family theory is that he bought that bag for himself on the way home, started eating it, then found out it was my birthday upon arriving home. To be fair, it was the big bag.
Beak Hookage 1 year ago
I had been invited to a casual little get-together for a friend's birthday, so not a full-blown party or anything - just coffee and cake at a café. On the way there I stopped at a plant shop and impulsively bought a decorative cactus for myself. When I got to the café I realised everyone had brought gifts. So of course I gifted the cactus to the birthday girl. She liked it!
Kalikima 1 year ago
Lucky you bought that for yourself, or you'd have been empty-handed.. it might not have bothered you, but it would've bothered me. Once I had planned to meet up with an old friend around the holidays, and then forgot about it. She called me after waiting for 15 minutes, and I had to pretend I was just running late. Then when I got there, she had a present for me and of course I had nothing for her! That was the last time I heard from her. That was the first friendship my illness would take from me.
Load More Replies... Jossh Nine 1 year ago (edited)
Amazing! I'd share the rest of the M&Ms with my old man and tell him he owes me a Snickers.
Roni Stone 1 year ago
When you know someone is not doing that to be mean, it can actually become a nice memory.
Schmebulock 1 year ago
Since the invention of smart phones this is totally unacceptable. There ate a million ways to track that kind of stuff.
#22
This guy I dated in college got me a framed photo of himself for Christmas. I thought it was a joke. It was very much not. .
Rena 1 year ago
I did this to a boyfriend of mine, even a broken frame - but he was happy and stationed it next to his bed, without caring for the broken glass. Well, I had to tell him that the real present I behind the Pic - two tickets for a concert. I really hoped that he recycle the frame and fund the surprise by himself.
Tommy DePaul 1 year ago
This is a plot device in the early (70s) seminal gay film, "Boys in the Band."
CrunChewy McSandybutt 1 year ago
I had a roommate do this. I mean, I wasn't expecting a gift at all, why would I want this?
#24
From my aunt. I was somewhere around 20 years old. She got me a cheese, meat and crackers combo. The meat was a summer sausage but it had already been chewed on by her dog. It was mostly intact, just several bite marks all over it. I still ate the cheese and crackers.
Jossh Nine 1 year ago
Well....of course. I'd even slice a tiny piece off of the sausage and eat the rest. I used to share forks and spoons full of food with my dogs all the time. Zeke & Lucky are still in my rear view mirror when I look.
#25
A ziploc bag filled with cotton balls with the words "ghost poos" written on the bag in sharpie.
Panda-sized Potato 1 year ago
Really depends on the context of the gift whether it was bad or not.
Ace 1 year ago
Difficult to imagine a context in which it would not be bad.
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Michael P. 1 year ago
This seems more like a practical joke rather than a bad gift, an inexpensive joke gift, that is.
Jossh Nine 1 year ago
No matter the age, it seems like a perfect gift from a brother to his sister.
David Morgan 1 year ago
As long as it's not the only gift, that's a fun choice for a child's gift.
Upstaged75 1 year ago
I once gave my brother a bag of marshmallows and made a label that said Snowman Poop. :) He deserved it.
#26
A gift card to a store that went out of business a year prior.
kitten levels tokyo 1 year ago
Use it to make your fake wallet look real, for when you get robbed in a foreign country!
Nelson Álvarez Sáez 1 year ago
What if they get robbed in their own country? 🤔
Load More Replies... #27
For my birthday, My wife got me this ugly red and blue Tommy Hilfiger shirt two sizes too small. She turned around and wore it to bed that night.
Robin Roper 1 year ago (edited)
For your birthday, your wife got herself an ugly red and blue Tommy HIlfiger shirt.
#28
I once received a half-used candle with a broken wick.
Roni Stone 1 year ago
Half-used is a bit much, but where I came from there were rules to gifting things like candles. You had to do things like put money in the box if you gifted a knife or burn a candle before gifting it. Cuts happen and houses burn down if you don't do that, apparently.
