Worst Christmas gifts

klkarlen

This topic is usually good for a few laughs, and hopefully won't give anyone gift ideas.

On my list of worst gifts - a book of McDonalds gift certificates - from my own father - it was his only gift to me - I was in high school. Oh wait, he did give me a few Army patches from his old uniforms to sew onto my hippie jeans.

I'm sure folks can top that one.

MrSith

klkarlen wrote: »

This topic is usually good for a few laughs, and hopefully won't give anyone gift ideas.

On my list of worst gifts - a book of McDonalds gift certificates - from my own father - it was his only gift to me - I was in high school. Oh wait, he did give me a few Army patches from his old uniforms to sew onto my hippie jeans.

I'm sure folks can top that one.

I see nothing wrong with those gifts. I don't even eat at McDonalds but someday I might have need cash and boom there I have free food. Also, the patches are priceless as I'd love to have more items for memory from my parents etc.


Worst gift.......I got 4 or 5 checkerboards one Christmas when I was a kid and I only say that because it was a generic and repetitive item.

RunHardBeStrong

My husband got me a new shower head one year. It wasn't anything fancy and went in the family bathroom. It wasn't even solely for my use. He has since admitted he was really grasping for straws that year. I left it there when we sold the house.

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Lounmoun

It is more the thought surrounding the gift.
When I was a teenager my dad had his first heart attack. It was scary. That Christmas I got a black dress from him that I could "wear to his funeral". It made me feel scared and unhappy again. I'm 43 years old now and still kind of mad about my dad doing that. If I had been 30 I might've been able to joke about his death but I was a worried kid facing the thought my parent could die. (He is almost 83 years old and still alive btw.) Bad thing to do at Christmas.

TheRoadDog

No bad gifts. I love anything my girls get me, because they are coming to the house to give it. That means I get to spend time with them.

WillBeThin86

My mother always gives me *kitten* she's had laying around for years because she doesn't know me well enough to put thought into anything.

Just_Mel_

RunHardBeStrong wrote: »

My husband got me a new shower head one year. It wasn't anything fancy and went in the family bathroom. It wasn't even solely for my use. He has since admitted he was really grasping for straws that year. I left it there when we sold the house.

I got one from my ex on my birthday once. It wasn't even the good massaging kind.

sw33tp3a1

A collection of tiny perfumes from the stone ages. I swear I smelled like old lady for a week before I said *kitten* this *kitten* and threw them out.

Motorsheen

TheRoadDog wrote: »

No bad gifts. I love anything my girls get me, because they are coming to the house to give it. That means I get to spend time with them.

respext.

and yeah, this is pretty much how I feel too.

I told our kids: "You're under strict orders not to buy me anything. If you want to give a hand written card, that's cool, but don't spend any money on me."

TheRoadDog

Motorsheen wrote: »

TheRoadDog wrote: »

No bad gifts. I love anything my girls get me, because they are coming to the house to give it. That means I get to spend time with them.

respext.

and yeah, this is pretty much how I feel too.

I told our kids: "You're under strict orders not to buy me anything. If you want to give a hand written card, that's cool, but don't spend any money on me."

My girls are 35, 33 and 24. They are all successful and have pretty great lives. It is rare that we are all together at the same time. Thanksgiving and Christmas are two of those times. I do all the cooking and prepping. When the girls and their families are over, they are all in the living room, talking, while I am working in the kitchen and watching them. This is my favorite thing. Watching them. Then, one of them will look up and see me watching. They'll smile at me and say something. This is the gift I look forward to every year.

lalee115

A ziploc bag full of various toiletries collected from hotels.

RunHardBeStrong

Avocado_AS5 wrote: »

RunHardBeStrong wrote: »

My husband got me a new shower head one year. It wasn't anything fancy and went in the family bathroom. It wasn't even solely for my use. He has since admitted he was really grasping for straws that year. I left it there when we sold the house.

I got one from my ex on my birthday once. It wasn't even the good massaging kind.

Exactly. If it had at least had a detachable head, I could have made better use of it.

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helena99716

A 1$ necklace from Wish when I got them a personalized box of goodies, that I made myself, worth 20$. It wouldn't have sucked so much if I wasn't in the room when they gave someone else the exact same one. And if it wasn't pink, and they knew I don't like pink.
At least the box it came in was pretty.

klkarlen

MrSith wrote: »

klkarlen wrote: »

This topic is usually good for a few laughs, and hopefully won't give anyone gift ideas.

