Worst present you received as a child

[threetethree]

Hopefully this doesn't offend anyone!

Was just thinking about my birthday when I was about 7. My auntie gave me a present and it was a cross stitch of a spider going up a drainpipe after it had rained
At that age i was TERRIFIED of spiders. I was visibly shaking as I threw it to the floor. It put me off opening any other presents.

So what was the worst present you received as a child?

Worst present could be a toss up between the year my parents bought me a stereo cassette player when I wanted a Walkman (and my brother got the Walkman which he wasn’t bothered about); or the year I had to share a present with same brother (in fact only brother and only 15 months younger than me) - it was a BBCB computer complete with 7” floppy disc drive and instructions for how to write the code to play Elite (back in the 1980’s so basic version of game) - all 33,000 lines of code printed out on paper!! Then there was the year I got given a set of 4 dessert glasses from a charity shop complete with price tag on the bottom of one - they were horrible chunky and badly blown glass and only fit for another charity shop; I would have preferred nothing to be honest!!

In a different way the year I got give a Nookie Bear toy I was so happy as I liked it - then, on Boxing Day, my cousins came over and one of them wanted to plat with it so my parents told me to let him - and he broke it. I’d had it one day and was devastated!!

I like to think I give good gifts but, now I only buy for one of 3 siblings plus their family, and my parents in law (separated so a gift each) lastly my stepchildren one of whom has 3 children while the other is single. I get gifts from DSis and her family plus DMiL and DH/DT and DSCs

A burgundy brushed nylon dirndl skirt and matching blouse with a tiny all-over cream leaf motif, in 1985 when I was 16 and had had spiky hair and green nail varnish. I made such a good job of pretending to like it that my sister thought I'd gone mad. From my odd, spinster aunts.

My mother once gave me a heather coloured jumper with knitted collar in a size 16. It looked like the kind of thing a supremely frumpy middle aged woman would wear. Given that I was about 30 and a size 10, and she was late 50s size 16, it was obvious she'd bought it for herself and changed her mind.

This thread has dredged up a very old memory of being a small child, possibly around 5 and getting a small present, one of many, and not quite fancying it so I gave it to my younger sister who was thrilled. I thought everyone would be happy about that but I got into serious trouble for being ungrateful. I also got into trouble when I got upset that my dad had eaten all my Christmas sweets when we I was in bed.

I was brought up by a right bunch of narcissistic arseholes.

Bit off the theme of the thread but as a child I witnessed my Mum getting the worst Christmas present ever from her sister in the mid 1980's. The gift was presented with a speech about how special it was and how she had gone over budget to delight her. Us children waited with baited breath as she opened it to reveal, a pressure cooker. Opps my Mum already had one, cue some bad acting from my Mum declaring her delight. Sniggers from my Aunt, insisting she open the box. Ahhh! it was a bluff her real present was inside, they knew she had a pressure cooker. The sigh of relief from my Mum followed by a gasp of horror as she pulled a fur coat from that pressure cooker box. My Mum was totally opposed to the wearing of real fur. She struggled not to cry, it was awful!

I wanted one of those magnetic sketch boards with the pen... got an etch a sketch which only drew lines. Was traumatised that Santa got in wrong!

As an adult my mum bought my husband a pair of red fluffy handcuffs... apparently to chain me the kitchen sink 🙈 (went in bin)

As an adult my mum bought my husband a pair of red fluffy handcuffs... apparently to chain me the kitchen sink 🙈 (went in bin)

When I was a child we always spent Christmas with my grandparents. Every Boxing Day my great-aunt would come round for a glass of sherry and a mince pie and to proudly give me my present. It was the same every year - the (usually purple) satin ribbon off the big box of chocolates that she’d been given on Christmas Day. It wasn’t even big enough to do anything with. It was just a bow really that went on the corner of the box with the ends tucked in under the lid. Apparently she used to do the same when my mum was a child. Luckily I got lovely presents from everyone else so wasn’t too upset.

I was just starting adolescence when my sister-in-law sent me (as a birthday present) a sort-of necklace that was coloured gold, but was visibly plastic. I was disgusted at the cheapness of it and threw it away immediately. I had rather she sent nothing at all, than such a box-ticking gesture.

Postman pat tickets to the theatre from my "dad" I was 14!! I was mortified and made to go 🤦🏻‍♀️

My Gran crocheted me a pair of slippers when I was about 14. To make matters worse, she used odds and ends of yarn, so they were hideous, uncoordinated patterns, and they didn’t match!

When DS was coming three, my aunt bought him an animatronic dinosaur that walked, roared and it’s eyes lit up. He was absolutely terrified of it and refused to come back into the lounge until it was removed.

I can't remember any awful gifts (probably blanked them out), but last year I succeeded in totally not paying attention to Ds1s Xmas requests and somehow Santa got him a desk, when he had clearly specified that he wanted HP LEGO. He'd never even asked for a desk, so I've no idea where o got the idea that he did. In my defense Christmas is a horrible time of year work wise.

In fact, he got only 1 thing that he'd asked for (a HP blanket). He was 8 and spent the entire day devastated that he'd been a bad kid.

This year he's asked for 5 things, and he's got all of them (from various folk, not just Santa). I paid attention.
And yes, the Hp LEGO is on there...