“Who’d Want This?”: Tales of Horrible Gifts And Surprises

Probably, receiving gifts is one of the most exciting things to experience regardless of age and generation. The feeling of opening an unknown gift box is thrilling. However, for some people, that’s not the case.

These people shared their worst moments during special occasions of their lives. Moments filled with confusion, frustration, and cringing. Check these out!

1. Obvious Favoritism

My husband’s stepmother gave me, a 36-year-old at the time, a kindergarten-size backpack. When I opened it, she said, “I actually bought that for ——- (a child) a few years ago, and she hated it, so I threw it in a closet, and I saw it and thought you’d like it. None of us did. We all think it’s ugly.”

That same year, they gave my three kids gifts totaling $15 with clearance stickers on them. At the same time, her biological granddaughter opened a $300 unicorn.

They made sure we knew it cost $300. Then they pointed out our clearance stickers to everyone and what great deals they were (they weren’t).

Also, they made my kids leave the room so the granddaughter could take pics alone with her unicorn. It was the last Christmas we visited them. lol

[deleted]

When I was 12, I bought myself a Kindle. My sister and I spent an entire summer working for our grandpa and stepdad to save up for them, each spending about $200. My mom got all 3 of my brothers a Kindle for Christmas, and I got some Clothes from Old Navy.

I was livid, and when I talked to my mom about it, she told me that my sister and I had been excluding our brothers from hanging out.

At the same time, we played video games, and it was unfair. She never apologized or saw anything wrong with what she did, and I honestly still haven't forgiven her almost a decade later.

BlueButterflies139

When the Tamagotchi craze was in full swing, my siblings and I asked for one. My sisters both got one, and I got a jacket because mine was torn up and small.

When I asked my dad why I didn't get one and if Santa thought I did something bad that year. He told me I was too old for Santa and needed to learn life isn't fair.

I was 8. My sisters were 7 and 5. From that point forward, I only ever received clothing. Up until this day, it still stings.

dariusz2k

The time I was really into Green Day and the emerging "alternative" music of the mid-90s. And my mom bought me a few CDs (back when CDs were something stupid, like $20 each).

Wow! Awesome gift! Except the CDs were Toni Braxton and Mariah Carey and something else I've completely forgotten. Or the Christmases when my brother would get a pile of presents or something pretty expensive (foosball table, air hockey table, etc.).

Meanwhile, I'd get a couple of books and lipgloss. I love those things, so the gifts themselves weren't bad, but I was clearly not the favored child.

In the aftermath of gift opening, Mom would look at the pile my brother got and the few gifts I got, then make a big show of stomping around the house, claiming she knows she got more for me.

She must have misplaced all the other gifts! Without fail, for several years in a row, she "misplaced" my gifts. Because she realized at that moment that she spent waaaaay more on my brother than me. Never once did she find these "misplaced" gifts.

And to make it worse, my birthday is shortly after Christmas, so I never got much for my birthday because the budget was blown on Christmas.

My brother claims he remembers me getting crappy birthday gifts, and I was always jealous of his. I don't have any memory of that, but it very well could be.

The worst birthday was the year I only got a Bible with my name stamped on the front in gold lettering. That's a birthday I remember quite clearly.

daughtcahm

I will share the story of my dad. When he was young, he was hell-bent on becoming a drummer. He would make full drum kits out of my grandmother's pots and pans and whatever he could find.

Very detailed setups. After months and months of building drum sets and drumming on anything he could find, he woke up Christmas morning…to acoustic guitar and guitar lessons.

He told me he took a few lessons and would always end up flipping the guitar over in the class with the other students and just playing it like bongos.

Swarhammer

For Christmas, I went over to my girlfriend’s home to celebrate with them before celebrating with my girlfriend at my house.

Got a present from the aunt who sent something over. I received a single rubber duck that had the bottom torn out. That’s not all.

There was a note stuffed in the opening, and on that note was the sentence, “If you are reading this, you slayed the birdie!” and a painted rock that was just painted black with the words “best buds” on it.

The mom was the worst one, though. I got a nutcracker. I didn’t fully understand it at the time. But I finally got it when my girlfriend’s dad took me aside and said in a hushed tone, “I’m sorry for the gift, but Tray has given that to [eldest daughter] boyfriends as a threat.”  

