Page 7 | Well meant gifts that didn't hit the mark

imnotthatkindofmum · 2024-12-25T10:21:05+00:00

Here's a thread to post your disappointing gifts that you can't be disappointed with in real life! Let off a little steam without upsetting anyone!! My lovely daughter bought me some novelty earrings. I never wear novelty earrings but she's so proud of them i have to wear them. She was so secured about me opening them but now I have to work out how little I can get away with wearing them so she doesn't realise I hate them! Also DH only bought what was on my list. It was a cheap and simple list. I would have liked him to choose something he thought I would like. After 22 years not sure why I expect that though!

OChristmasTreeHowLovelyAreYee · 25/12/2024 14:53

YourCheeryRoseHedgehog · 25/12/2024 14:48

A top 2 sizes too big. Do they think I'm really that fat? 😪

Me too. Got some fab gym gear but in a size XL.
I’m an M at most.
He must think I need to lose weight 🤔

stravagante · 25/12/2024 14:56

I am lucky to have a generous family on both sides but my fabulous MIL always thinks I am slimmer than I am and buys me some lovely PJs that I will never cram my lardy butt into...

Wolframandhart · 25/12/2024 14:57

Bearsinmotion · 25/12/2024 10:29

DS got me a 1000 piece photo jigsaw of him and his sister. It is lovely but will be almost impossible as the background is at least half water, which looks identical.

I made the same mistake with my own DM a few years ago!

I did the same to my parents. A photo of them and my then baby daughter. Professional photographer took the picture and both the backdrop and my dad’d jumper were dark. My parents love jigsaws. They used to constantly have one on the go. Theyve even done the ones that dont have the picture on the box. However, they said this one nearly took them to the divorce courts. 😂

PrincessPeache · 25/12/2024 15:01

WinterCrow · 25/12/2024 14:02

I still do stockings for my adult DC in their 20s, or a box in one case as I have to post it, but the big tamale is always the Xmas money bank transfer so they can get themselves something they actually want or need, e.g. clothes in the right styles in the right sizes or theatre tickets for the right show in the right seats on the right date.

But I think the stocking / box / actually wrapped present is really nice to have, as well. Those I do put some thought into, even though they don't cost a lot.

Show quote history

Yep we always get a pair of pyjamas, a few smellies and some hot chocolate to open from my parents but the main gift is money (often spent ahead of time when I ask if I’m allowed my Christmas money early to pay towards a holiday 😆)

StrawberryWater · 25/12/2024 15:08

Don't think any of my gifts were well meaning. They're more "I grabbed the first random pieces of tat I could find" type bits.

I asked for:
Some gardening bits
A nice hamper
A book on photography
Some embroidery / cross stitch bits
A new coat

What I got:
A mug (with a chip in it as he dropped it while wrapping it apparently)
A fleece blanket with cows on it
A jigsaw puzzle

I'm more than a bit annoyed and currently sat in bed with a glass of wine. Dinner will be when I can be bothered this year.

Bumcake · 25/12/2024 15:16

Brindisa · 25/12/2024 14:07

I asked for some mugs with nice or funny patterns on. After much nagging dh and dc finally went shopping for me on Christmas Eve. I even told them which (very local) shop they could go to to buy some nice mugs.

they bought me a glass vase that we don’t have room for and some plain white mugs with the price tags still on - from Poundland.

I suspect the vase was quite expensive but we cannot use it for anything so it will gather dust until someone breaks it. Now I’m going to feel like a bit h if I buy the nice mugs for myself too. Maybe a strategic breakage of them is on the cards …

That’s beyond thoughtless. I’d buy my own mugs and drop that lot off at the charity shop pronto.

JaneAustensHeroine · 25/12/2024 15:19

Brindisa · 25/12/2024 14:07

I asked for some mugs with nice or funny patterns on. After much nagging dh and dc finally went shopping for me on Christmas Eve. I even told them which (very local) shop they could go to to buy some nice mugs.

they bought me a glass vase that we don’t have room for and some plain white mugs with the price tags still on - from Poundland.

I suspect the vase was quite expensive but we cannot use it for anything so it will gather dust until someone breaks it. Now I’m going to feel like a bit h if I buy the nice mugs for myself too. Maybe a strategic breakage of them is on the cards …

I sympathise.

It’s not even that you didn’t get the mugs you wanted, it’s the waste of money that they bought you something you won’t use and don’t need.

I can’t bear waste so Christmas is a nightmare. I have been gifted four bottles of alcohol - I don’t drink, toiletries sets which I can’t use because of skin allergies and a work bag which I don’t need as I work from home. A friend always gives me her gift after Christmas which is clearly re-gifted and is always cosmetics which will never be used as a result of allergies. It’s actually thoughtless.

