When we think about gifts, we surely think about something helpful we would like to have. But when it comes to receiving gifts, this isn’t always the scenario.
From books to game consoles, we all have a guilty pleasure. But here comes the disappointing part: instead of getting our dream items, we’d get… a pair of socks. At least they keep us warm, right?
1. What A Perfect Gift
My mother gave me a book for Christmas that I gave to her for her birthday a year before. She acted as though she purchased it for me. I wrote a note it to her, so I know it was the copy I gave to her.
Also, my mother-in-law gave me a box of plastic forks for Christmas last year. I'm chalking that one up to dementia.
j_truant
2. Don’t Gift Used Things
Secret Santa 2008: The 'minimum' for the Secret Santa was $50. His list of ideas included leather gloves, a knit beanie, gift cards, a cell phone case, and cologne (but specifically NOT one particular brand)
I bought him a pair of leather gloves, an X-men beanie (he was a comic book fan), and a bottle of cologne that was not the brand he disliked, but I put it inside a box of the brand he didn't like just as a fake out for fun.
The person whose name I drew in the Secret Santa just so happened to be the one who had drawn my name. I got an unwrapped and clearly used (but empty) dollar store flask with a cheap gumball machine sticker of a tiger (??) stuck on it. Yeah, that was the last time I participated in a Secret Santa gift exchange.
jonasdash
3. Not Appropriate At All
I did an anonymous gift exchange at work one year where all the gifts were wrapped and put on a table. We then drew numbers and went and picked a gift in whatever order we had.
The gift I received was a velvet pillow that inside had an adult toy the size of my forearm and a plug. I was a 16-year-old boy when this happened.
CarsenAF
4. Giving And Returning
When I was 11-12, my father's fourth wife would constantly give gifts to me and my sister, but would often take them back when we were out of the house and return them.
So she'd give us really cool things, like a DVD player or even once a slot machine (???) but in a week or so they'd be gone... and we were expected to be totally okay with that.
The only gifts that she gave us (permanently) were her old clothes. And that would have been fine, except that she was a size 20 and at the time I was a size 8/9.
She fully expected me to wear her clothes, which were often wrapped and in gift boxes, and stopped speaking to me when I said they were too big to fit. Anyway, my father's married to his fifth wife now.
smultronstalle
5. Not The Right Moment To Prank
I hate ketchup. At work one year, we did a Secret Santa gift exchange and everyone did a really good job and got people really cool gifts with a lot of thought.
I bought my personal tickets to a Chiefs vs Packers game because they were from Wisconsin but I never got to go to a game at Lambeau. They were really happy. Other people got free dance lessons and cool stuff like that.
The person who drew my name was the only person in the entire company to take this opportunity to be a meanie. They bought me three giant bottles of ketchup. And thought it was hilarious.
I just stood there kind of dumbfounded as the person who gave it laughed really hard. Everyone else just stood there staring at him.
It sucked because everyone else tried really hard and I spent a good amount of money on my gift. And the person who got me was a jerk. Not cool. It literally made me hate the person.
ThatsBushLeague
6. Bad And Useful
It was actually a Reddit Secret Santa gift. I asked for books, and the person sent me a card first saying, "Your present is on its way, and it will surely add to your book collection".
It was a bookmark of owls saying "Hoooooooots reading my book". Granted I still use the bookmark today, but what a tease.
itgirl__ragdoll
7. So Creative
My mom is the worst gift-giver of all time. She usually just gives you one of whatever she's been hoarding that she doesn't have room for. For a while, this was ceramic lighthouses. Then it was little fountains.
As a man in his thirties, I was not the least bit interested in either. Then, one year, after my wife and I wondered what my bday present would be a fountain or a lighthouse- she surprised me.
She took a lighthouse, drilled a hole in the bottom, put a pump in it, and set it in a ceramic bowl of water so water poured from the top of the lighthouse like it was flooded or something. Motherflipping lighthouse fountain. Well played, Mom.
Brainstick
8. It’s About The… Small Things
I have an uncle I don't really know who lives down south and thinks he's a cowboy. He would give me gifts of things he likes but I definitely did not.
