Presents that are more hassle than fun

[Bex5490]

Now before everyone jumps at me for how grateful I should be to anyone who buys my child gifts…I know this. I always send the thank you videos of DS gleefully opening said gifts and I’m more than grateful for the love and sentiment behind them. However…

Today I spent my one day off work trying to simplify a science experiment made for an 8 year olds for my 4 year old son! There is now rainbow food colouring on my carpets and a grumpy DS who is sulking because he wasn’t allowed to rub the chemicals on his face 😂

Over the years I’ve had a professional painting kit, a huge blackboard easel meant for a classroom and a second hand trampoline with no garden!

What were your (if any) most inconvenient gifts?

For his 70th I have my now late OH a flight in a Tiger Moth, not realising that it's an open cockpit plane, and he had a serious fear of exposure! He plucked up courage to go the following year just before it expired, God they're tiny planes. However he adored it, bought the photo and the video, when he died we used the photo on the funeral programme cover, he looked just like Biggles!

We got a joint head massage as a wedding gift 😳

Got to jump in on this one, not so much a hassle but…..
In between Xmas 2022 and Xmas 2023 MIL has gifted me, DH and DS (18months) 12 (yes 12!!) china mugs. Matching cheap personalised dog mugs for Xmas 22 for me and DH, odd boxed mug for my birthday, animal mug for DS for Xmas 22 and Easter. Cheap coronation mug for DS’s 1st birthday (nothing limited edition, just a cheap mass produced cafe mug with a cheap coronation transfer on, exactly the same type of mug as the dog mugs of Xmas 22) and a set of 6 blue and white mugs as joint Xmas 23 present for me and DH because we were moving into a (slightly grand) old house (which has since fallen through) and we need to, in her words ‘posh it up a bit’….. POSH IT UP!! I wouldn’t mind but the whole set is cheaper than one of my Le Creuset mugs 😂

I wanted one as a child desperately but parents refused as a rock tumbler used more electricity than a family of four- basically like running a tumble dryer 24/7

Apparently Nancy Reagan, wife of President Reagan, was notoriously mean and she gave their grandchild a clearly second hand teddy bear as a present. To make matters worse it was a teddy the child's parents had left behind after a previous visit, the child's own bear!

Elf on the bloody shelf.

I bought my small nephew a drum kit. He loves it . My DSIS hates me.

Yes!!! My kids have received a few of these - well before they were old enough to even attempt them. So freaking annoying!!!

My friend bough my DS a toy electric guitar.

I reciprocated with a drum kit for her DS.

She knew exactly why I did that....

This is very true. May as well put the whole lot straight in the bin. Fecking awful

Flowers because I have severe allergies to scent and can't have them in the house. These were from now XH who did know better. I put them outside the window so they could be seen and not smelt, though they still made my eyes itch everytime I left and reentered the house. The year before it was chocolates I don't like.

Worst present for the kids was from my Dad, a giant very loud piano mat. He apologised sheepishly after hearing my 3 DC dancing around on it and fully understood why it disappeared quickly.

My dad got a metal plane-making kit for my 6 yo DS. The kit says 12+. It was fiendishly difficult to put together, with some parts that were downright impossible to connect and some that required extreme innovation and creative thinking on my part. Then I discovered while trying to fix the last two parts together to conplete the damn thing that the requisite screw was, for whatever reason, not included in the pack, which was just the final insult really. I now have two useless halves of a toy plane. Yay.

My dad couldn't go out alone, I've got multiple health issues and we'd just been given the news my dad didn't have long to live.

My older sibling in their infinite wisdom decided to give dad £20 for Christmas. I was furious as wtaf was I supposed to do inbetween multiple medical appointments with a £20 note. Eventually he decided on a portable dab radio, which I could only fond online.

I have mixed emotions every time I see the radio as it reminds me of the thoughtlessness but at least my dad got 5 months use out of it.

Any type of clothing.
Perfume

Definitely

I'm on my 3rd attempt trying to use the bloody thing

My husband once bought a children's bow and arrow set - don't think plastic soft arrows. Think steel tipped arrows and a bow that really flexed with a fair bit of power. After a frightening near miss incident with the neighbour's cat who was innocently dozing in the bushes, I lowered the boom. I refused to consider donating it to charity and insisted it be disassembled.

I don't have DC, but I bought my niece and nephew one of those balloon sharks, when they were little. It took an AGE to set up, I was due to go out on Xmas eve and had spent so long that I had to leave my parents doing it, and apparently they only played with it for 5 minutes.
https://www.wowcher.co.uk/deal/shop/kids/toys/e/hot-wheels-shark-helictopter?st_cid=GoogleShopping&ito=GoogleProducts_RevenueMarketing_30371467&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIgICZv8rZgwMV94dQBh1yiQxmEAQYASABEgJ3X_D_BwE

I couldn't agree more. In addition to the things you've mentioned, there's also the bloody hassle of finding somewhere to put them and the washing and putting away of the vase after they have all died. You get all the work and unless you live alone, everybody else in your home also gets the pleasure of looking at them. And if the person that bought them also lives with you, they have really haven't bought you a gift at all, have they?

Florists used to do those bouquets that came in a cellophane water bowl. I liked those as you didn’t have any of the hassle apart from disposal. I buy my own small bouquets as I’m quite choosy. No chrysanthemum for me!😀

Bath products for my daughter as she has horrendous excema!

A foot bath although they knew I never do walking because of health problem!

The biggest, light up, musical ball run. Has very annoying and repetitive music and the dog kept talking the balls

slippers and a dressing gown for the sixth consecutive year

For me it's 'experience gifts', here's a ticket to something lovely but it will require you to book a train, and possibly an overnight hotel, and if you'd wanted to do it that much you'd have probably booked it yourself anyway.

I was given a voucher for a gliding lesson. The person who gave it knows I am really scared of flying - I am not sure if he thought it would help me get past my fear, but I was horrified when I opened it. I had the lesson and it was scary, and never something I’d do through choice, but not as bad as I’d feared. The anticipation was horrible though, many sleepless nights on the run up.