That’s right, I got a broken rubber duck that blamed me for ending it, a painted rock, and a threat that if I did ANYTHING to hurt my girlfriend (more than what the mom already does), her mother would use the NUTCRACKER.

TheOriginalH1h

I participated in a voluntary office Christmas exchange in 2012 with a $30 limit. My gift was a CD-R of the giver's favorite album.

I was less than enthused but nonetheless slid the disc into my car to check it out, only to find out that it was blank. Oh, come on.

The person had written the band name/album title on the disc but forgot to actually burn a copy. Like, what could be worse for me, right?

SpaceGhost817

My husband's uncle called me four times on my birthday before 8 am, leaving cryptic voicemails about how he needed to talk to me ASAP.

I thought someone died. I called back maybe 20-30 minutes later when I was fully awake, and he told me to rush over to his house.

I got there, and he said he had a gift for me and wanted to make sure I got it on my birthday! He pulls a men's polo out of his laundry basket and says, "I saw this and knew you'd love it!"

I'm a petite woman who doesn't wear polos. He found a men's large polo shirt in the back of his closet that he was given at some event 15+ years ago.

He somehow thought that was emergency-worthy, but he didn't even need to put it in a gift bag or anything. Crumpled in the laundry to my hand. It's been almost three years, and I'm still perplexed by it.

boocees

One year, I got what was actually a super cool present. My parents had worked for months putting together this awesome art kit.

It was a big toolbox filled with good scissors, glue, paint, colored pencils, glitter, and every other thing a crafty little kid could want.

The problem was, every time they would go upstairs to add to it, they had a running joke where they would say, "We're going upstairs to feed your present" or "We need to take your present for a walk tee tee tee."  

So, of course, on Christmas morning, instead of being a little kid stoked to get a huge box of art supplies, I was a little kid devastated that I didn't get a puppy.

funky_grandma

One time, when I was 10, my mum gave me & my brother a packet of plastic rainbow bendy straws each for Christmas. Wow, what a gift.

She was mad at our dad for having brought us back 3 days late from his part of the holidays & took it out on us. It’s not our fault.

Being a contrary soul, I happily took my brother's discarded pack & proceeded to make a million rainbow flutes that I would incessantly try to learn to play for the next two months.  

I suspect she lived to regret her choice since I also never cleaned any of my discarded flutes up. Sorry, mom. Just wanted to make good use of it.

GerberGoo

An ex gave me an engagement ring for herself with the idea that I would use it to propose to her. She also gave specific instructions on how and when I should do it.

As well as stipulations that she would be the one planning our wedding. We had a terrible relationship, and I had been planning on breaking up with her right after the holidays (which I did).

I couldn't understand how she thought we were even close to being on the same page. Once it was all over, I realized the obvious and what everyone had been trying to tell me for 3 years.  

I was in a manipulating relationship. Still, who the hell buys a ring for someone to give back to them? It's just bad gifting.

BlackLetterLies

My sister's father. I wanted Pokemon Sapphire or Ruby so badly for Christmas that it was the only thing I asked for. I’ve been so clear with what I wanted.

A few days before Christmas, he came home with a GBA cartridge wrapped in wrapping paper and set it on one of the Christmas tree branches.

He excitedly said, "You can't open it until Christmas," so my 3rd-grade brain assumed he had gotten what I asked for. I did not know I was so wrong.  

Christmas day comes, and I open it immediately to see Ice Age 2: The Meltdown staring at me. It was the first time I faked like a present.

Turdmite

Started loving computers at age 7 in 92 (ZX Spectrum and then 186, 286, etc.) at our local kid's club, kept on going, learned to code early, and was addicted to everything related to them.

Grandma called me and told me she had sent money to my parents to buy me a PC (at 11, in 96). I was so excited, all my friends could not wait to see it and play with me. I could not sleep for days on end.

Then Christmas Eve came ( we do the gifts in the evening). Rushed under the tree aaaaand … surprise. I .. got .. a mobile electronic organ player.

My Mom told me, “It has buttons, right? Just like a computer.” It turns out she took the money and bought an automatic washing machine. I’m still upset, Mom!

tgh_hmn

When I was a teenager, I begged for a pair of black Converse shoes all year. My dad told me to write down the size, color, and exactly what they were called so he would get the right thing.

