Worst present YOU’VE bought for someone…

[DottyHarmer]

… when you thought you’d got it really right.

I was remembering when mil had mentioned a book she’d enjoyed at school, and for Christmas I tracked down a first edition and presented it proudly to her. The reaction was… silence. I garbled about how she had talked about it fondly. Shortly afterwards I overheard her loudly whispering to fil, “Why on earth did Dotty give me a charity shop book.” Pah.

@sashh

My brother lives hundreds of miles away, when his children were little I delighted in sending noisy toys to them.

Our grandaughter received a drum set then a mini synthesizer, we weren't popular with her parents though.

@Stinkyslippers You should buy back that ornament and keep regifting it to your mother until she learns some decent behaviour.

Or rope other people in and get them to give to her, year after year...

A pair of pet rats & kit to house & care for them for ex DBIL

He loved them so much he went out & bought a pair of females too😏, he didn't like them being caged up as thought it cruel & within a scarily short space of time he had about 40 rats living wild in his bedsit 🥴
We had to go in, round them all up & rehouse them all. Thankfully they were all very tame, but ffs

@mam0918 oh that's adorable!

I bought someone a dictionary once.

[quote Shodan]@Stinkyslippers You should buy back that ornament and keep regifting it to your mother until she learns some decent behaviour.

Or rope other people in and get them to give to her, year after year...[/quote]
Agreed. Was about to say 'bury it with her' but I am feeling particularly ornery today.

A plastic rain hood for my Mum's birthday from Woolworths which cost around 25p (when I was around 7). She tried, but failed miserably, to hide her disappointment. On the plus side, she still has an address book I made her for Christmas when I was around the same age which I made at school (coming up to 50 years ago)!

@georgarina

Once I was invited to a friend's 10th birthday and my mum got a present from her gift stash at the last minute - a scented candle and copy of the Shawshank Redemption 🤦‍♀️never heard the end of that one

This is amazing

I have 3. Generally though, I think I'm quite a good gift giver.

We were quite a foodie family and my mum would always pick up any new and different condiments she would find when shopping - we loved trying different flavours of mayonnaise, ketchup, dips etc. When I was about 12 and was buying my parents' Christmas presents all by myself, with my own money, for the first time, I bought my mum a set of flavoured mayonnaises in a box from Boots. There were three - a garlic mayo, a spicy one, and something else. I thought it was a great present and was so excited to give it to her but she cried, threw it in the bin and said I'd just got some bog-standard supermarket goods that she'd buy anyway and that I clearly only thought of her as family cook/maid and not a person in her own right.

Fast forward a few years. One of my friends had a baby at age 17. I was trying to be a supportive friend but I had absolutely no clue about babies or what she was dealing with. I wanted to get a really special gift for the baby's first Christmas and had gone Christmas shopping with my mum and auntie. They persuaded me to get this gorgeous set of children's books - illustrated classics in a really nice box. They told me that the child would keep this forever and it was a gift to be treasured. I could see that this was a beautiful gift but would have rather bought something for immediate use and thought my friend would view the books as being really old-fashioned. Mum and auntie were very persuasive though. I delivered the gift before Christmas and met friend on boxing day, only to be berated for such a stupid present. I was told it was clear I knew nothing about babies. Didn't I know her daughter wouldn't be able to read those books for years and in the meantime, they would just clutter her small living space. I felt awful and wished I hadn't let myself be talked into it.

More recently. New SiL is a very vocal feminist and also reads a lot so I decided to get her a book on feminist theory. This was 2-3 years ago and the phrases Lib-fem, Radley, T*F etc had not entered my world. Turns out that the book I had carefully selected was written by an author who had been widely denounced and considered a T*F in SiL's circles. I could see she was upset but didn't understand why. The next day, DBro tore a few strips off me for bringing hate-literature into their house. I understand more about the debate now but at the time, genuinely thought I was giving a thoughtful gift.