#29
A dvd of their churches Christmas pageant. I was 25 and not a church goer, and live in another state. Was odd.
WindySwede 1 year ago
Or a light show in the micro? (Don't breath in the fumes)
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Learner Panda 1 year ago
You can hang them in the garden, to keep the birds away from your vegetables.
Joshua David 1 year ago
My boyfriend is a church pageant QUEEN! He does all of them at Christmas. It is NOT my thing but i go to opening night everytime to support him. One year I was sick and he got me the DVD 😆 🤣
#30
One year i got a gift card… with a negative balance on it. somehow, it had already been spent before it reached me. still not sure how that even happens, but yeah, nothing like being gifted debt.
CrunChewy McSandybutt 1 year ago
How do you get a negative balance on a gift card? Once the money is gone, it's gone.
SakeSan 1 year ago
I'd like to give the benefit of the doubt on this one. Maybe it was scammed before they even bought the GC. We're told that scammers get the code off the card while it's still in the store and then somehow use it.
Child of the Stars 1 year ago
That's what I was thinking too. It's why I dislike giving gift cards.
Load More Replies... Seadog 1 year ago
What year we talking about? It used to be a thing for thieved to go in a store, grab a handful of gift cards, write down all the info or take a picture, hang it back up then check the balance daily. When they'd see it had money, they'd use it. Now cards have the security code covered. If you ever go to buy a card and the code is uncovered, throw it away and select a different card.
what (she/they/it?) 1 year ago
I HATE that, my grandpa (never liked him) sent us THREE apple gift cards and all of them didn't work, I have no idea if it was an accident- or not but it always makes me mad at stuff like that.
#31
One of those gimmicky acne lights that did absolutely nothing to help my acne. When I opened it I cried. I was probably thirteen.
Lucas Jackson 1 year ago
This seems like a “they tried but were clueless” kinda thing more than an outright bad one.
Brian Droste 1 year ago
When you are thirteen and are conscious of your looks this could be devastating even if it was good intentions.
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Damned_Cat 1 year ago
"Gifts" that address a sensitive personal issue are never a good idea unless the person specifically asked for them.
Irishwoman abroad 1 year ago
A friend of mine told me that she used to be on the chubby side as a child, and her grandmother, who by all accounts was a real b***h on wheels, gave her a weighing scales for her 12th birthday accompanied by a card with a picture of an elephant. The message inside made it clear that the scales were to help her avoid becoming an elephant. She was so, so hurt that she's never forgotten it. Worst of all, her mum didn't chew out the grandma the way she should have, even though she knew she was really upset.
#32
The worst gift I ever received was a mystery box filled with random items that seemed to be leftovers from someone’s garage sale. There was a broken lamp, a half-used candle, and some outdated board games. It was definitely a creative idea, but it felt more like clutter than a thoughtful gift.
Jossh Nine 1 year ago
My friends host an Annual Re-Gift Exchange right after New Year. We just give away our crappiest gifts and hope for the best. No pics/videos allowed. It's so much fun.
#33
I once got a self-help book titled "How to Be More Productive" from a family member. It was one of those awkward moments where I wasn’t sure if they were trying to help or send a passive-aggressive message.
Dragon mama 1 year ago
I got a diet cookbook from my MIL and a self-help book from her sister every Christmas. Got divorced and discovered I'm not a scrooge that hates Christmas, just hated being bullied by my in-laws.
Phantom Phoenix 1 year ago
Gardens are more productive when the weeds are removed and left to die. Just saying. Do not read anything into this
Michael P. 1 year ago
They probably had good intentions, albeit misguided. Or it can be seen as giving unsolicited advice.