I was so excited to see a shoe box-shaped present under the tree. It turns out he got me a coral pink knockoff pair of Converse.

It came with 100 dollars' worth of fast food gift certificates in 10-20 dollar ranges. It wasn’t about money. He said he thought the pink pair would be cute on me and knows I like to eat out sometimes.

Thin-Deer3772

My extended family used to do this thing where you'd put your name on a piece of paper and put it in a hat, then draw someone out, and that's who you'd get a gift for. It was supposed to be anonymous.

I got two terrible gifts in consecutive years. The first terrible gift was a DVD of Fast and Furious 3. I'd never watched even a second of those movies.

And I'm pretty sure the franchise was up to episode 4 or 5 at that point. The very next year, someone got me a cheap pair of fake leather driving gloves. They were about two sizes too small.

So, me, not being a 'car guy' at all, has somehow convinced my uncles and aunts that I'm secretly a Tokyo drift racer or something.

The year after that, my mom got my name. You're supposed to put the name back if it's immediate family, but she kept my name, knowing I got screwed two years running. She got me a Kindle Fire.

TinyLittleDragon

The worst was from my grandparents. My brother, dad, and I each got a used book from a charity shop. Like the cover was bent and the pages yellowed.

My brother and dad have barely read any books in their lives, and mine was some adult drama romance novel (I was about 12 at the time) that nobody has ever heard of by some author nobody knows.

To top it off, these grandparents were ridiculously wealthy; my granddad was making almost 2 million a year, and their other grandchild got a PS3, which had just come out, and a big stack of games to go with it, plus other toys and some clothes.

CozRichards

Grandma used to load the cousins with gifts. While my siblings and I are not so much. Cheap afterthoughts would be an understatement.

We are all about 17-18 and fed up with it. So what do we get Grandma? The cheapest fleece blanket from Walmart we can find. I think it was $5 on sale for $3. (Petty, I know).

So Christmas rolls around, and we all have one present, a piece from grandma, and we open them in unison. It’s the SAME bargain fleece blanket we got her. We all start laughing, and everyone’s like, “What’s the joke? What’s the joke?” We tell Grandma, “Open your present!”

She opened it and was CLEARLY disappointed, BUT she couldn’t say anything because she got us the same exact blankets for our presents.  

So we all are like, “Oh, grandma, great minds think alike!” “We really are family, same wavelength!” Needless to say, that was the last year we got presents from her, haha. Totally worth it

jhrogers32

A $100 bill. I was dating and living with an ex at the time. For Christmas, he wanted a very fancy and very specific-looking button-up shirt.

I spent a month making him the shirt and making sure it was perfect. I also made us a nice Christmas dinner with some fun drinks.

Christmas morning rolls around, and I give him his shirt. He tries it on and loves it! Yay! He then gets a panicked look on his face.

He reaches into his pocket, pulls $100 out of his wallet, and says, "Um....here ya go. My friends are coming over today, so...you have somewhere to be, right?"

Basically, he was paying me to leave. But the bright side was I knew how he actually felt about me right then and there. He was dumped before for the new year.

MissAnthropy612

I have a fun $100 bill story. My dad, after he had opened the gifts my brother and I had gotten for him. Thoughtful, and what he likes.

After hours of bragging about all the trips and hunting he had planned for the new year, he realized he hadn’t gotten us presents.

What did he do? He grabbed his wallet and threw (well tossed) a Benjamin at us and said, “Sorry, I’ve been so busy I didn’t have time to buy you something.”  

Guys, it didn’t even cover gas. We drove 8 hours EACH way, plus stops for food. I’ve never felt more insignificant in someone’s life than that moment.

jhrogers32

I was 8 or 9, and I really wanted one of those Furbies who were really popular back in the day. Come Christmas, my aunt is all proud to give me my present, hyping me it's something I really wanted.

Then I opened it, and it was a plushie's furby keychain. I don't remember much, but I was told my face fell when I saw it.

I was raised to not complain about receiving gifts, so when she asked me, "You don't like it?" I forcefully (and badly) smiled, reassuring her that, yes, I liked it, and I was just surprised. I even put it on my jacket zipper to prove my point.  

It turned out it was a joke, and she did get me a real furby that she gifted me afterward, but still, the immediate disappointment was something hard to hide!