On my list of worst gifts - a book of McDonalds gift certificates - from my own father - it was his only gift to me - I was in high school. Oh wait, he did give me a few Army patches from his old uniforms to sew onto my hippie jeans.

I'm sure folks can top that one.

I see nothing wrong with those gifts. I don't even eat at McDonalds but someday I might have need cash and boom there I have free food. Also, the patches are priceless as I'd love to have more items for memory from my parents etc.


Worst gift.......I got 4 or 5 checkerboards one Christmas when I was a kid and I only say that because it was a generic and repetitive item.

It was the first year after my parents divorce. Dad made a lot of money and we were scraping by on child support. It would have been nice if he had made a bit of an effort. Second year we got ski-mask hats. I think he wanted us to become bank robbers. By the third year his mother would buy gifts and put his name on them under the tree at her house, because she was mortified by what he sent on his own.

One year I got tv trays from my live in boyfriend. Because I had said we should get some since we ate in the living room all the time. After that I gave him a list to pick from. I know, it's the thought, and that he remembered that I mentioned it, but. . .

RastaLousGirl

I can honestly say, I haven't had any bad gifts. However, I may have had some gifts that wasn't for me or my style. Shirts, Music, Lotions/Sprays/Perfume, makeup. But, they were not bad, just not my style. I would keep them. If I found a friend that liked them, I would give it to them to use.

WickedPineapple

RunHardBeStrong wrote: »

My husband got me a new shower head one year. It wasn't anything fancy and went in the family bathroom. It wasn't even solely for my use. He has since admitted he was really grasping for straws that year. I left it there when we sold the house.

^This is exactly why I keep several online wish lists. One year I took a jewelry catalog I received in the mail and just circled everything I liked and gave it to my husband.

One year, my sister got me a big metal K (my name is Katie). This thing was like 2.5'x1.5'x4" (yes, it was 3D). I think it was constructed to be "rustic" because it was worn/rusted and assembled unevenly, so the edges were sharp. So we had it resting against a wall in the bedroom (we were staying with my parents) and my husband stepped on a corner of it and sliced his foot open badly. We took it to a metal recycling place.

Just_Mel_

TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »

For the last 2 years straight I have received nothing. Not from my kids, not from my estranged husband, and not from my family. I wish I could say that it didn't bother me and that I was beyond too old to gleefully look forward to Christmas. I painstakingly plan my Christmas list each year, thoughtfully picking out the perfect gift for each person from my parents to my nieces and nephews. Wrapping each gift with incredible detail. And each of the last several years I have been so painfully disappointed that I didn't even get a card or a drawing by the kids. Last year was the worst as my mother and aunts all were laughing when my mother said, "OMG I forgot Kepple again this year" after they had gifted my cousin some of my grandmother's most treasured pieces of jewelry (nothing particularly valuable just things that she liked most.)

This year I have decided to skip family holidays. Thanksgiving was incredibly pleasant all by myself for the most part. I am looking forward to enjoying Christmas in my own way this year. No drama, no hurt feelings, no ungrateful and thoughtless people.

I'd love to skip family holidays. Was yours upset you missed Thanksgiving? Do they know you're going to miss Christmas? I'm curious. I missed Easter one year and you would have thought I murdered Jesus myself.

klkarlen

_barefoot_ wrote: »

i_squat_for_pizza wrote: »

I can't really say I've received a very bad gift. Maybe grandma bought me a turtle neck or a very ugly sweater that I haven't ever taken out of my closet but she liked it and it made her happy to buy it for me so that makes me happy It's the thought that counts.

Grandma's get a free pass on crapy gifts

And we all get Academy Awards for pretending to like them. For example, my father's mother bought me a girdle when I was 12 - and I weighed all of about 60 pounds. I guess it was some rite of passage into adulthood. But for Christmas? And then my mother made me put it on and took a picture to send to her!

aeloine

My mom's ex-fiancé gave me a bunch of University school spirit stuff. A flag, some stickers, just a bunch of trinkets.

It was for the wrong school.

corinasue1143

TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »

For the last 2 years straight I have received nothing. Not from my kids, not from my estranged husband, and not from my family. I wish I could say that it didn't bother me and that I was beyond too old to gleefully look forward to Christmas. I painstakingly plan my Christmas list each year, thoughtfully picking out the perfect gift for each person from my parents to my nieces and nephews. Wrapping each gift with incredible detail. And each of the last several years I have been so painfully disappointed that I didn't even get a card or a drawing by the kids. Last year was the worst as my mother and aunts all were laughing when my mother said, "OMG I forgot Kepple again this year" after they had gifted my cousin some of my grandmother's most treasured pieces of jewelry (nothing particularly valuable just things that she liked most.)