#34
One Christmas my ex & I decided to cap the gifts at $40, we went window shopping together & he expressed how he really liked this hand-made leather journal, & I really wanted these green swirly dichroic glass plugs. So I not only hand-made him a leather journal ($15 for the leather & I repurposed a bunch of different papers I had on hand being an art student) but also made a hat for him of his favorite band that had been discontinued years ago, (the one he had was so beat up it was unwearable but I met him in that hat) by getting the same exact style of trucker hat ($15) & that iron-on stuff meant to replicate screen print (on sale for $3) & meticulously cut out the logo with an exacto knife. It was a perfect replica. He cried when he opened it. He got me $40 worth of weed. I wasn’t even a heavy smoker, I just smoked on the weekends sometimes. I went & bought the plugs for myself when we got home from my parent’s house. They were $18.
Jujy108 1 year ago
A search turned up the info that they are basically earrings for gauge holes
Angela C 1 year ago
Thank you because I was thinking they were plugs for a different hole
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Steve Robert 1 year ago
Exactly what kind of plugs are you referring to? Or should I just butt out of this conversation.
Panda-sized Potato 1 year ago
The green swirly dichroic glass plugs she mentioned earlier in the story.
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Jossh Nine 1 year ago
Some guys think, "She'll love this" and go on impulse. Most ladies put so much thought, effort, and passion into what would be an absolute perfect gift. That's us, we CAN be simple-minded in ways, but it doesn't mean we don't love you. We're thinking about you
Spittnimage 1 year ago
He probably didn't wanna have to waste time looking for other gifts to add up to $40.
#35
Clown statues. My grandma, god rest her soul, thought I liked them. They were weird.
Kim Shannon 1 year ago
No that she's passed, list them on eBay as being haunted, with the disclaimer, your results may vary. It will be the easiest 5 bucks you'll ever make!
David 1 year ago
"Every time Grandmother's then husband died, a new clown doll appeared on her shelf" /J
Load More Replies... Tabitha 1 year ago (edited)
When you briefly mention ONCE that something you see is nice, then a family member within earshot thinks that’s what you want to collect, and gives you something in that vein at every birthday and gift-giving holiday or event. I saw a doll—-not a doll to play with, but to collect aand display only—-ONCE that I liked, and my mother decided I wanted to collect dolls. I didn’t, but it was evident she did. I got dolls for presents for years, way past childhood, even though there was so much other stuff I actually did want instead.
Lyoness 1 year ago
Weird how once people think you collect things that's all you ever get. My SIL collected penguins in the past and eventually she had to ask us all to stop giving them to her because she was running out of display space. Took her about 10 years though, she was way too sweet to say so before that.
Boo 1 year ago
I wished that when I was younger, I would have said that I collect gold. Instead I was stupid and said fairies. My dad, bless him couldn't tell the difference between them and angels....I'm not religious so they are kept in the eaves in the attic. Jokes on the girls tho, when I pass they get them lol.
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#36
Not me but my brother got my 80 year old mother a scimitar. Cool gift for the right person, but not my mother.
Brian Droste 1 year ago
Maybe brother is thinking that when your mother dies, she will leave the scimitar to him.
kitten levels tokyo 1 year ago
Maybe the gift giver knew the mother was about to face a challenging Quest the other brother knew nothing about.
#37
The worst gift I received was a random fruitcake that no one wanted.
Panda-sized Potato 1 year ago
It's a fruitcake. You never eat it. You regift it. It's the eternal gift.
Boo 1 year ago
We had a tradition many moons ago that my parents were gifted one from one of my great, great aunt's. My parents regifted it to someone else and so on, it turned into a family joke....kinda like pass the parcel. That was almost 45 years ago. My elderly relatives have all passed and even to this day, I wonder if someone somewhere still has it.
#38
A keychain with my name misspelled such a simple mistake, but awkward!
Debby Keir 1 year ago
The first Christmas after they married, my stepmother bought the entire family polo shirts with their name custom embroidered on them. She spelt my name wrong....
#39
Oh, probably clothes for Christmas as a child that I hated, and then was forced to pretend I liked as to not offend the gifter. I wanted to scream at my parents, like, ok, now you’re encouraging me to lie to somebody’s face? Yesterday you told me that lying was unacceptable behavior .