[deleted]

I was six years old, and I really, really wanted an electric train set. I was like Ralphie in "A Christmas Story," harping on about the BB gun that he wanted.

The big day arrived, and there was a large box that looked pretty close to the electric train set size, but my parents would dictate in which order the presents were opened, and of course, it was saved for last.

I don't remember the other gifts, but I do remember the big electric train set-sized box. I'll give you a hint. It wasn't an electric train set.

It was a box filled with sweaters and socks. No joke. Just what a six-year-old boy wants. Sweaters and socks. Seriously?  

The worst part was that the person giving me this wanted to see me model the sweaters, and my parents forced me to. It was too uncomfortable.

Yes, because a six-year-old boy with his heart set on an electric train set really wants to be disappointed and have to model sweaters he didn't want in the first place.

eddyathome

Office supplies. I was in the 2nd grade. It was the class gift exchange. Imagine being a kid, watching everyone else open dolls, cars, and glitter pens.

While you're sitting there with a calculator, tape dispenser, and stapler. Apparently, the girl who drew my name was in the hospital a lot.

And her parents just grabbed things from the gift shop? No idea why a teddy bear wasn't on the list. I ended up giving everything to my Nanna since she was a teacher.

Bluellan

My grandma didn’t like a friend of mine I had when I was 11, so for the rest of her life, she decided she didn’t like me either.

When I was 16, she gave me a rag to clean my car windows. Then, she waited until we were alone and told me she only got me that much because my grandpa bullied her into it.

I wouldn't have gotten anything if it had been up to her. Well, she thought she really had to explain. Thanks? I guess? LOL!

Spinach_Puffs

My dad played a running prank on me for years where he would either wrap up a toy he dug out of my room I forgot about, or he would do something like fill a small box with rocks and put it with the other presents.

Without fail, every year, I would beg and plead to open a single present early of my choosing, and EVERY time I got the joke box.

The rocks sounded like legos, which I loved, so I opened that one. One year, he put one of my forgotten toys right out front, begging for attention, bamboozled again.  

Another year, he nestled it towards the back like hiding a real present. He got me again. Without fail, he got in my head somehow to guide me towards that present.

Guyintheorangeshirt

I was working a dead-end job making less than $1600/mo, and my long-term girlfriend at the time wanted a Tiffany and Co Pearl Necklace, which cost over a grand.

I starved myself for 3 months to save for that necklace, and she was ecstatic to receive it. Her gift to me? She handed me a Starbucks Holiday mug with a receipt from 10 minutes prior.

"I didn't want to get you a gift because being with me should be enough...but I found it in my heart to get you something small for Christmas.."

SSUUPREEMEEE

My mom got me a bottle of allergy medication from Costco. The med I took had recently gone from prescription to OTC & my mom thought it would be great to get me a year's supply.

I was in my 20s & by that point, you're not supposed to care as much anymore. Still, I had worked dozens of hours of overtime at my crappy factory job.

I wanted to buy my mom a custom-made birthstone ring for Christmas that year. My sister got beautiful leather boots, and my brother got an Xbox. I cried all the way home.

Zorgsmom

I have a story within a story. In my family, large/ exciting gifts get bespoke riddles/ clues leading to a hunt culminating in the gift. 

One year, I drew a sister of mine in the exchange who HATES frogs. So, I purchased her a pair of well-made, stylish scarves as she was about to move to a colder part of the nation.

I also bought her perhaps the most grotesque frog-shaped coffee mug I have ever seen in my life. And then I wrote out a 5 step scavenger hunt to the mug.

As I was setting everything up on Christmas Eve, I was telling my dad about what I was doing. He laughed, but then he got a little somber. He then told me about the gift he gave his youngest sister for her 5th Christmas.

In spite of his warning, I didn't feel too bad--I'd gotten her a real gift, too, after all. So Christmas morning arrived. And, as fate would have it, this same sister drew MY name for the gift.

It was a decent-sized box, maybe 8x10x4 inches. It was heavy but not noisy. Many things on my list would have been a good fit in that box. So I opened it. It was an Amazon box. Within it? Another wrapped box. I opened it. Another slightly smaller wrapped box.