This year I have decided to skip family holidays. Thanksgiving was incredibly pleasant all by myself for the most part. I am looking forward to enjoying Christmas in my own way this year. No drama, no hurt feelings, no ungrateful and thoughtless people.

You're invited to my house. I'd love to have you. I usually spend the actual holidays alone. Then see kids, grandkids weekend after. So hard for them to make Moms house, Dads, house, in-laws house, etc. We can make Christmas candy and cookies, wrap them and take to neighbors.
We'll make spiced tea and drink it while watching Xmas movies or listening to Xmas carols. Or just a regular movie.

corinasue1143

My worst and my best. When my oldest was very small, she saved her own money and bought me a box of chocolate covered cherries, which she loved, so of course she thought it was a great gift, and I absolutely hate. The look of joy on her face every time I took the box out of its special place when there was no one home but the two of us and offered her one overpowered the sick feeling as I bit into one.

WickedPineapple

TenaciousGymKitten wrote: »

For the last 2 years straight I have received nothing. Not from my kids, not from my estranged husband, and not from my family. I wish I could say that it didn't bother me and that I was beyond too old to gleefully look forward to Christmas. I painstakingly plan my Christmas list each year, thoughtfully picking out the perfect gift for each person from my parents to my nieces and nephews. Wrapping each gift with incredible detail. And each of the last several years I have been so painfully disappointed that I didn't even get a card or a drawing by the kids. Last year was the worst as my mother and aunts all were laughing when my mother said, "OMG I forgot Kepple again this year" after they had gifted my cousin some of my grandmother's most treasured pieces of jewelry (nothing particularly valuable just things that she liked most.)

This year I have decided to skip family holidays. Thanksgiving was incredibly pleasant all by myself for the most part. I am looking forward to enjoying Christmas in my own way this year. No drama, no hurt feelings, no ungrateful and thoughtless people.

I'm so sorry! I know what you mean about ideally being satisfied with nothing. But not receiving any gifts is one thing if you've said you don't want anything, people don't have $$, everyone agreed not to buy for each other, etc. This is different. It's like you're being purposefully excluded and there's no way that's not hurtful. I totally agree with avoiding it altogether, especially if it's hurting you.

I just can't imagine having a Christmas party where there's someone that doesn't get a gift. My parents are known to take in "strays" on holidays (people who don't have anywhere else to celebrate). I've had several friends attend and my parents always made sure to get each of them a gift, even if they're total strangers.

finny11122

Socks and jocks that would not fit a starving biafran ,

DISCIPLINEEQUALSFREEDOM

For a secret Santa last year at work, i got a paintbrush, limit was $25.00.

81Katz

Most recent horrible (if not worst!) A hideous sweater at least 2 sizes to big. A really ugly scarf that was literally the size of a table cloth and it's really itchy. I gave the sweater to Goodwill and the scarf is in the back of the car for an emergency blanket.

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KosmosKitten

The first year my husband and I had Christmas together, he somehow thought gifting me this was appropriate:



Since then, we've made jokes about this terrible gift idea ever since. Every Christmas. He is notorious for picking really bad gifts.. and this is after the fact that I have standing wish lists and ideas that I update constantly and despite the fact that our house is filled with ideas of things I like. I don't really think it's the fact that he gets me things I don't like for Christmas or my birthday, but that it really comes across like he puts absolutely no thought into anything he does get. He prefers to shop on Christmas Eve and do everything last minute, which drives me absolutely batty.

My mother is in the same category. She's known me my entire life, but refuses to put any actual thought into gifts she purchases for me, but puts somewhat reasonable thought into gifts for both my husband and my son, which leads me to believe (yet again) that she likes them more than me (which is par for course in regards to our relationship). She likes to buy a lot of "three wolf moon" *kitten* that she thinks I'll like.. or really terrible knick knacks like a flute that doesn't work, a fertility statue (when I don't want more children and don't particularly always like the one child I do have), weird key chains from places she visits or my favorite: An entire box of her old, slightly used lingerie.. none of which would have fit because I've always been "big" and she used to be quite petite when she was younger.

I cannot describe just how "ick" that is.