One Christmas when I was a kid, he gave me a detailed book about guns and a check for $8.56. The next Christmas it was a horse calendar and a check for $17.02.
Eventually, we figured out that apparently he set out a $30 budget for my gift and would give the exact remainder as a check. He's weird.
EricksA2
9. Well, That Backfired
Not me but one of my friends didn’t get anything for Christmas last year because he was an ‘adult’ now. He was 19.
He then didn’t get anything for his mum's birthday because she is an ‘adult’ and she doesn’t need anything if she is an adult. She realised her mistake after that and he got treated pretty well on his birthday this year.
ItsMorpeth
10. Not Practical
I was spending Christmas with my wife's family for the first time and my wife's uncle/aunt/cousin's gift for me was a baseball cap for use in the mining industry.
It had a built-in plastic shell in the cloth lining which made it really uncomfortable and non-adjustable. It was also about 4-5 years old and very clearly used. The edges were fraying and the plastic was cracked in one spot.
The same family got my wife a marble clock that weighed upwards of 6-7kgs.. and didn't work. We were flying back the next day with carry-on-only luggage.
Not as serious as other replies here but genuinely the weirdest and worst gift I've received.
Adamz00r
11. Better Safe Than Sorry
15-year-old me didn’t make a Christmas list one year cause I was sure that my dad would just give me money instead like I had asked for. Instead, he got me a safe because he didn't know what I wanted.
I know you should be happy to receive a gift but I'd lie if I said 15-year-old me wasn't a little jaded that day.
Andyman943
12. At Least She Was Happy
So in college, I dated this girl for a few months, and her family well they were poor, like really poor and they lived in some town that had a high school of like 10 people.
Her dad got her a calendar for her birthday or Christmas (can't remember which). Not like one with personal photos, just a regular photo one from the store.
But man, she loved it, she knew it was all he could do and was so happy to get a gift at all. Man, that girl was so so real.
RichWPX
13. Too Many Plot Twists
Not me but my mom. My dad had been asking my mom what she wanted for her birthday, between a hutch (holder for dishes) or a new bed frame. She couldn't decide between the two and told my dad to surprise her.
On her birthday, he comes home with a garden weasel… a gardening tool used to churn dirt up.
She thinks it's a joke and is looking for a real gift. He assures her that the garden weasel is the real gift and proceeds to go out into the backyard and start churning up the flowering beds.
Well, at least my mom's dad was nice enough to get her a gift - a birthday card and a check.
My mom goes to cash the check at the bank but, unbeknownst* to her, the account was negative and the bank had to use the check to cover the negative balance. What caused the account to go negative? The garden weasel.
joshuammeyer
14. I Asked For A Watch, Not A Nightmare
A Rolex watch. My toxic (now ex) husband knew I had a "wish list" at the jewelry store. An annual tradition in our marriage at his request. I did not have a Rolex watch on the list. I had Ebel on that list.
Apparently, my husband never heard of Ebel and thought that none of my family would have ever heard of Ebel. So he got me a Rolex.
Here's the worst part. He gave me the watch before our family came to the house for the Christmas Eve celebration. I told him, "Thanks. But to be honest, I hate Rolex because if you don't wear them constantly, they don't keep time (because of the self-winding they're famous for.)
Would you mind if I exchanged it for the Ebel? I really love the Ebel. It's cheaper, prettier, I love it and frankly, this Rolex is a lot of hype."
He said no. He demanded I pretend to be delighted and surprised when he gave me to watch in front of the family (to show off).
When I resisted that notion, he said, "Yes. You will do this for me. I need to show your family what a rich man I've become (or something about that notion).
If you do this for me, you can keep the Rolex AND I'll get you the Ebel. If you don't, you're going to regret it because I will make this the worst Christmas of your entire life."
[deleted]
15. Losing A “Friend”
20th birthday party. Invite friends, I say "just bring yourselves". So one of my friends comes by. Haven't seen her in a few months, so awesome time to catch up. We've been talking about hanging out at the party for two weeks via phone text. Really looking forward to hanging out.
Her: "Hey! It's so good to see you!"
Me: "I know, we can finally talk. Haven't seen you in a while."
H: "I brought some old college books you'll need. I heard you're taking the same classes I got."
