What are the worst presents you've received?

[Sunlifeover50]

My secret Santa at work one year bought me a mini Smirnoff gift set- I was 6 months pregnant! Apparently it was something to look forward to after I’d had the baby. Yes that 5cl of voddy and the matching glass really made me enjoy my last 3 months of pregnancy, I could barely wait to get home from the hospital to down it honestly they only needed to buy me a bar a dairy milk and I’d have been happy.

my mum and dad went through a nasty divorce as a child. The Christmas before they divorced they stood in WH Smith’s with me and told me to chose my present- I chose a note book and pens. When I got up on Christmas Day they were under the tree in the carrier bag. That was it. I now wrap up all sorts of bits for my kids to open- they laugh when they’re opening primark vest tops and tins of Vaseline etc as well as their main present, but they understand why.

 

[Jelly Bean]

Last Christmas I got Biscuits from my MIL which would have been nice had they not been opened and the packaging stuck back down with sellotape. I swear one was actually missing. . And they were soft!

Reminds me of one Christmas present from my Granny - half a bag of peanuts (big bag but none the less). Though to be fair to her she was old and didn't get out much and just looked for gifts lying around the house []

 

[Meg78]

- two half used gel pens taped together

-chocolate coin foils without the chocolate inside

-a 3 year old calendar diary. Used.

- a hair wrap with the gifters sisters name on the side

- a Pepsi branded milk carton with thrush-inducing bath salts inside and a 50p reduced sticker for garnish

- a meat thermometer addressed to my pet rabbit

- a heart shaped cushion emblazoned with a photo of their own dog

And, my personal favourite

- a used Starbucks cardboard cup with 3 quality street chocolates inside


Worryingly most of these were gifted by the same psychopath person

We’re no longer friends, try not to look too shocked

 

[cleaningupthecrap]

Anything from the MIL, or I just don't get anything and everyone else does.

What's worse is that when she does decide to gift me something she deliberately spells my name wrong on the tag. I've been with her son for over 20 years, have a pretty common name, oh that's right, that is the SAME AS HER DAUGHTER'S.

 

[Ss1471]

Don’t know whether to laugh or cry… this morning my husband actually expected me to be happy opening a new electric toothbrush? I already have a really good oral b one not even 1 year old? Absolutely no idea why he thought that would be a good gift… but no gift or card from my 1 year old son. Actually trying really hard not to cry every time I look at the toothbrush. I know it’s not really about the gifts but I’d genuinely 10000x over prefer a cheap meaningful gift from my son than a fucking toothbrush. Just an absolute pisstake when in the lead up to Christmas you’re the one running around like a blue arse fly trying to make the day great for everyone else. Anyway rant over better get myself in the kitchen. Have a fab day everyone x

 

[Giggling Squid]

I got given pyjamas today, which is lovely… except they’re “tall” and I’m 5ft nothing. I can get the waistband over my shoulders.

 

[LittleMy]

Not my gift, but this amused me a lot. My BIL is an autistic adult, his gifts are always very quirky which we love. He is a big fan of gadgets. For Christmas he got my son (4 years old and also autistic himself) a self stirring mug. He doesn’t drink tea (or any other hot drinks due to SPD) but he loves using it for his milk.

 

[candyland_]

From reading the Christmas threads I think most people need to cut back on who they buy for.

 

[Pinkii]

I have one but its not mine

where I used to work, we did a collection for one of our colleagues to get her some bath stuff and perfume, think we collected about £70 overall. One of the girls said she will buy it as she can get decent discount on perfume.

come the day if giving the gift... our colleague opens it up and its one of those xmas gift sets from boots ( bearing in mind this bday was in april) no perfume, and we were all a but ‘erm what happened’, we questioned the buyer and she said she has ordered the perfume but it hasn’t arrived . Bless our colleague (bday girl), she didnt say anything at the time but told one of the other girls later the stuff had already been opened and used!! One of them was nearly empty and one was half empty, and after 2 months there was no sign of the perfume still, we managed to get the money back from the cheeky fucker and get her a decent present. Think she assumed we would forget.

 

[Mumof3&wifeof1]

My MIL for Christmas once brought me a silk bomber jacket, size 20, I’m a size 8-10. Within seconds of me opening it and saying oh that’s lovely, she said ‘well it won’t fit you so I’ll just have it’

 

[Clickbait]

Thought it might be worth sharing a link to a charity called Toiletries Amnesty - https://www.toiletriesamnesty.org/ - who collect and distribute donated beauty products to people who need them like homeless shelters, refuges, food banks etc.

I know a lot of people have mentioned getting bath sets etc. that they don’t like or won’t use and being frustrated that you don’t know what to do with them/they’ll go to waste.