Inside that one? Several rocks embedded in a tissue nest and another. WRAPPED. BOX. I opened that one to find a packet of duct tape. At that point, I just looked at my dad. He laughed and finally choked, "Forget about that story!"

My gift ended up being a gift card, which was plenty and appreciated. And she got a kick out of her frog mug, even if it only gets used by her husband to creep her out.

blindfire40

December 2011, I had been with my (then) boyfriend for a little over 2 years. Things were going steadily downhill, and I was absolutely convinced he was cheating on me with a foreign exchange student who was living at his mom's house.

As sort of a final effort, I went all out on his Christmas gift, as much as I could afford to. I found a cozy housecoat he'd been eyeing, his favorite chocolates, a new video game he talked about getting.

Christmas night, we went to his mom's to open gifts. But he disappeared halfway through the evening, and I gave up trying to find him.

Finally, I sent him a text saying, "We need to talk. I'm going home now. We can exchange gifts tomorrow. If you want to continue this relationship, I'm open to discussion." I walked 10 minutes home alone and went to bed.  

He never came home that night. Didn't answer my texts either. He did eventually come home TWO DAYS LATER. He hands me my "gift" without a word.

It's a beige sweater, unwrapped. Had a stain on the front, and it was at least 2 sizes too small. I stupidly still gave him his gift and broke up with him right that moment.

Deezus1229

I hate soap bags. I get at least one every year. I have never once worn through a soap bag. One year, I came home for Christmas.

I made the dinner, including 11 courses/sides, etc. I got up at 6 am to start making it. The presents opened at 9.00 am my parents got me a posh leather soap bag. I hate it. On the side is a mediocre bottle of aftershave that I will feel compelled to keep but will never use.

I kicked off cos tired, stressed, drunk, bit of a jerkward. I rant about the no-thought present. Joining us for Christmas is my aunt. Recently divorced and lost her son.

I opened her present next. A crappy soap bag and a really cheap bottle of aftershave. And that is how I ruined Christmas.

BuzzAllWin

Not a Christmas present, but a birthday present. A little backstory first. My house caught on fire a month and a half before my birthday.

So when the damage was assessed, a cleaning company came in and took everything out of the house. I could grab a few days' worth of clothes, and that was about it.

No music, no books, nothing. I didn’t have much I could take due to the cleaning company doing their job. So fast forward to my birthday. I’m still in the same boat as a week after the fire. I didn’t have much.

I do not ask for anything special for my birthday. So here is my birthday. My girlfriend of two and a half years gave me a Rolling Stone magazine. A Rolling Stone magazine. She says, “ I didn’t know what you want or are into, so this is it.”  

I was thinking to myself, what the heck? I thanked her, and I ended up paying for my birthday dinner. I never said anything to her about it; I just had to wonder.

So, for a few years after we broke up, the running joke for my friends was to get me Rolling Stone magazines for my birthday.

titty_tim

I was in my mid-twenties, and my brother got me a butterfly headband, a beanie that was knit to look like a veiny eyeball and kiss jewelry.

The tag had our foster sister's name on it scratched out, I'm guessing because she went back to her mom's for Christmas that year.

She was 8. I felt completely unvalued. It truly is the thought that counts, and he didn't think about me at all. I stopped buying him gifts after that year.

I couldn't look at gift giving the same after that, knowing I wasn't worth any thought at all, that I was only worth a canceled gift to someone else.

windsongmcfluffyfart

I was getting into photography, and there was a very specific lens I wanted. A close friend of mine mentioned that she knew someone who sold lenses super cheap, and she might be able to get in contact with them.

Christmas came, and she got me a gift. It was an exact replica of the lens but a coffee mug. The only problem is that nowhere on the box did it say it was a coffee mug.  

I was thrilled and didn’t realize what it was, and she had to awkwardly explain that it was not actually the lens. We were puzzled.

[deleted]

So one year, my mil asked (read: demanded) that I knit a scarf for her for Christmas. She was very specific about colors and style.

She called several times during December to check on the status of it. She opened it on Christmas day, was absolutely delighted, and immediately put it on.

Then she started to hand out her presents. Tons of stuff to the kids, my husband, her husband, her other son, and her other DIL. Nothing for me.

Then I heard, "OMG, I FORGOT PRESENTS FOR YOU!" and I turned around and found her talking to my cat. She brought the cat presents later. No, I did not get anything.

