Have you ever received a present so shity saying thank you made you cringe?

[BlueMoonAndRedNose]

I turn 50 at the beg of Sept. A friend asked to meet me for coffee yesterday and gave me a gift, she asked me not to open it there and then, but she didn't mean to wait for my birthday either.
This friend of mine turned 50 2 years ago and I gave her a stunning Becksondergaard scarf which she has worn a lot, I see her in photos wearing it all the time.
Got home, opened the present, it is a plain little milk jug. No tag on it, no label, looks unused but old, has a small chip on the handle.
I am not usually materialistic but I think that this is a thoughtless present and nothing, or a £5. bottle of wine would have been more appropriate.

When I was much, much younger I had a relatively new and very keen boyfriend. He made a huge deal about how he had taken 2 days off work and scoured two major shopping centres to find me exactly the right birthday gift. He kept going on and on about how perfect the present was and he knew it was ‘the one’ the moment he saw it.

Imagine my face when I unwrapped a small statue of what can only be described as a mouse and elephant tortured into one nightmare-inducing being, holding a sign saying ‘I love you’

DH gave me a set of bathroom scales. Unwarranted. 😡

MIL gave me a plain brown cardboard box and some découpage schizzle. I’m in no way a craft fan. Mind you, she also once sent me a birthday card with a joke about having saggy boobs, so...🤷🏻‍♀️

When I was about 20 still living at home a poor student I looked after the neighbours dog for two weeks while she was on holiday. I walked that dog twice a day for an hour each time, let it sleep on my bed and took really good care of it as a thank you she bought me a shell back off the beach. I was so annoyed!

Even if you are as poor as a church mouse, you do not give chipped crockery as a gift.

Oh yeah I forgot.... my husband had a significant birthday coming up and I’d bought him a lovely Paul Smith Hold-all..... I mentioned it to MIL who thought I was making a suggestion that she buy it.... she was rather pleased with herself that she’d pinched my idea but instead have my husband a free hold-all that came with Paul Smith aftershave.... she gave the actual aftershave to my BIL and just have him the free shiny plastic grey hold-all! 🤣🤣🤣

I don't understand people like this. Surely she must have thought back to the beautiful scarf you gave her. It doesn't have to cost a lot to be thoughtful and to be absolutely honest, from the OP I would say she's incredibly selfish and self-absorbed. What's the friendship like otherwise?

My DH can be a giver of crap gifts. Latest one for my birthday was a hardback copy of a non fiction book by one of those twenty-something girls about town. I'm 56, I have owned a kindle (which he bought me and I love more than life itself) for 10 years and haven't bought a real book since .
He's surpassed by my SiL though. Over the 25 years I've been part of the same family, she's never bought me a gift that was remotely appropriate or acceptable. Usually an item of clothing that doesn't fit, could never fit and in no way could any sensible person have dreamed would fit e.g. two pairs of baby doll type pyjamas in a size 14 (I'm an 8, always have been). She buys DH acrylic sweaters in large (he's a small). Our kids at least get a tenner in a card.
I actually think crap gifts are the height of passive aggressive rudeness or plain laziness and thoughtlessness.

A book of articles from The Spectator. The OW demanded and got sexy lingerie.

My daughter's grandparents commissioned a set of those personalised stamps with her face on. They then used one to post it to us, only it wasn't sufficient postage, which incurred a surcharge and a trip to the nearest sorting office (4 miles away) to collect it.

When we got married DHs cousin gave us a small, plain, glass vase.

When we received it there was water in the bottom as if it had been rinsed out.

The chip is the real insult isn’t it? Sounds like she panicked when she remembered you were meeting and grabbed something random from her cupboard. Were you not planning to see each other again before your birthday?
Still, there’s no need to do that when you can easily order things online for direct delivery to the recipient these days.

Is it possibly passive-aggressive- you’ve offered her tea at yours and she has been disgusted that you served it with a carton of milk on the table?

SirJamesTalbot that’s hilarious!

My ex gave me an outdoor tap kit. For my 40th.

I broke up with him a couple of weeks later.

Like a pp, I once did a friend an enormous favour, to do with her DD's wedding. It was a proper favour that cost me a great deal of time and inconvenience and saved her and her DD a great deal of money. She asked me if she could give me a gift in return. Naturally I demurred as I was happy to do the favour. She pressed so I said that a tube of Clarins handcream would be lovely. I got a tube of Clarins handcream sure enough - sample / free gift size, and not a note of thanks or a phone call from the DD.
I realised then how much she valued my friendship and dropped her. I was also mortified at her DD's rudeness, so that was that really.

I had 2 January babies... I got lots of "born in..." babygrows etc for the year before that was obviously bought in the sale...along with lots of summer rompers in newborn. It was snowing

Is it antique? if it's 50 years old she may have thought it was quite a clever present.

My mother-in-law, every single birthday or Christmas. She seems to go out of her way to find the nastiest, most unattractive thing she can find.
I don't even take them home, just drop them straight off at the charity shop on my way past (I don't know what the poor charity shop has done to deserve them, but I find it cathartic to know their not getting through my front door)

My DH once bought me a Bio-Orb.

I hate fish. Even more than I hate fish, I hate smelly fish water. And even more I hate fish shit floating in smelly fish water .

WTF possessed him I will never ever ever know. I was literally open mouthed as I opened this massive box, and our DDs had to leave the room as they were in stitches.

Knowing it cost nearly £200 was the final insult. I'd rather have had a £5 bunch of tulips - because I actually like those.

DH bought me a pink bike for mothers day. I left the house for a few hours. I am not sporty at all and hated it. Rode it perhaps twice before he took it to school and its now in bits as a project for the kids. Best result for everyone!

I quite like the jug. It's nice, no?

I also wonder if it's a 'hint' present of something more to follow. But in any case, I agree you should say thank you and you’ll think of her when you use it.

Bin it. Fancy someone giving you a gift with a chip in it ffs. I like milk jugs and you can get very pretty cheap ones that you can put flowers in or whatever.
My elderly godmother was a genius at giving inexpensive gifts. I still have the adorable and pretty items she gave me decades before. Little melamine trays in wonderful designs and so on and they still give me joy.

ryvita for christmas! I'm dying here! That is so bitchy.

I quite like the jug

My DM seems to get a lot of naff presents brought for her, mostly jewellery she would never wear or bath salts/bubble bath sets when she doesn't have a bath. They make great raffle prizes to donate though and we do get a laugh out of some of them. My favourite was a black net poncho with sequins that a work colleague brought for her birthday one year.

I was given a bottle of champagne for my 50th that I had previously given to a couple when I went over one night for a summer party. I know that it was the same one because it was boxed & I'd put a note in the box for them, which was still there when I got it back 8 months later!!!!!!!! I didn't thank them!

Have you completely opened it OP?? I was just wondering if there was a piece of jewellery inside the jug. But I guess no, if you can clearly see a chip in it?