M: "Thanks. Gonna come into the party?"
H: "Sorry, me and (boyfriend of two months) have things to do today. I'll catch up later though"
M: "You sure? You're both welcome to come in."
H: "Yup! Got lots of important things. Bye!"
On Facebook, they make a post about two hours later talking about sitting at home and relaxing while watching Netflix by themselves. And how no one wanted to hang out that day? The best part is how she ghosted me and never responded to a text since then.
So I guess my gift was losing a friend I'd known since high school to some boy she recently started going out with, who she then married four months later without telling anyone she was friends with.
Our mutual friends had to tell me how angry they were with her for not telling them what the hell was going on.
Robertjordanforever
16. It’s Useless Anyway
Once upon a time, my sister gifted me 10$ to Best Buy. I was like thankful, you know...I guess... You try buying something at Best Buy for under 10$.
This was back when the average consumer didn't understand that you couldn't just gift someone 10$ and expect them to buy something, especially knowing that my sister knew I was young and didn't have extra money.
I ended up spending weeks online trying to find something. I eventually settled on a pretty cool CD of acoustic guitar music set against a nature sounds background. It never did arrive.
[deleted]
17. The Disappointment Is Real
One Christmas, I really wanted an Xbox just like every other kid. As I was opening presents I uncovered an Xbox controller and my heart started pounding.
I was so excited to find the Xbox, so I tore through all of my presents to find no game system. My mom comes over to me later as I'm holding the controller. She says, "Now you don't have to borrow Scott's controller anymore when you stay the night at your friends."
dunununubatman
18. At Least Someone Was Thoughtful
I was 19, working at a fast food. For Christmas, we did a gift exchange. Of course, the biggest idiot in the store was my Secret Santa. He got me “naughty” dice, naughty playing cards, and something else intercourse-related. It was humiliating.
Thankfully, the rest of the guys I worked with found out what he was going to get me and, after unsuccessfully attempting to convince him not to, they all pitched in and got me a gigantic bunny pillow.
They were really blunt about it too, "We found out that Jimbo got you crappy gifts, so we all pitched in and got you this." It was AWESOME.
TintarellaDiLuna
19. Neglect Is My Gift
Is nothing an acceptable answer? My parents showered my sister and me in gifts when we were little, most likely to make up for their guilt of not wanting to be together and not actually wanting kids (my mother has told me on several occasions that my dad pressured her and she didn't want children).
So after my parents stopped pretending to like each other, my sister and I went completely unnoticed. I never received a birthday or Christmas present after I was 7 years old.
I moved out at 18 and I didn't hear from my dad until I was probably 27 or 28. My parents eventually divorced and my dad remarried. After not speaking to him for about 10 years, he called me up and wanted to play dad.
I wasn't speaking to him out of spite, it was just that he never cared enough to pick up the phone and call me and I had no reason to call someone who had no interest in me as a person.
We talk now, but I still don't get a card or a gift on my birthday. I'll never tell either of them that it really hurt me because screw them. So yeah, neglect is my worst gift.
duck_blur
20. Not Age Appropriate
1992 for Christmas, my aunt and uncle got me a copy of Michael Bolton's Soul Provider on cassette.
Not only were they unaware that I preferred CDs, but they were apparently also under the impression that I was a 40-year-old woman and not in fact a 15-year-old boy. Right behind that was an in-law who made me leather drink coasters.
[deleted]
21. Leftovers
My wife, bless her heart, is the worst gift-giver. This usually stems from poverty and school bills. One Christmas, when we were dating, she magically pulled together a blender.
But the next year... leftover Halloween candy. As in about 2-month-old candy. What was it left over? Because we didn't eat it, because it wasn't the kind of candy I like.
I know being upset about things like that is wrong, but it still kinda upsets me. We've done homemade gifts before. There are cheap things we both love (She loves journals so I once got like 10 on sale and have used those as gifts forever.)
And she's even called me "hard to shop for" which I personally don't understand. And of course, I had to dodge "What did you get for Christmas?" questions from friends and family for weeks.
