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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Worst wedding gifts ever

182 replies

TaterTots · 25/10/2016 23:52

Seeing the 'should we buy them a wedding gift?' got me thinking - what's the worst wedding gift you received (or have seen someone receive)?

My cousin and his first wife received a teapot in the shape of a thatched cottage, decorated with rose bushes, a pair of cutesy country children and, most bizarrely of all, geese. It was one of the most hideous things I've ever seen. I think it was from a distant relative of the bride - I honestly wondered if she'd offended them in some way. Who thinks a 20 year-old pregnant bride desperately needs a cottage-shaped fucking teapot?! It gave us all a good laugh at least.

(Disclaimer - any wedding gift is a wonderful gesture, it's the thought that counts, accept with a gracious smile blah blah blah)

OP posts:
TaterTots · 26/10/2016 17:04

You mean like you were being a bitch to the people you were slagging off on the 'What's wrong with saying hubby?' thread? 'Way to' be a hypocrite.

OP posts:
user1474627704 · 26/10/2016 17:07

No, not at all like that. Nice try though.

GrainOfSalt · 26/10/2016 17:10

A few years ago a colleague received a second hand omelette maker. With egg still attached. Shock

TaterTots · 26/10/2016 17:10

Keep on banging this drum all you like. Nobody agrees with you and you're in no position to claim the moral high ground.

OP posts:
allegretto · 26/10/2016 17:12

My friend made us a gift with our names on it - really nice thought but she spelled my husband's name wrong - it was on the invitation! We got given a huge rigid suitcase that was so heavy it would have taken up half our luggage allowance even when empty - bit strange. Also a really big ice cream maker that you had to put in the freezer but it wouldn't fit in ours - it got regifted.

5Foot5 · 26/10/2016 17:16

The most unusual gift we received was a very large, limited edition print of the Red Arrows taking off on a misty morning.

autumnintheair · 26/10/2016 17:46

Loaferloveforyou Wed 26-Oct-16 00:31:21

yes the tea pot that has irked ops disgust is a typical item beloved of some older generation, I suppose that;s why i also felt a little sad when reading it.

StrawberryLime · 26/10/2016 18:23

This thread's horrible. Even if you try to disguise the fact with the words "lighthearted" thrown in. Hmm
It honestly wouldn't enter my head to sit around laughing at a present that somebody had bought for me like some on this thread, as that someone had gone to the trouble and expense of buying me something.
When I got married, I honestly didn't care how much people spent on us, the only thing that mattered is that they were there to share the day.
You want to buy us an expensive present, lovely. If you buy something for pennies, also lovely.
Some people's tastes may differ to mine, so it's not nice to laugh.
Some people are just so grabby, and the whole "must spend the same as what I think it cost per head for the wedding" idea you see on here is frankly ridiculous.

larajane17 · 26/10/2016 18:34

Mine was a diary and a calendar. More random then anything. Never used the diary but dd did as a colouring book yrs later.

user1474627704 · 26/10/2016 18:34

Nobody agrees with me? Thats obviously not the case. RTFT.

YouTheCat · 26/10/2016 18:41

Oh ffs. Hmm

I didn't do wedding lists or anything. It was all very informal.

Did receive some lovely presents. 4 of them were toasters. They lasted longer than my marriage. Grin

Sciurus83 · 26/10/2016 18:43

I agree no such thing as a bad gift, but we got a lovely duvet set from DH aunt. Problem is its king size and we have double duvets so now we either buy a new duvet and more king size sets as can't just have one, or it stays sitting in the package for eternity. It's a shame because it is really nice, high quality and plain white and I would definitely use in the right size!

WombOfOnesOwn · 26/10/2016 18:47

My parents (no, they did not pay for the wedding whatsoever, though they did have to carefully budget to get plane fare as we're in the US and they live across the country, and my mother did contribute hours of help with decor and planning) told us they had a gift for us ...

Which turned out to not be a gift, but a promise that at some future unspecified point when we have enough money to buy a house (this will be 5+ years from now, if ever), they will buy us a tree for the yard!

I would honestly have very much preferred a good hug and a "you know, we weren't able to fit a gift into our budget, but we love you and are so glad you've found each other." I didn't need a present from my parents at all -- but an IOU, contingent on us doing something we may never be able to afford, just seemed like less than nothing, almost a judgment on our inability to buy real estate (my parents bought their first house at age 24 and 22) or an unwillingness to believe the relationship is a real marriage unless we're paying a mortgage.

ameliesfolly · 26/10/2016 18:54

My bridesmaid and I went out for a casual dinner one night, about 6 months after I'd got married, she insisted on paying for the whole meal and then said "that can be your wedding present".

TaterTots · 26/10/2016 18:55

Nobody agrees with me? Thats obviously not the case. RTFT.

Name two - not including the poster who responded over an hour after I'd said that.

OP posts:
fartlek · 26/10/2016 18:56

Gosh, this didn't seem like it would be a contentious thread when I clicked on it. There's a gina ford thread on the go that's more harmonious than this one! Grin

We had a gift list at John Lewis and one of my friend's had the unmitigated nerve to go off list and get us not the grey oval le creuset casserole we asked for but a red cast iron casserole dish from somewhere else! They are dead to me now.

(no not really, they are still my good friends and I cook with my red casserole regularly and love it)

TowerRavenSeven · 26/10/2016 19:02

Teapot sounds cute to me. Practical maybe not but something to put on a shelf to remind us of them?

LightTheLampNotTheRat · 26/10/2016 19:06

Not offended in the slightest at this thread - some presents are just terrible, and that's because zero thought has gone into them, not because of how much or little someone has spent. Gifts are given from a wide range of motivations besides 'affection'.

Bemused at how many people hang onto gifts that they don't much like. I don't have space in my house/life for that. Everyone got an equally effusive thank you card, but things we disliked went to charity without a second thought. These included the world's ugliest clock, a gilt mirror and a large selection of vases and photo frames.

user1474627704 · 26/10/2016 19:08

The very first response. And then another very soon after. And more.

Equimum · 26/10/2016 19:09

We got a candy floss maker and a solid silver cheese prick, the handle of which somewhat resembled a scrotum. Obviously, we appreciated the thought, but neither have ever been used!

JustCallMeKate · 26/10/2016 19:09

I came home from work and thought this thread might be an amusing lighthearted read. I like seeing peoples unusual gifts. I don't see anyone bitching on here at all.

User12345678901234567890 At least change your username, I can't be arsed reading posts from a million different Userxxxxxxxxxx's 🙄

Anyway, my most unusual wedding gift was a petrol strimmer from my DH. He was lucky to survive the wedding! I had dreamed of a pretty necklace, a sparkly bracelet etc.

vimtoqueen1 · 26/10/2016 19:13

A post dated cheque for £10!

YouTheCat · 26/10/2016 19:14

User, have you come on to this thread to add anything remotely amusing? Or are you just here to pull apart the OP for the sake of it... again?

TheChippendenSpook · 26/10/2016 19:15

I genuinely was grateful for every single gift but I was a bit Hmm Grin at the used cheese board and knife set! It made us smile. Smile

TaterTots · 26/10/2016 19:27

I remember my parents telling me they'd received a hamper as a wedding gift put together by one of my mum's aunts (this was in the days when couples didn't live together before marriage). In amongst it was a tin of hamburgers in gravy Shock which, even in the seventies, was pretty horrendous. They kept it for years as it became a bit of a joke between them that one day they'd be desperate enough to eat them. Then one day a volunteer came collecting for the harvest festival and my dad, not knowing what else to give, just grabbed them and gave them to her. He realised later they were about seven years old by this point Blush

OP posts: