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?

My family clubbed together for a major milestone birthday and gave me an experience voucher for an experience that I'd never expressed any interest in.
I had to leave kids with DH and drive 1.5 hrs each way to get to the place and then it took several hours. I'd have rather had rhe day at home kid free tbh !

Gift cards for services I don't need or never use at all.
I've got a gift card to a particular nail salon once while being a regular at the other one (which the giver actually knew!), and I had no one to give it to, so the card collected dust for months until I decided to give this other place a try. Mind you, I was more than happy with the salon I had already been frequent at. Lo and behold, I didn't enjoy the experience at all, they had a really small color palette and nail buffing was too agressive, which left my nails semi-ruined.
Another gift card that I got was for a brow appointment, but I never do my brows and only use some brow mascara or make them brighter in pictures through Photodiva sometimes😂My mom took this gift card though, I didn't have to ask twice

Anything for ds requiring weird sized batteries being given without either giving the batteries too or telling us in advance ce so we could get them. (We always have plenty of AA and AAA handy, Im talking other sizes).

Anything where the purchase of said weird sized batteries requires trawling the area on boxing day to find somewhere that has them, only to discover they cost about £20 for a £5 toy.

Anything from MiL that required batteries of any size where she had completely destroyed the screws to the battery compartment by trying to put some in using the wrong sized screwdriver rendering the whole toy useless.

A family member organised a family photo shoot present for someone. They were asked many times if it was the total and complete cost, they said yes. On the day the present organiser was massively late and kept everyone waiting and annoyed. She then made us rush through the photos so she could get some photos of her own done.
Turned out the actual photos weren't part of the cost and the more you brought the cheaper they were etc. The photos were dreadful and me and DH refused to buy them. The present receiver felt pushed and had a spend a small fortune on rubbish photos and the organiser was pissed because they had to pay so much for their photo they tagged on at the end because we wouldn't buy any.

The fact that people buy these gifts in the first place suggests that the hatred of them is far from universal. Everyone's different. My brother absolutely relishes the chance to sit down with his kids and do something arty/crafty with them - he and his daughter used to love a slime kit! My mum also really likes doing messy stuff, baking, craft stuff etc with her grandkids at her house and in the summer they do a lot of the messiest stuff outdoors.

Absolutely understandable that some people can't be doing with all this stuff, and some kits are of course crap, but everyone's different and there are loads of parents who would enjoy the fossil/slime kits (after all, you did!) with their kids.

Also flowers - I know some people do hate them (again, fair enough) but I think in reality most people actually do like getting them and don't see them as a nuisance at all. I'd rather be given flowers than biscuits or chocolates, definitely. So I wouldn't worry if I were you!

Presents from Grandma given on visits to her house that had to be kept there no matter what. And then the next time we went (usually just 2 weeks later) she would have got rid of it.

If it was something from set he was collecting (at various ages I remember happyland, lego, playmobil, football cards, ds games) he'd want to take it home; not allowed. She would suggest that he took the rest of his collection round to hers instead. Not happening as we knew she would get rid of that too. DH and I would often end up buying him a duplicate to have at home.

That’s horrible

DD got a chocolate coin making set one year. My god it was ridiculous. We made one coin and it then got banished to a top shelf.

She also got given a worm tank thingy for digging up worms and watching them in a tank. She had zero interest in it so it’s still in the box after 3 years. I don’t want worms in my house thank you.

Mine loved the ant world thing, and they never escaped...

Thanks @MiddleParking. It was hard to say anything as she didn't have to give him stuff.

We just made sure that if he was there by himself he didn't take anything precious just in case. He's now if an age where he is taking his tablet and he makes sure that comes home!!

My six year old was given a ‘make your own trebuchet’ the age range on the box is 14-18 why on earth would my brother with a child the same age gift that too us. It’s sat in the cupboard, it’s a waste of money, he’d been happy with something half the price but more age appropriate!

I’ve just remembered being gifted an ‘ultra VIP’ facial a few years ago. Now I do love a facial, so I didn’t mind that it was at a place I’d never heard of, an hour’s drive away.

It turned out to be in a woman’s shed garden room at the bottom of her garden. I had to pick my way through building materials and mud to get to it (not allowed through the house; “I’ll see you at the back!” she called, directing me to a side gate). She then asked if I liked dogs, I said not particularly, so a disappointed Labrador was then shut out of the room. It stood outside and barked off and on for the whole hour.

There was no heating in there, so I was freezing. No music either, to offset the periodic barking. The facial itself turned out to be dermo blading and micro needling, which basically involved having a 100 watt bulb shone in my eyes while the woman shaved my face. And then stuck needles in me.

It was all so, so far from the lovely relaxing facial I’d been expecting!

I got something similar once. A voucher for a day stay at an extremely posh spa hotel and long and awkward journey from me (I don't drive). The day included lunch and one treatment and started early enough that I'd need to stay in a nearby b&b and dinner somewhere the night before... I did look at cost of trains, taxis, breakfast and dinner and using this gift would gave cost me so much that I didn't go. Such a shame. I'd have loved a voucher for John Lewis or Selfridges ... 🌹

That's horrible - why would she do that - other than being a member of the can't stand clutter brigade?

@PurplePim

I know I sound grumpy but quite frankly I wish gift giving would just become socially unacceptable. Most gifts are a total waste of time and money, and terrible for the environment, and I include the things I feel obliged to buy for others in that. They just won't listen when I ask for it to stop or change.

What would happen if you firmly said the equivalent of "please don't buy us a Christmas/whatever present as we're not buying for anyone except our children from now on" - and followed through? 🌹

Someone once bought us a mushroom growing kit. This would have been great but no mushrooms ever grew. We just had a box of poo (probably horse manure) sitting in the corner - I ended up getting rid of it.

Someone once bought my daughter (then aged 3) an accordion. Another friend asked if she secretly hated me.

What a waste of money these are (unless you really like them, an ex of mine got a helicopter ride which he loved).

I’ve signed up for some of these craft courses, one was candles but you decorated tea lights. I’m sure sometimes the course organiser has good intentions but a lot of the time they’re rubbish and a means to an end to sell you more similar courses. I wouldn’t give them as a gift unless someone specifically said so and even then it’d be to a proper class. The tea lights I made my 6 year old niece could’ve done a better job!

I did gift DNiece a wooden jewellery making (necklace) kit and wondered if it’d be ok but her DM said yes and showed me a photo of her having done one, it came in a nice reusable big tin.

Itson - vouchers are another one that come with multiple issues.

We had one that could only be used Sun-Thursday. And not on a holiday weekend not great for babysitters. We had one we booked about 6weeks in advance and then forgot all about it!

A couples massage. We had a newborn and the offer did not include babysitting.

I've tried that, and they kept buying plus made me feel very bad for not, so I've ended up getting gifts for them again as it seems to mean an awful lot to them. As I said before they'd describe it as their 'love language'. It's very frustrating really but I'm trying to just accept it as this and not feel too annoyed. But it's good to have places like this to vent semi-lightheartedly.

I'm looking like I'm obsessed with this thread and sorry to come back to this but - 10 fish? I would have wondered if MIL was unwell mentally.

A drum kit after saying no for months. Sadly it's still there and does get battered by any visiting kids

Ooh she was definitely on a Mumsnet thread about revenge

I'm so relieved to read these opinions about "experience" type gifts, as I've often feel guilty about not using the one I was bought when I left the company I worked for - which would have cost me too much money to use or properly enjoy.... 🌹