Panda-sized Potato 1 year ago
I guess someone DV you because they didn't watch A Christmas Story.
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Fun Size 1 year ago
I was so routinely gifted clothing I hated as a child (I was a tomboy who was always given really girly things by relatives who apparently couldn't be bothered to actually pay attention to the way I dressed) that I finally asked people to please stop giving me clothes, period. The weird thing was that my extended family got together fairly often, so it wasn't like they never saw me and had no real idea how I dressed, but the only person who ever bought me anything I liked was my mom.
Michael Largey 1 year ago (edited)
Our rule as kids was that if you got us clothes for birthday or Christmas you were no longer related to us.
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Mark Bulgrin 1 year ago
My Dad gave me an envelope for Xmas. Inside was a parking ticket for my car that had been sent to his house. My Sister and Brother both got gifts. After that, never talked to him again!
amy lee 1 year ago
You were gracious not to speak to him rather than giving him some choice words. Well done
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MarshmallowTheCat 1 year ago
I have a brother who is very well off. I've always been okay but nothing to splurge and certainly not to go to Florida. I am a big fan of NASA, especially the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. He went on a family trip to Florida, visited KSC, and even, by pure coincidence, witnessed the launch of a Space Shuttle. When he got back, he said "I have a gift for you." I was expecting a NASA sticker or a patch or perhaps a cup or a baseball cap. I would have bought it back from him if needed. He gave me space-themed buttons he got from Kid's meal at Wendy's... And it was the duplicate ones his kids got. I was 25. It was 35 years ago, but I still remember.
bbfa 1 year ago (edited)
I worked for the largest financial services firm in the world. My lead partner was a real cheapskate, never gave me a thing for Christmas, despite the company literally giving him a $100 for each of his staff's gifts. Christmas Eve one year his son showed up in the afternoon with an envelope. I thanked him profusely, thinking I finally got recognized. Son left, I opened the envelope - it was his travel receipts...which he wanted finalized late in the day...on Christmas eve. I left them on my desk and left on holiday break right that moment.
Hannah Phelan 1 year ago
I'm sorry, that must have felt very awful. I hope you're valuing yourself and not being taken advantage of.
Load More Replies...
goldenwood_cottage 1 year ago
My birthday is in early September. As a kid I would always get school clothing for my birthday - but so would my siblings. When I was 18 my mom actually asked what I wanted for my birthday, I told her something actually wrapped in a gift box. I had rarely gotten a wrapped gift. I received a wrapped box with a piece of paper in it that said SOMETHING. She laughed and told me they don't do birthday gifts for adult children. Some parents just suck.
Damned_Cat 1 year ago
My ex was the king of crappy gift giving. One Valentine's Day, he gave me air valve covers for my car tires. One Christmas, he put weight-loss supplements in my stocking. When I looked them up, I found that the product had been recalled the previous year because it contained dangerous ingredients. Oh, and they were expired.
Mad McQueen 1 year ago
One year mom got my sister A new phone for her side of the bedroom we shared. That cool see throu 80s phone. That one. And a Kodak camera. The thin one that had the disk for pics a took like only 10 shots. Nice gifts. I got a small gym bag and a box of tampons. I don't know. I just don't know how that was comparable. And I was 1 year older than her.
chamomile tea 1 year ago
Ok I wanna preface this by saying that it was NOT their fault, BUT for a run of like three or four years every gift my grandparents got me was either broken or didn’t work. A broken lava lamp that was missing both the lid and the lightbulb, a bike that’s pedals wouldn’t push, an action figure with a deformed arm, etc. I don’t know if it was the curse of the well-meaning grandparents, but I eventually just started sending them Amazon links.
Momma Jess 1 year ago
Last year for Christmas, even though I was broke and struggling and usually paying for some of her share of the bills as well, I got my ex girlfriend some sentimental significant things from Etsy. She randomly gave me an elephant tea mug...
