Time for a worst/most bizarre Christmas present thread

[pinkksugarmouse]

Ex DH and I separated on good terms and the first Christmas exchanged gifts in front of our 12yr old DDD.To show we were friends. He got me 2 lush bath bombs. Now I have life long Rheumatoid Arthritis and haven't been able to use a bath since I was a child. We'd been married for 14yrs. We'd lived in a place with a walk in shower due to my arthritis. I wasn't upset just baffled.

Boyfriend at the time had spent weeks saying that what you gave as gifts really showed how much you knew about a person and how much you listened to them. I spent ages carefully picking his loot. And what did I get? A brown suede handbag and a Ralph Lauren beach towel. I don’t use handbags, and don’t do designer stuff. He waxed lyrical about how amazing I was for getting him exactly what he had wished for, I did not return the compliment. This was 35 years ago and it still irks me.

My great auntie (who would have been in her 80s) got my mum a Denim gift set. Mum must have overdone it on the thank you because she got the same the following year too 🤣

This is the best, waistcoat made me lol

@DaxieTaxi cruet set I think

I still remember the present that my (now thankfully ex) MIL gave me one year,after I'd been married to her son for about 7 years. A bright red handbag. Ok,a lot of people would say what's wrong with that? Apart from the fact that I only ever used black handbags (I had never ever had a brightly coloured one),it wasn't particularly good quality. Think market stall variety. I was just astonished that after having known me for nearly 10 years,she thought that I'd appreciate a red handbag. Maybe she was trying to brighten me up!

That would have baffled me too. It’s not even the gift itself, it’s what it says about how little attention they were paying.
I had something similar after my ex and I split — he gave me a phone stand shaped like a cartoon slug. I don’t collect cute things, I’d never mentioned needing a phone stand, and it absolutely wasn’t my taste. It just made me realise he’d grabbed the first random thing he saw rather than thinking for two seconds about me as a person.
Your bath bombs feel the same — not hurtful, just a reminder of how little of you he’d actually taken in, even after years together.

So many.

Let's start when I was about 8 or 9 I wanted a silver locket, one that I could open. The being able to open was the most important part for me so I was taken to a jeweller and I tried a couple and found my perfect oval locket that I could open.

I knew it would be put away until Xmas day, but that was fine.

Then my mother had a conversation with my next door neighbour which resulted in the neighbour giving my mother a heat shaped locket, an old and not great looking locket so mum took 'my' locket back to the shop because I would get the neighbour's second had crap and she told me so that I would know before Xmas.

I used to do a lot of arts and crafts, knitting, sewing, tatting but in my mid 20s I was diagnosed with arthritis which now affects all my joints and occasionally my eyes so I can't do crafts or a lot of things involving holding things so I have a kindle because I can hold that for longer than a book.

I frequently wear wrist splints.

So knowing all that my brother, over the years has bought me:

Books, not ebooks, physical books, heavy books. And he buys them from Amazon.

Fimo and fimo tools.
A kit to hand sew a soft toy.
A Ukulele - I have no idea what he was thinking, well he wasn't thinking.
An adult colouring book and coloured pencils.

For my birthday (sorry I just need to add this one in) after 10+ years of getting an SMS the day after my birthday saying, "happy birthday for yesterday" , he decided to send me a present. I had just been diagnosed with diabetes, he spent £50 on chocolate.

I'm not difficult to buy for, I drink red wine, I love the odd single malt and I have worn the same perfume for 30 years.

I know you’re seeing the funny side but I think that’s awful . How can people begin to think these items are acceptable gifts to people you are supposed to love , respect & value . I can understand people being wide of the mark but this …….

A primark bath mat. From a relative I was hosting, along with her child, for 5 days over Christmas including all the food and booze.

My FIL once bought our DD (I think she would have been 2 or 3) kitchen roll because it had the Snowman on it. She did get a few other random items like a bag and some stickers. When we sat down for our Christmas lunch, he then asked for the kitchen roll so he could use it instead of the napkin. He got me some tags for writing a name on and sticking into clothes (he clarified he thought this could be of use for DD) and a headtorch.

The periscope post was wonderful, the lady was so witty and you could feel her utter perplexity at the gift coming through the screen. I read it to my DH and we had a lively discussion about what the hell her DH was thinking about, and how well the lady had handled it with humour.

Last year, after receiving my presents DH presented me with an extra one, it was a plastic child’s periscope 🤣 We enjoyed that post all over again!