We're married now and this is our first Christmas as a married couple. She's got some money but honestly, $5 is more than enough to spend on me. I don't need gold, I didn't even need a blender. But no leftover Halloween candy.
code_vector
22. Don’t Judge A Book By Its Cover
Microscopes. Plural. I learned the hard way that, if you're a "nerdy" kid, apparently that means you love microscopes, and several people will give you them.
Bonus points if you're not a bad person and you pretend to like them, because, of course, that means you want another identical one next year.
Zaquarius_Alfonzo
23. Taking My Gift Away
A 1L bottle of Dewers for Secret Santa. While it seems like a rather nice gift to a 22-year-old college student, I had just drank copious amounts of whiskey the night before, got very sick, and couldn't drink it without getting nauseous.
My Secret Santa was at the party, knew I would hate this and got it anyway. After I opened it said "Well if you don't want it, I guess I will take it" and then just took it and left... So I ended up with nothing.
Meanwhile, everyone else got nice and thoughtful gifts or things they needed like a car cleaning kit (like 50$ worth of stuff) for someone who just bought a new car, baseball tickets, etc.
jabaliini
24. Not My Cup Of Tea
My best friend gave me two iTunes gift cards for my birthday one year. He thought they were just regular $15 gift cards and happened to have something about country music printed on them.
When I put the code in, it turns out it's for a specific greatest country songs album. And he gave me two copies of that. And I hate country music.
I kept forgetting to delete it and it kept syncing to my iPhone so I would occasionally have that crap blast out of my iPod by surprise when I had it on shuffle.
MadGeekling
25. Get The Hint
I used to hate my stepfather's family, especially because of the way they treated my mother at the beginning, a mix of indifference and rough comments.
I started to hate Christmas as well because I used to have a lot of fun with my own family but now I had to share Christmas with this stupid bunch of people that I didn't ask for it.
Anyway, I was 15 and they offered me a 30-piece Spider-Man puzzle simple enough for a 5-year-old to solve it, while my mother offered very thoughtful gifts for every one of them including adults.
I was pissed not because of the quality of the gift but of the indifference towards the gift. I thought ok next year maybe it will be better. I received a pack of 4 blank CDs. Kind of useful but it was clear that they wanted me to understand they didn't like me at all.
guivca
26. Treating Us Unequally
My stepdad was an amazing man and definitely took us in. But his parents? Not a chance. We went to Christmas the first two years at their house, they'd shower my stepbrothers with gifts and money, and make us sit in another room and give just a flimsy card with a Merry Christmas printed on it.
After the second year of this, my stepdad told them if they didn't treat us equally no one would come. They decided it was better to just invite their grandkids over a day before or after.
I only saw them again after that at his funeral. It continued to that day, them saying none of us should be standing up with his casket. Great people.
LilithAjit
27. Concerning Gifts
Not me. My friend did volunteer work at a thrift shop and typically under this really nice man named John. John was very fond of my friend and heard it was his mother's birthday so he put together a bag of underwear/bras from the thrift shop.
Needless to say, the combination of his mother receiving bras/panties from a stranger along with them being secondhand was concerning.
NoOtherOnes
28. False Promises
I've never really been one to expect gifts, because for some reason I feel guilty accepting them. When there is an occasion where a gift is traditionally given, I tend to give a short list of practical things I may want or need, and a few simple ideas of things that I really like.
My mother is the queen of false promises in this regard (and in general). She would always say that going out to dinner was my birthday present growing up, and that was fine with me.
The issue is that we would never go out to dinner, and when we finally would go out, there was no mention of my birthday, and she had forgotten all about it. This happened all growing up.
I think the worst promise she made was last year when she came to Boston to stay with me for a week. I let her have my bed, and I slept on the sofa. She said she hated my mattress, and that no one should have to sleep on that junk.
She said she was going to get me a mattress for Christmas. I refused multiple times because it was a huge expense, and I finally gave in when she wouldn't stop talking about it. I offered to put $350 towards one that she picked out for like $700.
I mailed her my portion of the money for the purchase of this Christmas gift. When Christmas came, she gave me dollar store trinkets, a huge, ugly coffee table from a yard sale, a plastic bag with like 50 marked-down socks, and a few clearance fleeces throw blankets. Still didn't get my money back.