Croissanterang 1 year ago
My mother in law worked at an aged care facility. One birthday I received unclaimed socks from the laundry.
Lynn Alfieri-Morse 1 year ago
My mil gave me a kit to make rice crispy treats. It was dry rotted, fell apart in my hands and went directly I to the trash can.
Mark Bulgrin 1 year ago
My Dad gave me an envelope for Xmas. Inside was a parking ticket for my car that had been sent to his house. My Sister and Brother both got gifts. After that, never talked to him again!
amy lee 1 year ago
You were gracious not to speak to him rather than giving him some choice words. Well done
Load More Replies... MarshmallowTheCat 1 year ago
I have a brother who is very well off. I've always been okay but nothing to splurge and certainly not to go to Florida. I am a big fan of NASA, especially the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. He went on a family trip to Florida, visited KSC, and even, by pure coincidence, witnessed the launch of a Space Shuttle. When he got back, he said "I have a gift for you." I was expecting a NASA sticker or a patch or perhaps a cup or a baseball cap. I would have bought it back from him if needed. He gave me space-themed buttons he got from Kid's meal at Wendy's... And it was the duplicate ones his kids got. I was 25. It was 35 years ago, but I still remember.
bbfa 1 year ago (edited)
I worked for the largest financial services firm in the world. My lead partner was a real cheapskate, never gave me a thing for Christmas, despite the company literally giving him a $100 for each of his staff's gifts. Christmas Eve one year his son showed up in the afternoon with an envelope. I thanked him profusely, thinking I finally got recognized. Son left, I opened the envelope - it was his travel receipts...which he wanted finalized late in the day...on Christmas eve. I left them on my desk and left on holiday break right that moment.
Hannah Phelan 1 year ago
I'm sorry, that must have felt very awful. I hope you're valuing yourself and not being taken advantage of.
Load More Replies... goldenwood_cottage 1 year ago
My birthday is in early September. As a kid I would always get school clothing for my birthday - but so would my siblings. When I was 18 my mom actually asked what I wanted for my birthday, I told her something actually wrapped in a gift box. I had rarely gotten a wrapped gift. I received a wrapped box with a piece of paper in it that said SOMETHING. She laughed and told me they don't do birthday gifts for adult children. Some parents just suck.
Damned_Cat 1 year ago
My ex was the king of crappy gift giving. One Valentine's Day, he gave me air valve covers for my car tires. One Christmas, he put weight-loss supplements in my stocking. When I looked them up, I found that the product had been recalled the previous year because it contained dangerous ingredients. Oh, and they were expired.
Mad McQueen 1 year ago
One year mom got my sister A new phone for her side of the bedroom we shared. That cool see throu 80s phone. That one. And a Kodak camera. The thin one that had the disk for pics a took like only 10 shots. Nice gifts. I got a small gym bag and a box of tampons. I don't know. I just don't know how that was comparable. And I was 1 year older than her.
chamomile tea 1 year ago
Ok I wanna preface this by saying that it was NOT their fault, BUT for a run of like three or four years every gift my grandparents got me was either broken or didn’t work. A broken lava lamp that was missing both the lid and the lightbulb, a bike that’s pedals wouldn’t push, an action figure with a deformed arm, etc. I don’t know if it was the curse of the well-meaning grandparents, but I eventually just started sending them Amazon links.
Momma Jess 1 year ago
Last year for Christmas, even though I was broke and struggling and usually paying for some of her share of the bills as well, I got my ex girlfriend some sentimental significant things from Etsy. She randomly gave me an elephant tea mug...
Croissanterang 1 year ago
My mother in law worked at an aged care facility. One birthday I received unclaimed socks from the laundry.
Lynn Alfieri-Morse 1 year ago
My mil gave me a kit to make rice crispy treats. It was dry rotted, fell apart in my hands and went directly I to the trash can.
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