DH, in his previous marriage asked his dw what she would like for Christmas. His dd was there at the time so she knew what her dm had asked for. Christmas Eve and dh had been working all hours and hadn't been shopping. Collects dd and takes her to buy the gift. "What did mum say she wanted?" " She wants a ..." says dd. So, dd choses the style and colour while Dad adds a few extra pretty items to the basket.
Present giving time comes along. Dd proudly tells mum that she helped dad choose her Christmas present and watches eagerly while Mum opens the gift she asked for. She wasn't impressed with the toilet brush! Moral of the tale is not to ask for something daft when your dd is listening because you will be taken at your word. Another Christmas he spent weeks making a beautiful jewellery box for his dw. All hand crafted out of the best wood. She opened it and tossed it aside saying "what's this handmade junk?". I think she deserved the loo brush!
My DH has bought me an early Christmas present. Exactly the best gift ever. I'm so lucky.

I'm convinced they were bought for someone else... Size 20-22 tartan pjs in the days I was a 6-8. She was desperate for me to produce a grandchild as well. I gave them to my Mum and they were huge on her too (Size 20 Mum). MIL honestly thought they were my size apparently.

Dressing gown in maternity size L, with no tags on, from (pregnant) auntie at age 12/13. Given to me with a notebook with things written in and a few pages torn out!

I also remembered my SIL got my MIL a cross stitch set. She was constantly complaining she was bored/lonely but I don’t think she actually wanted things to do. However she had cataracts and couldn’t see anyway.
She also went through a phase of buying me books for tv shows that she liked, but I hated. Then she would be offended I didn’t then watch those programmes.

She said I was "being mean"

My MIL used to make me clothes for Christmas. I'm not complaining because it all came from a place of love - she has 4 sons and 2 brothers - no sisters or daughters. One year she made me a lime green, crimpoline, two piece work "suit" and made me try it on in front of my husband, FIL and 3 BILs. You can imagine the hilarity. Which to be fair to them they tried to hide by all going out for a "cigarette", even the non smokers. 😂

Thank god!!

From my MIL who made no effort to hide what she thought of me for three consecutive Christmas’ gave me a used bar of cold tar soap and a flannel.
After telling DH what I thought of it the first two times I told her directly the third Christmas.
She truly was the MIL from Hell…..

I'm really puzzled as to why people do this.

Do they not think we notice?
Do they not like waste?
Is it about money?

My mum is much the same. I'm fed up of ‘not noticing’ but not so rude as to call her out, outright ‘ha, that's the hand cream I put in your stocking, last year’.

I say things like ‘ I know you don't do gifts so I've just brought you a treat’.

Her answer is usually rubbish ‘ well we don't do birthday gifts, do we’. I reminded her of the trip to Barcelona to see Michael Buble…the football game between Real Madrid and Barcelona, all sourced and given to her and my dad.

I challengeher, gently, but she just denies it or doesn't give any recognition to what I have said.

Leopard print sexy underwear, complete with black crotchless thongs and a baby-doll mesh top with nipple holes. It was very p*rn star-esque..... from my ex boyfriends MOTHER 😂and she encouraged me to open it in front of everyone. And I was only 18. I was beyond mortified. Didn't even want to bring it home incase my mum and dad saw it!

My Mil's Christmas present to me was a Halloween themed candle holder , she knows I don't burn candles as well .
Happy to inform that she's an ex mil as I left him in that February .

I would have been delighted with the slug! I have a huge collection of ornamental snails but have only ever found one slug - a beautiful glass banana slug.

I’m not sure why, I guess it’s a combination of the things you have suggested & she’s just a strange and kind of mean kind of mother and seems to lack maternal instincts. It is puzzling for sure & she’s not going to change now.

I’d like to be able to say it doesn’t bother me but it does. It does however bother me less than it used to, it does amuse my husband & we do have a wee laugh about it sometimes. The padded coat hangers are his favourite Christmas gift that my Mum gave me. He’s always quoting that one which is from about 12 years ago, but I did use them so I don’t consider them to be the worst.

As an 8 year old I used to watch ‘Bullseye’. I asked for a dart board and darts for Christmas thinking ‘my mums not gonna get me those, they’re far too dangerous.’ Anyway, Christmas Day came and I got the dartboard… however, when I opened the darts they came wrapped up with the flights separate and you had to put them together, which I did. Problem was that on the flights were pictures of naked women in sexy type poses, big boobs aka page 3. My mum had no idea. She was never into details that much . She let me keep the darts though as it was far too much hassle to take them back 😆

I remember they used to come free with washing up liquid!