Not me sorry but.. My nan once bought my brother 4 cans of very cheap tinned tuna 😂 She also bought me e45 cream once. I could go on and on as she bought the most spectacular gifts. She has dementia now and I'm gutted we don't get these surprises anymore

Genuinely shocked at how many people think its OK to berate someone because they don't like the present they've been given

@Babyvenusplant

Not me sorry but.. My nan once bought my brother 4 cans of very cheap tinned tuna 😂 She also bought me e45 cream once. I could go on and on as she bought the most spectacular gifts. She has dementia now and I'm gutted we don't get these surprises anymore

Looool my nan was like this too. We were late teens and she'd give us a My Little Pony flannel or something. She was especially fab with my mum (her DIL) and would always give her something half-insulting, like huge knickers.😂

Miss those days.

Will go back and read the thread but reminds me of the year I simultaneously gave both my authy and uncle presents that they just looked so bemused over, my aunt a beautiful book the world had been saying was so fantastic (apparently she hasn't read a book since she was a teenager) and my uncle the guiness book of records. Both nodded, smiled and put them aside!

@TaraR2020

Genuinely shocked at how many people think its OK to berate someone because they don't like the present they've been given

Me too. If you don’t like it, say thank you and give it to Oxfam, like normal people.

As a child I got my mother a set of Chinese stress balls 😅🤣🤣 she was not impressed at all and over 20 years later she still mentions them from time to time and how it was the worst present ever. She still has them though and she could still do with using them from time to time

When I was young I bought someone a potted plant.

From their own plant stall on the market. And then handed it straight over to them.

At the time I felt it was a sweet gesture. Disabused of this notion swiftly afterwards though, and mortified ever since (30 odd years).

Don't know what I was thinking.

FWIW, @DottyHarmer - I think your first edition book was a really lovely and thoughtful present.

Tetley teabags

I was 18 and had been going out with my now dh for about 6 months. He drank more cups of tea than anyone I knew and thought it would be a funny gag gift if I gave him a bag of 1000. I roped my auntie to get a wholesale bag with her Costco card.
We went to his sisters that xmas and I had no idea his mum and rest of his family would be there too. He opened the teabags, he looked a bit bemused but everyone else was wondering why the fuck I bought him teabags. His mum said ‘oh, why did you give him those’ and all my little shy self could think to say was ‘he likes tea’ luckily I had bought him a couple other gifts but I was so embarrassed and they all still tease me for this now.

Worst thing is the auntie who bought them for me must have thought it was a great idea, as she still buys us tea related presents every single xmas, almost 20 years later!

When I was around 6, I got my scary aunt on Cheap Secret Santa (costing a fiver, max). I knew right away what to give her: a black lipstick, because she was such a witch!

I shared the idea with DM, her sister! And somehow DM agreed, dragged me through the shops until we found a black lipstick, and it was done.

Naturally, my aunt wasn't impressed. Nowadays I can't believe my nerve, and mostly that DM went along with my idea. I think that shames me the most is that witchly aunt is actually my favourite aunt (I have 4) and we can talk for hours and hours. She just didn't like children.

@itsacat
Have you heard about these glasses for colour-blind people?

This Christmas you can make up for the colour gradient puzzle you gave your DH!
I dont know how to attach links so I've screenshot shot the YouTube videos titles....
I know they are expensive...maybe friends and family can pitch in and give them as a group gift...before you watch the videos make sure you have some tissues handy😭

@itsacat
Heres one more

I once bought a friend a copy of Betty Boos first album on CD as she briefly mentioned she liked her when she was at school.

She was a bit to say the least....

I bought my brother, who was a young police officer at the time, a pair of white china lions for his mantelpiece. Not that he had a mantelpiece. I still don't understand what I was thinking!!!

Not me but there was a thread a few weeks ago where the poster entered someone into a marathon as a Christmas present. Worst gift ever.

Agree - I would never, ever say I didn't like a present, and do my best to show enthusiasm. Some people, however, seem to think it's perfectly appropriate to express their disappointment, nay, displeasure, and even make the gift giver feel guilty.

Mil would say straight up if she didn't like something. Dh just took it on the chin, but I was steaming when instead of just saying thank you for what was clearly a thoughtful present, she'd announce, "You've failed!" or on one occasion (large button calculator) "I don't want this!" (I had seen her struggling with a calculator with normal-size buttons.) Fil was a total enabler, and the dcs were open-mouthed with horror a the rudeness when he'd say, "You'll get her something else, won't you? Dilys! They'll get you something else!"