[deleted]
29. Not That Useless
My grandparents once gave me a 24-pack of AA batteries for Christmas… But then once all of the presents had been opened and I was thoroughly disappointed with my grandparent's offering.
They brought out an awesome remote-controlled dinosaur that used a bunch of AA batteries. So in the end this isn't really a worst gift story, but for about an hour of my young life, it was.
livintheshleem
30. That’s Not How It Works
My dad found out I was being bullied in high school. At Christmas that year, he made me open my present "How to Make Friends and Influence People" in front of the entire family.
When I tried to awkwardly laugh it off as a bad joke, he made a big deal of how sincere it was. (I should preemptively point out that I did have friends and all that jazz, he just thought I could influence my way out of the bullying somehow?)
Claefer
31. How Am I Supposed To Play Now?
My brother bought me Kao the Kangaroo for the Dreamcast for my birthday, and I played it all morning until I had to go to school.
When I got home I went to play it, but my brother had sold his Dreamcast to a friend that same day along with the game, and promised to get me another present to make up for it - he didn't.
PenguinKenny
32. Such A Meanie
One Christmas, from my dad's wife, I got a bottle of aftershave and a diet book. I am female and a UK size 12 (ok, not stick thin but neither am I fat) and both "presents" were bought from the airport duty-free! Right in front of her I chucked the book to the side and gave the aftershave to my uncle.
Suffice it to say she doesn't like me and the feeling is mutual. My uncle is an avid birdwatcher and gets paid to carry out bird surveys and she bought him a beginner's guide to bird identification. He was more pleased with the aftershave.
_miss_grumpy_
33. Disappointment As A Gift
Christmas was approaching and my boyfriend was like an excited little kid over the gift he got me, and kept saying that I was going to LOVE it.
I had been coveting a gorgeous leather jacket so thought that might be it, or maybe even an engagement ring, as we had been together for several years by then.
Christmas came, and with great anticipation, I unwrapped...a smokeless ashtray. This was years and years ago but nothing has ever quite topped that one. (Also, he's no longer my boyfriend!)
oshunico
34. Differences Suck
Every Christmas since my mom and stepdad have been together, they've gone to our relatives' home about 2 hours away. So, when I lived at home, we'd sit in the car for a couple of hours, and then eat so much food we could've fed a village for two days, and then it'd be gift time.
Everyone gave each other super expensive things: gaming systems, tools, large dollar amounts in cash- and I would inevitably get some article of clothing that absolutely didn't fit my style, and some cheapo bath set (I haven't taken an actual 'bath' in over two decades).
While everyone's smiling over their haul, and younger me is like, "Guess I'm the black sheep?", and then another two-hour ride back home.
I always tried not to be ungrateful, but it was hard when my mom was $300 richer and I had to exchange a $10 top for nearly anything else or donate it completely.
WomanOfEld
35. No Need To Get Me That
"The Case for Christ" -- a crappy Christian apologetics text that relies on the ridiculous assumption that if millions of people believe something, it must be true. (Except if they're Hindu, Muslim, or Jewish, of course.).
Written by a guy who took the equivalent of a six-week correspondence class for journalists offered by Yale Law School, and decided that made him a lawyer. My brother knew damned well that I wasn't into that sort of thing -- and his point was that I should quit being a godless heathen idiot.
Of course, I think he should stop blowing guys while pretending to be a happily married Christian heterosexual -- so I guess neither of us approves of the other's lifestyle.
SafetyDanceInMyPants
36. How Did You Think Of That?
A remote-controlled monster truck for Christmas. I was 45 and had never ever shown any interest in either remote-controlled things or monster trucks.
This was from my wife and after I said that I really didn't want anything for Christmas. Not being a Scrooge or anything (though I am a bit and hate the whole Xmas carry-on) but I had said that I'd rather have had a decent night out with my wife over the holiday if she really wanted to get me something.
But no, remote-controlled monster truck it was. Not a cheap one either. I'm not sure I hid my dismay very well, though, honestly, I really did try. It never came out of the box. We ended up giving it to one of her nephews.
Twenty years married to her and I still cannot fathom how that brain works. I'm really not big on receiving presents. Though If anyone wants to give me a private island in Tahiti or a solid gold bar, I'm not closed to the concept entirely.
