Page 4 | Worst Christmas present

Bookworm512 · 2023-12-25T20:40:49+00:00

I feel ungrateful but also very disappointed. My husband is crap at gifting but this really takes the biscuit. I am a 53 year old woman and we have been together for 26 years. He bought me a periscope. Am I being unreasonable to be disappointed and ungrateful?😓

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 28/12/2023 15:04

Palindrone · 28/12/2023 01:31

BIL got me some Tabasco sauce for the third year running, only this time it was wrapped in a towel because there wasn't any wrapping paper left.

Whaaaat?! Did he think that the towel somehow transformed it into a 'gift set'?!

Did he ask for the towel back after you'd unrolled unwrapped it?

FatherJackHackettsUnderpantsHamper · 28/12/2023 15:02

Just leaving this here...

Happilyobtuse · 28/12/2023 14:11

Songlyrics · 28/12/2023 10:13

I got a pot of 500 Piriton tablets.

Seriously?! Did your DH actually wrap up a bottle of piriton as a gift?! So bizarre! 🤦🏽‍♀️What is wrong with all these men! I hope you plan to buy him some paracetamol for his next birthday!

littlebopeepp234 · 28/12/2023 12:38

MrsToothyBitch · 28/12/2023 10:37

Even my DH who likes and collects militaria is bamboozled by your DH giving you the periscope, OP!

We were quite low key & last minute for Christmas this year- we are very recently married and just a bit wiped mentally, physically and financially but still did pretty well for each other and for others, just maybe not our best year imagination-wise. Nice stuff from others, too. My mum gives basic toiletries but alongside other lovely gifts and makes it clear that it's a care package - and we know it's coming as such. It's thoughtful and we are all on same page wrt expectations.

My ex was a punishment-present giver though, of the type mentioned upthread. He was initially ok and good with thoughtful little spontaneous surprises... until I couldn't get my damaged foot into a pair of shoes he suprise mercy bought when I had foolishly worn heels out one day - I thanked him for the thought but they were just no good and he could see I couldn't keep my right foot in because it was being painfully squashed. He viewed it as rejection in public, was "humiliated" returning them and I never really got a decent present from him ever again- and I already knew he held grudges and didn't forgive. When I broached it 18 months and three rounds of increasingly obvious spite-presents later, he mentioned the shoes incident as to why he wouldn't so much as buy me a 60p chocolate bar anymore spontaneously and I then understood why all my birthday and Christmas gifts had been a bit off. As suspected, it was on purpose and it all fell into place. Despite me apologising multiple times for the shoes incident and always trying very hard with everything I ever gave him. I appreciated his ego had been bruised but knowing him and how he loved to punish, I realised if I stayed with him then he'd purposely do this to me forever. We split not long after.

Initially it was stuff I couldn't put my finger on/chalked up as a one off but his attitude with subsequent gifts let me know it had surely been deliberate.

What a pathetic sad twat! Hope you treated him in the exact same way!

Surgarblossom · 28/12/2023 12:32

My husband got £15 in a money wallet from his very, very wealthy parents.

Pigsinpainauchocolat · 28/12/2023 12:30

@wingsanddreams and what if you choose to keep your finances seperate and don't have a "joint account"?

Pigsinpainauchocolat · 28/12/2023 12:25

IreneGoodnight · 28/12/2023 02:05

DH of decades gave me a voucher for a trip in a glider. Whenever we've seen a glider I've said I'd be far too scared to go up in such a thing that lacks an engine. He denies ever hearing me say this so he must be deaf as well as daft.
I couldn't restrain my annoyance that he's wasted so much money on just about the last thing I wanted, so that was Christmas day ruined.
He didn't open his presents from me (some beautiful military models to add to his collection) until Boxing Day. He was very pleased with them as they were exactly what he wanted. Fancy that!

Can he get a refund on the voucher and go buy something you'd like? What a twat.

ifIwerenotanandroid · 28/12/2023 11:52

wingsanddreams · 28/12/2023 00:14

Ok in any situation where a husband makes you unhappy, you should go and buy yourself something you really like from the shop, paid from your joint account. It will instantly make you feel happier and will make you forget about his unwanted gift.