Rant over.

Crikeyalmighty · 25/12/2024 15:20

Only 1 year( about 15 years ago) did I receive something from my H that I thought mmm - he has his faults and is useless at housework but is normally an amazing present buyer - he bought me a basque type thing, some stockings and a thong when I was totally off sex at one point- and knew full well I would never have worn any of them even when I wasn't off sex - I just felt hugely irritated that he just hadn't read the room- or did it to annoy me

LakieLady · 25/12/2024 15:21

I'm sorry for your loss, @Cerealkiller4U , bereavement is awful at any time, but it must be especially hard at this time of year.

TryingAgainAgainAgain · 25/12/2024 15:26

Brindisa · 25/12/2024 14:07

I asked for some mugs with nice or funny patterns on. After much nagging dh and dc finally went shopping for me on Christmas Eve. I even told them which (very local) shop they could go to to buy some nice mugs.

they bought me a glass vase that we don’t have room for and some plain white mugs with the price tags still on - from Poundland.

I suspect the vase was quite expensive but we cannot use it for anything so it will gather dust until someone breaks it. Now I’m going to feel like a bit h if I buy the nice mugs for myself too. Maybe a strategic breakage of them is on the cards …

There's so much of this purposefully buying the wrong gift by DHs and boyfriends. imo it's a passive-aggressive message that 'no, you cannot have what you asked for.'

I think it's a really bad sign.

hattie43 · 25/12/2024 15:29

AnnaDelvorkina · 25/12/2024 10:26

DH and I are not exchanging gifts and there is no one else here to give or receive a gift from. It was my birthday in December and also no gifts or cards then (DH’s culture doesn’t give cards but my family’s does.) To be honest I feel like wrapping up my phone charger or a bag of rice just to have something to open and feel a bit festive. We also don’t have a Christmas tree although we do have a card from my Mum.

Try to get a few photos of your novelty earrings, OP, and that way there is a memory of them and don’t have to wear them very often after today.

This sounds bloody miserable . It might not be your OH culture but it is yours so he should make some kind of effort

BettyBardMacDonald · 25/12/2024 15:31

StrawberryWater · 25/12/2024 15:08

Don't think any of my gifts were well meaning. They're more "I grabbed the first random pieces of tat I could find" type bits.

I asked for:
Some gardening bits
A nice hamper
A book on photography
Some embroidery / cross stitch bits
A new coat

What I got:
A mug (with a chip in it as he dropped it while wrapping it apparently)
A fleece blanket with cows on it
A jigsaw puzzle

I'm more than a bit annoyed and currently sat in bed with a glass of wine. Dinner will be when I can be bothered this year.

Wow, it really takes the piss!

Reading these anecdotes of shit men is raising my blood pressure.

CheekySnake · 25/12/2024 15:33

A box of mixed teas which I can't/don't drink. I don't know why a box of tea would be a good present.

However this person has always disappointed before, so at least that part wasn't a surprise.

Obimumkinobi · 25/12/2024 15:36

TheLightSideOfTheMoon · 25/12/2024 11:12

I’ve not opened any presents yet but my mum buys me art products she sees in TK Max, but it stuff I wouldn’t use.

I paint miniatures, with tiny brushes and a particular brand of paint.

Even if I do paint on paper I work very small.

She buys me giant canvases and large brushes. I never use them.

This goes back to me studying art and I used to work big because we needed to do a certain amount of work. (I think it was 20 x A4 sides).

It just sits. It’s all rarely used.

This is a whole genre in itself - "Things I USED to do/like 20+ years ago but still get related gifts for".
Main contender in this category today is a crate of cider (not touched a drop for 20 years) given to DH by his own parents. Literally, any other tipple would have done but no "he loves cider!" Yeah, right. Just like he loves sleeping in a single bed, wearing Lynx and watching TOTP!😁

ShinyAppleDreamingOfTheSea · 25/12/2024 15:37

mondaytosunday · 25/12/2024 13:47

@Bearsinmotion but surely an almost impossible puzzle is the point? I never look at the lid either...
My sister lives abroad and amazingly sent the presents in time.
My son got a pocket knife in fake scrimshaw (this is a repeat gift she got him years ago and he loved it then and did need a replacement) plus £80 cash. He's delighted. I got four pairs of earrings on a very similar theme (blue/brown micro beads), very nice if rather interchangeable. My DD got a.... cheap glass trinket tray with a unicorn on it (she's 19). Must have cost less than £10. I'm wondering did she mislabel the earring which were in two separate boxes? Even so, the disparity between what he got and what she got is a bit much and rather puzzling.