Froggyloofa

A 1000-piece Nightmare Before Christmas puzzle. Now, at first glance, that sounds pretty sweet, but the completed picture was so horrible.

It was that of the movie's final scene where Jack and Sally hold each other’s hands on Spiral Hill. Does it sound nice? Yeah, well, do you know how much of that shot is just a black background???

I must’ve spent 3 weeks putting together that puzzle, which was 80% colorless and featureless black pieces, before ultimately giving up on it.

TrinixDMorrison

My ex's parents gave him an alarm clock for Christmas when he was 15. Not even a clock radio. Just an alarm clock. That was his "big gift" because it was "electronic."

These same people gave their grandson (my son) a book about manners for his 3rd birthday and me one (1) kitchen towel for my birthday.

Today, my ex was over here picking up our kids, and he announced, "Guess what?!? Grandma and Papa are getting you SHOES for Christmas!!!" My kids already had shoes on their feet. They were like, Okay. Good? It's bleak.

Downtown_Statement87

My stepfamily was a giant group of total jerkwards. My step sisters got designer clothes and jewelry, shoes, etc. Actual toys. They got mounds of gifts.

My brother and I literally got a bag of switches and/or coal. Like that joke about bad kids? What sucks so much is that my stepdad loved using switches when we were in trouble.

We'd have to go pick out one ourselves, too. And how we'd be considered the bad kids is beyond me. They were the ones who were terrible.

One of my step sisters broke my arm twice, just being a sadistic psycho. Cut off my eyelashes while I slept. Among other messed up things over the years.

God, I was so glad when my mom finally left him and his piece of crap family. I was 9 when we left. And 2 when they married. So this went on for 7 years from when I was youngest. Oh yeah, I guess one year, my grandma gave me a coloring book. (No colors) With my switches.

coffee-jnky

In 1994, my brother and I only wanted one gift, and we were willing to share, so we begged and begged our whole family to chip in for a PlayStation 1 - to which they obliged.

We were well-mannered kids with good grades, and it was only one gift…so why not? Christmas Day came, and there was a big box under the tree with both of our names on it.

We couldn’t wait to open it, and to our surprise, our (ex) step-father instructed us to do it first. The excitement was palpable as we ripped all the paper off in a Tasmanian devil-like flurry.

There it was - the trademark black Sony box with a picture of the PlayStation on the outside. In my nine-year-old mind, I could already picture how amazing the Ridge Racer graphics would be!

We quickly cut the tape and opened the box lid. It was… a log!?! A piece of firewood?!? It turns out our duck face ex-stepfather thought that it would be really funny to take all of the money our family gave him for the PlayStation and spend it on himself.

While we watched, he then proceeded to get drunk and open the expensive gifts he bought for himself, with the money intended for the PlayStation.

He told us how much fun it was to get an empty toy box from the store and break our hearts. “Oh, the looks on your faces were priceless!” My mother spent the rest of the day crying.

Stone84

I was nine years old. All I wanted for Christmas was the Lego Hogwarts castle from Harry Potter. I had been a really good kid and student so that I could get my Lego castle.

On Christmas morning, I got a Harry Potter Lego set, but it was just Hagrid’s hut. I didn’t even hide my disappointment. I started crying and throwing a tantrum.

It was not until like ten years after that that it kind of hit me how crappy I was to my parents. We were kinda broke, and I didn’t realize how expensive Legos were. But at the time, it legit felt like the worst Christmas present ever.

[deleted]

The entire family gathered together, and everyone opened nice gifts. I got my husband a very nice watch, a leather laptop bag for school (he had just started after serving in the military), and his favorite cologne (which was also expensive). I spent a good amount on him.

He hands me my gift. I open it. It was a hand-held vacuum cleaner. The entire family goes silent. I looked at him with an "Are you kidding me!" look.

He says with a smile, "So you can vacuum out your car and don't have to spend quarters at a car wash!" I went into the bedroom and balled.

This was the only thing he got me. Also, I got him the new Playstation at the time a couple of weeks prior to his birthday...

Mrs239

100-piece Tupperware set. I was 19 and living in a dorm. 100 pieces absolutely means 50 bottoms and 50 tops. Of the 50 shapes, only 4 were large enough to hold a piece of American sliced bread.