You can search for your nearest drop-off point on their website. It also says some places will accept part-used products so if you started using something and hated the smell or it brought you out in a rash, they can be donated too. They’ll also accept hotel toiletries if like me you can’t help but swipe them but never seem to get around to using them!

I had a massive stash I was keeping for trips away that I got rid of when I was moving house as COVID and the cost of moving has put pay to those plans. Wish I’d known about this sooner.

 

[Ruby’s mum]

A week or two before my birthday one year my mother in law told me she had no idea what I would like and really didn’t have time to go into town to find me a gift so if I would like to buy myself something she would give me the money. I felt a bit uncomfortable as I knew they had little money to spare and said I really wasn’t bothered about a gift and she should just leave it, a card would suffice but she insisted. I bought a scarf, not at all expensive, and made a point of wearing it next time I went round and said this is the scarf I bought from you like you told me too. She admired it, said how pretty it was and that was the last time it was mentioned. Still waiting for the money thirty years later

 

[SamBamford]

I had what I thought at the time was the worst present, a bar of chocolate from the £ shop. I'd been watching what the then husband was buying on the auction site. A couple of nice bits silver, a chain and a child's t-shirt, just nice pieces. Now I knew they were not from me but kept a lid on it until xmas day. He gave me the chocolate and I exploded. 'Where is my trinket you bastard!' Seems he'd met a single mother online, was planning to leave the country to join her in the States and her son. Of course he cried etc. said it had got out of hand and such rubbish. We could sort this. I left shortly after into a small flat thinking who will want me, a middle aged woman, my life is now as a single woman. Well quite a few men actually in time, some just like him but one decent one. I'm happy and have never looked back. He never did go, she dumped his once she learned I'd left.

 

[Vera Stanhope]

Way back my ex asked what the kids wanted from him for Christmas... one of them was really into watching movies so asked for some dvd's.
So on Christmas Day she opens up her pressie and she gets dvd's but their not wrapped in plastic and look like they've been opened!
Later when he comes to pick her up he asks "Well did you like your films? They've been opened because X's Kids (his new partner) watched them first and by the way I also got you Pirates of the Caribbean but they haven't finished watching it yet!"

 

[or JusRollWithIt]

Did anyone’s relative, usually older, do this? Where they wrap a present inside a nice box but it’s not what the box says it is. And it’s not meant as a joke, they were just using the box. So like, I would unwrap and find a nice perfume box and say “oh thank you, it’s a lovely scent” and they’d say “oh that’s just the box” and you open it and it’s usually something underwhelming and completely unrelated. I have trust issues to this day because of that I think

 

[ScrambledEggs]

My sis in law used to buy me cook books ...I swear it was a sly dig. She bought me British bake off and Paul Hollywood crap.. her cakes are a pile of undercooked pile of shit. Not blowing my trumpet but I get asked to bake cakes , my carrot cake is well known and my brownies are the dogs bollocks.

Anyway I used to have a obligatory slice of birthday cake she made, but left most of it . Last year the cake was amazing and I kept on saying this is fantastic, your best ever , recipe please....she looked so pissed with me......then I saw the fecking cake box from M&S

 

[Lucyxxxx]

This is really mean of me but my Aunt gave me a £5 voucher for a garden centre once. It’s nice of her but she is an extremely wealthy woman…you think she could have stretched to ten or even twenty quid?

Should of asked if it had an expiry date as you was hoping to save it to buy flowers for her funeral which would be sooner then expected if she tried that cheap skate shite again.

 

[OnlyHereForTheLolz]

One year my current partner and I had made an agreement not to buy proper gifts and just get a couple “little” things. I got him; jeans, couple hoodies, new shaver and clippers, pair of Adidas sambas which he loves, some after shave etc. Just wee bits n bobs.

I gave him this and he was sweating giving me mine... a box of Lush bath bombs, a SLINKY and a joke gift of a wee bell... for him to ring for me to make him cups of tea. (This was 100% a prank gift. He’s not a pig!)

He was absolutely mortified. I was a bit hurt and confused but tried to hide it. He took me out to shop the sales, dinner etc. Even now he cringes and get all red if that bell and slinky gift comes up.

I find it quite funny now and I guess he just had different ideas of “a couple small” gifts.

A bloody tea bell

So what’s a big gift in your eyes then. I think in this case you made him look bad

 

[miamae]

My Nan got me and my brother (I’m 23, he’s 19) a yo-yo for Christmas last year I opened it and she could see I was thinking “what the fuck?!” And she said but it’s not just a yo-yo it’s a light up yo-yo! And then proceeded to demonstrate how it lights up. No.Words

 

[Bogwoppit]

My son has received an Amazon gift card…..with fuck all on it!