I extended this principle to cover accidental damage. My DH once put my black linen skirt in with the normal wash & it came out two sizes smaller. So I went straight into town & bought a replacement - & 'fined' him a new handbag, too.

BooneyBeautiful · 28/12/2023 11:13

Nanaof1 · 28/12/2023 07:14

That really sucks and is a really lousy Christmas gift from your immune system! I hope you feel better soon! Use a soft bed pillow held against your ribs when you cough or laugh and it might help. 🤒😷😵

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Thank you for your kind words. Am actually feeling better today. Just feel as if I am getting over a bad cold, although I did have some really vivid dreams last night that I thought were real. Was very confused when I woke up this morning!

WingingItSince1973 · 28/12/2023 10:47

Sorry if this has been answered as not bad time to read all the thread but what is "dog boarding"? 😬😬😬

MrsToothyBitch · 28/12/2023 10:37

Even my DH who likes and collects militaria is bamboozled by your DH giving you the periscope, OP!

We were quite low key & last minute for Christmas this year- we are very recently married and just a bit wiped mentally, physically and financially but still did pretty well for each other and for others, just maybe not our best year imagination-wise. Nice stuff from others, too. My mum gives basic toiletries but alongside other lovely gifts and makes it clear that it's a care package - and we know it's coming as such. It's thoughtful and we are all on same page wrt expectations.

My ex was a punishment-present giver though, of the type mentioned upthread. He was initially ok and good with thoughtful little spontaneous surprises... until I couldn't get my damaged foot into a pair of shoes he suprise mercy bought when I had foolishly worn heels out one day - I thanked him for the thought but they were just no good and he could see I couldn't keep my right foot in because it was being painfully squashed. He viewed it as rejection in public, was "humiliated" returning them and I never really got a decent present from him ever again- and I already knew he held grudges and didn't forgive. When I broached it 18 months and three rounds of increasingly obvious spite-presents later, he mentioned the shoes incident as to why he wouldn't so much as buy me a 60p chocolate bar anymore spontaneously and I then understood why all my birthday and Christmas gifts had been a bit off. As suspected, it was on purpose and it all fell into place. Despite me apologising multiple times for the shoes incident and always trying very hard with everything I ever gave him. I appreciated his ego had been bruised but knowing him and how he loved to punish, I realised if I stayed with him then he'd purposely do this to me forever. We split not long after.

Initially it was stuff I couldn't put my finger on/chalked up as a one off but his attitude with subsequent gifts let me know it had surely been deliberate.

WillimNot · 28/12/2023 10:37

I got an item of jewellery.
Was pleased until I saw it was off Vinted for £10.
I spent over a £100 on the tight git.

Songlyrics · 28/12/2023 10:13

I got a pot of 500 Piriton tablets.

Retiredfromearlyyears · 28/12/2023 09:53

😆 🤣 I'm so sorry. I just about choked with laughter when I read this. Does your husband have a 'thing' for submariners!? 😆 🤣
That is a seriously bad gift! Can you return it! Did he keep the receipt? Ask him. Don't suffer in silence.

darisdet · 28/12/2023 09:44

Violinist64 · 28/12/2023 04:19

@Nanaof1 the poster was a man and if you scrolled through his other items for sale, it is safe to assume that he is very much a single man. Plus his description of this "masterpiece" was almost illiterate. I hope the recipient is suitably impressed by this amazing decoration.

I still have that cake on my watch list. I only remembered because a few months ago I received a special offer to buy it. Around £15.00 off the £699.00 I think.

Has it really been sold!

Lifechange2020 · 28/12/2023 08:43

I got a moustache eraser from my in laws one year…

Beaker1305 · 28/12/2023 07:59

My own parents gor me & the hubby a selection box & bottle of wine - not a lot of thought & effort.
My in-laws got me a bath bomb set and an asda bath collection set - we don't have a bath (?!) And a candle.

I know I sound ungrateful but I honestly wish my in-laws hadn't wasted their money - the gifts off my parents were basic but at least they'll get used!