If your earrings were wrapped separately - I think you are right and one set was meant for your DD.

GravyBoatWars · 25/12/2024 15:42

A self-help book on traditional Christian womanhood from a grandparent - this is the table of contents.

My darling husband, who ironed my shirt this morning because he knows I can’t be bothered and has always been faintly horrified by the religious culture I grew up in, did a great job keeping a straight face.

Well meant gifts that didn't hit the mark

Arrivederla · 25/12/2024 15:49

BettyBardMacDonald · 25/12/2024 12:13

But why did you accept that treatment? "No thanks, i prefer to have presents to open on Christmas Day."

Show quote history

Exactly! Kindly - people will treat you how you allow them to

Happiestwhen · 25/12/2024 15:50

DH bought me an expensive stripey rugby- type jumper. I hate stripes. And I really don't like rugby style jumpers. He loves them and has a few similar jumpers. He grinned when I opened it and said it will really suit me. I haven't the heart to say anything today, just thank you- but I'll be returning it asap. I've said to him before I like to buy my own clothes and shoes. He bought me hideous boots a few years ago. When I told him I wouldn't wear them he gave them to his niece...who I haven't seen wear them once 😆 Men, they haven't a clue!! (Well most of them anyway!)

Pickingmyselfup · 25/12/2024 15:51

My perfume which was nothing to do with the giver, I wasn't sure on this specific one so I asked for a sample for a Christmas so I could buy it with my Christmas money but I actually don't like it. Disappointing because I thought it would be what I was looking for but the search continues.

SilviaDaisyPouncer · 25/12/2024 15:55

GravyBoatWars · 25/12/2024 15:42

A self-help book on traditional Christian womanhood from a grandparent - this is the table of contents.

My darling husband, who ironed my shirt this morning because he knows I can’t be bothered and has always been faintly horrified by the religious culture I grew up in, did a great job keeping a straight face.

That really takes the biscuit!! Hahaha

Gatecrashermum · 25/12/2024 16:00

avaritablevampire · 25/12/2024 11:09

Dh actually put some effort in this year, but he's been totally ripped off, and so I don't quite know what to do! He's bought me some opal gold stud earrings, problem is they're not gold, and they are fake opals. (I don't care that they're fake, as they are still pretty, but because they're not gold I can't wear them as I have a nickel allergy...nickel was supposed to have been banned as a base metal for this reason), but he was so excited to get me something he thought I'd love with no prompting, I really don't know what to do. I know he spent good money and has been totally had. Fuckwit who sold them to him must have known.
If I tell him they're nickel, he'll be gutted and feel miserable he's been had, if I say they are lovely he'll want me to wear them...currently already have a pair in, so I need to think this through carefully... Christmas dilemma!

Can you paint them with clear nail varnish? That used to help me as a teenager(I'm sensitive but not allergic)

whynotwhatknot · 25/12/2024 16:19

not well meaninig but my df partner bought me a keyring with an F dangling from it

i dont even have the letter f in my name-i said what does the f stan for then-she said how would i know-shes a bitch has done similar previously

WellsAndThistles · 25/12/2024 16:21

Poor DH meant well buying size 12 me, size 18 PJ'S. They didn't have my size but he decided PJ'S are meant to be a bit baggy. Had to explain to him they factor in the extra baggy comfort fit in the factory, he isnt meant to just randomly size up 🤣.

Nevermind I'll take them back to Asda and maybe swap them for a couple of bottles of Prosecco 😀.

All my presents from a fairly close relative were wrapped in bday paper, not sure if that was a silly mistake or a sign their mind isn't working as well as it used to so that's worried me a bit.

tammy98 · 25/12/2024 16:24

My partner bought me two tracksuits from Shein and I don't like them. I won't wear them. I got him stuff he needs. I don't think he can return them as no packaging etc!

MargaretThursday · 25/12/2024 16:27

WellsAndThistles · 25/12/2024 16:21

Poor DH meant well buying size 12 me, size 18 PJ'S. They didn't have my size but he decided PJ'S are meant to be a bit baggy. Had to explain to him they factor in the extra baggy comfort fit in the factory, he isnt meant to just randomly size up 🤣.

Nevermind I'll take them back to Asda and maybe swap them for a couple of bottles of Prosecco 😀.

All my presents from a fairly close relative were wrapped in bday paper, not sure if that was a silly mistake or a sign their mind isn't working as well as it used to so that's worried me a bit.

Dh once bought me leggings in size 18/20. I was a size 12. I said to him "you';ve bought the wrong size". His reply "don't worry, I'm sure they'll swap them for a bigger size". 🤣
He hasn't been allowed to forget this.