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?

I quite liked my powder puff think it was Avon used to puff my self with talc

A knitted Orville

My granny and great-aunt had real form at giving awful presents - the worst part is, granny was very inconsistent so my sister might wind up getting a gorgeous and fashionable necklace or scarf while I got a pair of pliers. I remember over the years getting scissors, a jar opener, secateurs...

I wanted a millennium falcon (first time round) I got a tea set

A jumper that one of my husband's colleagues had made on their knitting machine, when I was about 13. My parents were very excited about it being handmade and I suspect it had cost them quite a bit, but the design was awful and it didn't fit properly (I think the colleague had got the tension wrong plus the sleeves and length were too short). And it was my one and only Christmas present.

I had relatives buy goats from Oxfam in my behalf for poor communities.
As a vegetarian, nearly vegan and very into animal rights at that time, as was my brother, we were relatively polite about it but utterly appalled.

@Livpool

A powder puff when I was 10. A body one with a massive sponge/brush thing to apply it with.

It was from my dad's cousin I think.
Bizarre

I read that as power puff (girls) and got confused at the point of applying it

Bath cubes are sure the most disappointing present ever. And hyacinths with their sickly sweet smell - hate them.

A manicure set. Age 9. I would have prefered toy cars.

They really were such a dissapointment I have an aversion to bathbombs they are just fancy bathcubes

I rejected all feminine gender stereotypes as a kid, which most relatives respected except one auntie who always made a huge big deal about it and would comment on my clothes and say 'she'll be a lesbian that one' and other ridiculous things. One year when I was about 8 I had really wanted this particular wind up flying superhero toy, and I was so excited when one by one I saw all my brother's and all my cousins (I was the only girl) open this toy I desperately wanted, and then they passed me mine last with a big smirk on their face and it was a gift set of banana scented toiletries. Not only had I desperately wanted this toy, but I despised the smell of banana more than anything else in the world, it was so hard to have to say thank you and try not to cry.

Aged 9/10 -Electric tooth brush heads (I didn't have an electric toothbrush) from my batty, wonderful grandma may she rest in peace!

I remember getting a pair of curtains for my bedroom for Christmas.
I was about 7 :(
They were very poor and every year Xmas = a few 2nd hand items.
One magical year I had a brand new bike (but my brother was allowed First Go as he was older and he buggered off on it for ages & brought it back scratched and I got told off for complaining!)

Worst I ever gave? prob 3 years ago when Dd, ASD, wanted boxes of tissues and a block of cheese for her 10th Xmas. That's what she got! :(

I got a ruler from my Aunt and Uncle. It was from Disney.

My brothers got trainers. My sister got a day trip to the zoo with my cousin. I got a ruler and my Aunt actually moaned to my Grandparents (who I lived with) that I was really ungrateful as she'd brought it all the way home from Disney.

It was salt in the wound as when they first mentioned going to Disney my Aunt said they'd "see what they could do" about taking me with them. Which at 8 I thought meant I was going. It was just never mentioned again.

I desperately wanted Madonna’s ‘True Blue’ album for Christmas. My uncle recorded his original album onto a tape and gave me that. Many years later gave me a half eaten box of chocolates after I had a miscarriage. He’s single, funnily enough...

For my 7th birthday a really ugly blouse in white and yellow. The material was awful, it felt like fibreglass and to go with it a yellow pvc slip. It was the 70's but yellow looks terrible with my colouring and I was fat.
Must have taken a real effort to find something so ugly.

I got a china doll from my grandparents. They bought it from a company who then went on to send them catalogues of equally awful china dolls for the next 22 years (until they stopped trading).

Another year my other grandparents got me a bible. I must have been about 18 by this point, they knew I didn't go to church, or have any belief in God whatsoever. I had told them (politely) that I had made up my own decision, and until someone could come to me with actual evidence to the contrary, I was sticking to it. So I'm not sure what the bible was supposed to achieve.

A pair of flimsy, just-about-transparent, tiny knickers from my grown up cousin and his wife. They were usually brilliant at present buying but that year was just weird. I was 13.

When I was about 8 my aunt got me 3 boxes of chocolate coated peanuts for Christmas despite the fact I have a severe nut allergy. She still gets me a box for my birthday every year 20 years later...

When my Dsis was 6 and I was 8 we were given a joint present of a glockenspiel. It was the same as the one I had used at school- actually really lovely when I think of it now- not exactly very easy to share either- give two small children a beater each and it's never going to end well.

Another year I was desperate for a skateboard- it was in the late 70s at the time when these has first come out. I was a bit of a Tom boy( loved climbing trees and going out on my bike etc.) I was given one of those hairdryers with all the attachments on- also a joint present with my sister...

A pair of sort of 3/4 length purple dungarees with flowery braces from a friend of my DM. I think I was about 7/8. They were (the friends) pretty well off but tight so used to go to factory seconds sales.

My mums aunty used to always give towels as the Christy factory was near to us. In fairness, it’s a useful gift but not massively exciting for a kid.

One year some other friends of the family got me an underwear set that was far too old for me...years later I saw Rose in ‘Keeping Up Appearances’ wearing the same things . I think I was about 10-12 at the time.

MIL always buys the DC's weird stockings. I think she just goes out, sees something cheap and thinks 'that will do'.

One year DD, then aged 16 received a very sexy lacey basque which tbh had us howling with laughter as to why on earth MIL thought she might like it. She also had a camera case that year (she doesn't own and had no plans to own, a camera) and a set of twee monogrammed hankies aimed at a toddler.
She's 23 now and fares no better. She is given bottles of alcohol most years and MIL knows quite well she doesn't drink and never has.

DS never fared much better either. He still gets Lynx Africa and he's 27.

As for DH. He's nearly 50, MIL knows he's never liked a certain type of chocolate but every year its in his stocking. Its all a spectacular waste of money really and despite saying 'leave us this year' she still does it.

A doll when my younger brother got an encyclopedia. I want to scream out that I was the one who loved reading books!!!

@mrshonda

My brand new SIL bought me a set of really inappropriate thong knickers when I was 13! They were sheer, sparkly monstrosities that had angels and devils on the crotch...

She's really nice and pretty normal so god knows what happened that year.

Just to add to the awkwardness, they were obviously far too big and I opened them in front of my dad

Not really a terrible present in itself but one that grew in awkwardness over the years - I was a pony mad little girl which was a convenient source of presents for family, not sure if my Great Aunt (a lovely kind lady but a bit deaf) misheard or simply misjudged what I'd like, but she bought me a horse brass one year for Christmas when I was about 7 - I really had no use/liking for it, thought it was a bit ugly but nonetheless politely thanked her as instructed. Unfortunately I must have been a bit too enthusiastic as for every subsequent birthday and Christmas after for a decade or more she bought me more and more horse brasses, the poor lady must have scoured every charity shop, antiques market and jumble sale for miles around to turn up these things, often she would find 'troves' of 20 or more in one lot which she'd proudly present to me and I'd have to act more and more pleased and thankful - my 'collection' soon expanded beyond the one corner of my bedroom to cover all the walls, it honestly looked liked a pub saloon, thank god this was pre-internet days or I think she might honestly have bought me thousands of the things off ebay .

God rest her soul, when she died mum and I couldn't bring ourselves to bin or give away all the horse brasses as it was such a labour of love from her, and so they stayed in situ ugly-fying my childhood bedroom for many many years afterward - I didn't ever bring them to my house mind you