GeddyLeesThumb
37. Pay Attention
My stepdad's sister was on the phone with my mom and asked her what I wanted for Christmas. This was the late 80s. I was maybe 11. I was also into listening to Jerry Lee Lewis so I said the Jerry Lee Lewis movie, Great Balls of Fire.
Then I made my mom emphasize that it was about Jerry Lee Lewis the musician, and not starring Jerry Lewis the comedian. So, of course, I got a VHS copy of In the Army Now for Christmas. I think this is when I realized adults are freaking stupid.
I have a friend whose grandfather remarried a woman that everyone hated. When he was seven or eight he received a spatula set from her for Christmas. He cried.
JoeySalamander
38. Bad Gifters
One year, my family decided to 'secret Santa' things up a little. Everyone knew whomever my dad had to get something for was set up for disappointment.
I drew that particular short straw. For Christmas that year, he got me a couple of packets of chips. Real thrifty brand stuff. I'd pretty well given up on him by that point (mid-teens) anyhow.
Second-worst was the pointed stick I got for my 16th birthday. Jokes on you Dom, I kept it all these years and when we next meet, I'm gifting it right back to you.
Dominic was one of my friends in high school who I've since lost contact with. I've kept the stick for almost 20 years now, for little reason beyond being the most inexplicable thing I've ever been given.
GeebusNZ
39. Not Enough Effort
Back in 1989, my mom had been dating a guy for a few months before Christmas. He had two kids of a similar age to my sister and me, and my Mom got them some clothes for Christmas.
Maybe not the most exciting, but she makes sure they're the right size, and in the style of other things that they wear.
Her boyfriend got my sister and me these Little Mermaid plush toys that you get from McDonald's for $5 apiece. They weren't together much longer.
-notapony-
40. How Ironic
A few years ago, for Christmas, my grandma gave me a cookbook for one. All the recipes had been painstakingly calculated for just a single serving.
I was living alone and going through a horrible breakup at the time, so I just burst out laughing at the twisted sense of humor of the Universe.
Plus, I love my grandma to bits, so I thanked her and kept the gift.
EnhancedCat
41. Not Hurting Her Feelings
I once asked my mom for the new Call of Duty game for the PS3 and she kept telling me she was going to get me it. On my birthday she gave me a Call of Duty for the PS2 and was bragging about how she was able to find it cheaper than the 60$ I said it would be.
Has a price sticker of 6$ on it from GameStop. I wanted to cry but I sucked it up, because money was tight, and wrecking her day would have helped no one on my birthday. By far the worst gift I have ever gotten.
smilinreap
42. Ruining My Holiday
On Christmas morning we were gathered around the tree at my aunt's house.
Everyone was taking turns opening gifts and when it was my turn, my Grandmom turned to me and told me that now that I was 18 (my birthday was the week before) I wouldn't be getting any gifts from her side of the family ever again.
Yes, I had bought her a Christmas gift. No, she didn't understand why Christmas morning around the tree wasn't the ideal place to drop that bomb on me. She was a freaking witch.
QASA_VIOLATION
43. Poor Puppy
It wasn't really the worst gift, but, for Christmas when I was eight, I got a puppy! He was the cutest puppy in the world!! He was some kind of mutt, and my parents rescued him from the shelter.
The day after Christmas we all woke up to a cold puppy. We rushed him to the vet and he had what they were calling "fading puppy syndrome". Worst Christmas ever.
risa_27
44. I Don’t Need Those
I have an issue where waking up is nearly impossible without some sort of human-to-human interaction. Like, I will sleep for 14+ hours without any outside forces.
I keep getting crappy $5 Marshals alarm clocks from my family. Birthdays Christmas Easter, always an alarm clock. You'd think I'd get a trip to the White House with all these clocks.
ILove2P00p
45. Well, That Took A Turn
Christmas 1979. In the first semester of my senior year in high school, I pulled straight A's and made Dean's List High Honors. My father bought me a hat with a joke rubber turd glued to it that said "Sh*t Head" on it and told me I was getting cocky.
27 years later I stuffed it into his coffin just before they stuffed him in the hole. Merry freaking Christmas Dad dearest.
Krush2011