Odd kids' birthday gifts, is it just us? (LH)

[JacobeanWilson]

Light hearted, I need cheering up.

My DC's birthday this weekend. Turned 9, average size for age. Gift from one of the BFF's... clothing age 7! She has not been in that size for over 2 years! The bff's parents would know this won't fit, as their DC is the same size (not a money issue, parents in good jobs, nice house etc.) so it's just weird!

But it reminded me of a couple of years ago when another of my DC got one of those messenger bags you colour in yourself. Except the pens were missing. And the tags keeping the bag in place had all been removed with the bag slid loosely back in place ie it had obviously been opened & toyed with but decided against keeping & palmed it off with vital bits missing! (again a well off family, not a money issue).

Maybe a symptom of birthdays after Christmas & people getting rid of things they received but didn't want! So is it just us?

Note: this is about inappropriate / dubious gifting kids in any form and not about complaining re cheap gifts (the clothing example wasn't cheap so it's nothing to do with value of the item but the actual item itself). I personally spend more time than I should getting nice / appropriate gifts for people I know & my kids friends, therefore I notice blatantly inappropriate gifts at 100 paces, yin to my yang.

So... has anyone else's DC had equally random, surprising & amusing gifting experiences you care to share..?

Miniature nun bowling - knock the nuns over with a firey ball of hellfire
Inflatable drinks holder for the bath, shaped like a unicorn

that's strangely awesome and appealing!

For my 16th I got a really shitty and cheap plastic train set. The giver insisted on having photographs of me opening it sent to them. When photographs were taken with a camera and developed at Boots. The photo probably cost more than the train set.

Miniature nun bowling - knock the nuns over with a firey ball of hellfire

My Dad would love that, he really hates nuns due to Catholic school related nun trauma.

Close relative went to the States and hit the outlet stores. Bought ds a ton of fairly nice clothes. Size marked was 3-6 which seemed a bit strange to me as a 3 year old and 6 year old are very different sizes. Except of course it meant 3-6 months, we was 4 years. Close relative later asked what we thought and weren't the shorts lovely? Nope. Not shorts but baby sized long trousers!!

I got shampoo for my (big) birthday with a broken lid.

DC gets given school workbooks for birthday and Christmases. For kids with additional needs that struggle it's pretty shitty and depressing for a time when they'd like an enjoyable gift.

This thread is brilliant, sorry my 5 year old niece got given a very fancy women's bath set from my nan, which was given to her by my sibling last xmas!

This is why I always ask what sort of thing someone would like or give a voucher, gift-giving is stressful!

DS fourth birthday he received a 1000 piece jigsaw, I think he’s clever I’m bias I’m his Mum but there’s no way he could attempt that. It’s a shame because it’s a waste of money to give a gift that somebody doesn’t want.

I've been re gifted from my SIL something my sis gave her niece (SIL's daughter) .... nice to keep in the family I guess :)

Also clothing . I always say please no more t-shirts. At one time my DS2 had 30, yes 30!
My mum is always 'Oh I saw this and thought DS would LOVE it!!',
and produce a Thomas the Tank engine top and shorts set, he did like them when he was three not 10!
Every bloody year!

Oh and knitted jumpers etc that NO ONE wears cos we don't like itchy wool. My kids love fleeces and sweatshirts esp the 11 yr old sport name branded tops

DM loves buying my DC clothes gifts and knows which brands I love but cant afford. The only problem is, she's new to the internet and hasnt really figured out drop down menus so the clothes received are usually in totally random sizes. Last year she got DD a lovely playsuit aged 2-3 (DD was a premature 8 month old); this Xmas same DD was given a dress aged 12-18 months (currently wearing clothes 18-24 months upwards) along with a pair of tights aged 5-6 years!

DS1 got an variety pack of condoms for his 16th from family friends who are like aunt and uncle. They clearly thought it would be hilarious but DS1 is shy and bookish and was mortified. They also gave him £20 which he was happy with, but still....

The only one that really sticks out for me is a friend buying DS1 a nerf gun (age 8+) for his 4th birthday. But her own son, who is 2y younger than DS1, had one already, so I guess it didn't really cross her mind how inappropriate it was! Stuck it on top of the wardrobe until DS1 was old enough.

Miniature nun bowling - knock the nuns over with a firey ball of hellfire

My dad gave that to his sister in law one Christmas. She is a nun.

Age 14 I had a single piano lesson. Word must have got through to an elderly relative who thought music would make the perfect Christmas gift, I therefore got the piano music for all the postman pat theme tunes and songs!

MIL has a habit of buying clothes for the kids, she'll always go to the effort of finding a whole outfit, shopping around for matching colour tights. However, no two items are ever the same size, or indeed the size you'd expect for the age age of the child.

Last minute panic? I recently gifted a monster truck in a bashed up box. I only remembered about the party on the morning of the party and our emergency present stash had been depleted (I have form for this).

DS1 has been bought the same Terry Pratchett book three times by his grandfather. Birthday, Christmas then the next birthday too! You'd think he'd have remembered after the first occasion DS said 'Oh, sorry - you bought me this one already'? I did manage to swap one of them but he couldn't find a receipt the second time. He has no health/memory issues, he just buys something at the last second and all he can recall about DS is 'he likes Terry Pratchett'.

*Miniature nun bowling - knock the nuns over with a firey ball of hellfire

My dad gave that to his sister in law one Christmas. She is a nun*

Did she laugh?

I’m guessing people re gift the things their dc’s didn’t use after Christmas, which is fine if they are age appropriate.

My DF bout dd a jewlery making kit for Christmas, my dd is 12 but surely autistic, I asked for some jewlery making stuff for her and sent a link clearly showing a basic bead set for say a 5 year old (dd is mentally this age when it comes to things like that), they bought dd a lovely box full of adult jewlery making stuff, ear ring hooks, tiny beads and little tools but dd is not able to use it. He keeps asking me if dd has made anything yet every time he visits, I’m going to have to make something myself and make out she made it just to keep him happy.

Did she laugh?

Oh yes - she's used to getting humorous God-related gifts. It's hard to shop for a nun, so she gets a lot of camels and goats for families in Sudan etc.

On the other Side of it, I left DH to get a birthday present for a 5 year old. He came back with a set of 20 screwdrivers. Sharp, pointy screwdrivers... I think the kids dad has probably got them now.

DD6 received a black biro pen for Xmas from MIL
It wasn’t brand new or even in packaging

system gosh I'd forgotten my sister did that too! A multipack of workbooks for ks1 for my DC1. Ironically she is a total hedonist & would have hated anything like this herself! My DC1 also hated / still dislikes school so completely wasted gift. And it was all my sister got her too, not just 1 thing amongst other cool things.

Meant my sister is the hedonist, not my child

DS got a ceramic trivet from DMIL. He was 1 YO. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I still haven’t figured that one out, but bless DMIL, she has form for this, it’s just amusing. I wish I could get inside her head at the shops - “oh, look at this nondescript trivet, at once boring and a safety hazard. Now who could this be a perfect present for? I know - my 1 year old grandchild!”

The 1000 jigsaws are not wasted! I’d be delighted if DCs got that —and would do them while kids are in bed—

Minature nun bowling set