So think small. Many were odd shapes, like the four-half circles and 8 quarter circles. Those were probably meant for dips and dressings.

They were low quality, so the lids didn’t stay on. I realize I wrote Tupperware and should have said: “food container storage set from Big Lots.” I also know it was from Big Lots because the price tag was still on it.

It was gifted to me by my boyfriend’s grandma from her “gift closet,” which was a literal closet full of things she regifted to people.

I saw it the next year. My boyfriend's mom told me to pick something out from it so I didn’t open something strange in front of their entire 55-person family gathering again.

The grandma always wanted everyone to have something to open, and I was the only one she either forgot or just didn’t buy for three years.

Of the 100 pieces, I have 98 left. They sit in the box they came in. I have used them many times for sorting small things when needed. Again, I can’t use them for food as the lids never really stay on very well.

Boring_username_419

My aunt and uncle are comfortably off but got us presents from TK Maxx. I could tell you about my mother's 'glamour poncho' or my brother's 'airport thriller novel,' but their most recent Christmas gift has caused me the most inconvenience.

Last Christmas, they gave me a small anthology of short plays based on Shakespeare, which I actually thought was quite nice.

I did my undergrad dissertation on Shakespeare, and I have this poster up in my room - but I must admit I haven't read it yet. In fact, I'm not entirely sure where it is.

More recently, however, I learned that their AmDram group has been trying to perform the anthology since before the pandemic.

They are just about to do so now that lockdown is lifting. They must have brought the books in bulk for the group and given me a leftover.

And what's worse is that my uncle reminded my dad that he'd brought me this book, and my dad lied that I'd read it and loved it to avoid offending him.

We're seeing them soon. I've got to read that bloody anthology cover-to-cover and find things I liked about it, or my dad and I are toast.

MightyMeerkat97

Grew up hunting, and it fed the family and stretched the budget. One year, we got new hunting gear in September to help with the season's success. Different camo patterns didn't help that much, lol.

Anyway, Christmas rolled around, and I got downstairs excited. I think I was about 14. I knew things had been tight, but there were some boxes under the tree! Yes!

I tear into it. I can tell it's clothes, but new clothes! The paper is off, and pop open the box! It's the camo I'd been wearing for a couple of months.

I have no idea how successfully I hid my confusion and disappointment. Looking back, I can completely appreciate their intentions, but I don't think I'll ever forget that heart sink.

PMyourTastefulNudes

Well, only one comes to mind: my girlfriend at the time (now ex) hand-made me a diary and filled the pages herself with all sorts of things.

But you do need a description of it: she glued a blue EVA and colored it with that blue glitter powder (the ones that never get out of you), so the mere touch in the cover would make you blue-marked for life.

The theme was The Hitchhikers Guide to the "Her Name." It contained every piece of information she thought necessary to live with her in a semi-friendly manner.

When I received it, I was in quite a bit of a shock, and after going through those 30 pages, I saw that it didn't mention me not once.

It was hand-written and childlike (not that being childlike is a problem, but the present as a whole was basically an ego trip). It contained photos of her, chapters, graphics, and all about how to handle things the way she likes them.

When all was over, some of my friends (who were mesmerized by this gift) made a plan: steal from my place and burn it. You can still find the blue glitter in them almost ten years after that.

RecifeCityWalker

Ooo! I got one! My birthday is 4 days before Christmas. So, my mom usually let me open one of my Christmas presents on my birthday.

When I was like 11 or so, I grabbed a present. She told me SEVERAL TIMES to choose something else, but I was determined. I did not listen.

And that’s how I ended up with Kirby for Gameboy without a Gameboy for 4 excruciating days. I can’t blame my mom for that. It’s on me, lol!

HardKnokLyfe

I was pregnant with our twins, a little over 20 weeks. I’m a bigger girl, but not to the degree that my MIL seems to think, especially during pregnancy when I lost weight the entire 8 months, lol.

It’s Christmas night, I’m exhausted, and my feet started swelling. She excitedly handed me my present- a shin-length, all-black, long-sleeve, and turtle neck muumuu, about 2 sizes too big.

I literally just stared at it, looked at my then fiancé, looked back, and mustered up all my energy to say “thanks.” And put it back in the box. We left about 15 minutes after that, lol.

GoddessAshleyxox