OldTinHat · 28/12/2023 07:31

I can actually see his thinking. I would like a periscope to look nose out of my skylight! I'm going to look on Vinted under 'unwanted Christmas presents' to see if I can buy yours!

Not a Christmas present, but worst present was a puffer fish. Days after I'd given birth to DC2. When DC1 was only 18 months. And XH went straight back to work the day after the birth. Anyone who has one knows how difficult they are to look after, poor thing didn't last very long. (The fish, not DC2!)

Nanaof1 · 28/12/2023 07:14

BooneyBeautiful · 27/12/2023 21:39

This thread is making me cry with laughter! The trouble is I tested positive for Covid on Christmas Day and my ribs are sore from coughing. Every time I laugh, it's so painful!

That really sucks and is a really lousy Christmas gift from your immune system! I hope you feel better soon! Use a soft bed pillow held against your ribs when you cough or laugh and it might help. 🤒😷😵

Nanaof1 · 28/12/2023 06:57

Violinist64 · 27/12/2023 20:30

@Nanaof1, there was a post before Christmas saying He’s back -12 days of Christmas. If you search you should find it. I promise you it is like something you have never seen (or wished to) before.

I think I found it. It is "handmade" and made for a party, kind of "cake-looking"?

It's a nice job of decorating....if you're a third grader. YIKES!

I cannot imagine anyone buying it except maybe one of her friends or her parents.

Nanaof1 · 28/12/2023 06:54

Stressybetty · 27/12/2023 20:06

😂 Think the idea was the masks would disguise our identities not disguise us as dogs! 😂 He was quite surprised I'd got him a serious present not a joke one. I obviously didn't get the memo! This is the horror! Dog Mask Poodle Head Face Costume Novelty Halloween Party Dressing Up Masks for Adults and Kids amzn.eu/d/6uTOuYv

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Oh my! Seeing that poodle mask almost made me pee a poodle of my own!

I think I am afraid of that mask. Not sure if I want to search to see the Lab dog mask. 😆😉🐩

Ukrainebaby23 · 28/12/2023 06:05

Omg, do you think someone offered it cheaply in a pub or something otherwise where the heck do you even buy one, and what is their usual purpose in normal life?

Does Dh think you spend alot of time watching neighbours round corners or something. Very weird choice, I'd be gobsmacked.

Perhaps he entered a contest with his pals, what will the wife make of this present?

Vodkafairy99 · 28/12/2023 04:59

😂😂 A periscope........bahahahaha, absolute gold! I bet he was chuffed with himself!

Nanaof1 · 28/12/2023 04:29

Blinkityblonk · 27/12/2023 19:35

Oh we gift ordinary (but nice) things in our stockings, like moisturiser, nice razors, stuff like that, the children love a restock based on all the new stuff they get. I agree for main gifts that's not so impressive.

OP, this has made me laugh so much, your loss is our gain.

I am quite like you.

Most of what my DD and DGD wished for are things they would just "use every day". Toner, mascara, skin stuff, perfume, hair stuff, body lotions, etc. Luckily, they did ask for some other things too. I think you get people what they want and what you think they'll like. I get everyone things like candies, nuts, jars of fancy little things like jam, mustard, cheese toppers, etc for stocking stuffers and every year my DH wants coffee he would not buy himself because of the price. Ditto for him asking for snacks and me asking for chocolates, shoes and spices.

In reality, there is nothing that exists that someone wouldn't buy themselves if they wanted to and can afford it, so I don't understand the fuss about getting something useful, IF that's what they want. I also don't understand the "just going by someone's list". I go by their lists. There will always be a surprise or two, but I want to get people what they want/need for Christmas for the most part and a couple of things I think they might like. No complaints so far.....

It's not always the thought that counts because, too often, there was no thought to begin with, so nothing to "count". I have no idea why people would be like that, especially with people they claim to love and cherish.

Violinist64 · 28/12/2023 04:19

@Nanaof1 the poster was a man and if you scrolled through his other items for sale, it is safe to assume that he is very much a single man. Plus his description of this "masterpiece" was almost illiterate. I hope the recipient is suitably impressed by this amazing decoration.