Worst present ever

[loveallthingsitalian]

It has been a few years since we did this but in an effort to but a wee bit of humour in it fess up to the worst presents ever received!

 

[ERICS MUM]

Well, I know it's a bit 'bah humbug' but I can honestly say I've never had an unwelcome present. Perhaps this is due to the way I drop hints, leave mega-clues and set up wish lists on shopping websites !

On the other hand my all-time best present was Eric my cat. My ex sister in law came up with the idea. I can say categorically that in the nearly 30 years I knew her this was her one and only act of kindness to me. She gave the whole of my family as a whole our best present when she signed the divorce papers.

 

[stratobuddy]

I hope it won't be the LED bulb I'm giving to OH

 

[Bettyboo]

I think I have been lucky with gifts given to me and can't think of any I didn't like. But my friend once recieved a Peg Bag and a dozen wooden pegs off her Mother in Law as a Christmas gift and we still laugh about it all these years later and also the Fingerless Gloves she bought her son.

 

[loveheart]

I hope it won't be the LED bulb I'm giving to OH

It so will be.

 

[Vienna]

It might sound ungrateful but my worst present was a sewing machine. To some people that would be a good present, nay, even a great present but to me, it was the pits. I hated sewing at school, I barely threaded a needle in my life and when I started secondary school our first sewing exercise was to make an apron for Domestic Science class. I was still making mine when I left school almost 6 years later !
I guess you`ve all got the picture by now, yes, this lady hates anything to do with sewing, knitting or anything to do with fabric, wool, and clothes making/repairs in general. So why on Earth did the man I`d been married to for a number of years and who regularly stitched on his own buttons buy me a sewing machine ? It sat unused in our attic for a long time and when we moved house I gave it away and good riddance.

 

[maymorganlondon]

My worst presents, unfortunately, were always from my own mum. Even when I gave rather specific instructions, the execution was dreadful. One year a pink lurex and mock-mohair jumper with an extremely deep V. It was unwearable forwards or backwards... and at the time I was practically allergic to pink, and lurex jumpers still make me itch. Or there were the pink plastic cameo earrings. My brother fared as badly. He asked for a heavy gold chain (back in the days when that didn't mean spending an eye-watering amount) and got the most horrible "medallion man" pendant necklace (not actually gold, either). In the end we pleaded with mum that just a card would suffice to know she was thinking of us at Christmas, rather than spending her money on - frankly - market-stall tat. It may sound ungrateful, but honestly they mostly made it straight to the jumble sale or charity bag. Maybe she was getting us back for some of the awful presents we used to give her, though. Oven gloves and matching tea-towels, anyone?

 

[NIKKID]

The year I got engaged I received 3 identical steamers. Never uses any of them!

As a child my brother persuaded me it would be a great idea to have a snooker table. I never used it once but it did prove useful for skating around in my roller boots which I got 3 months later for my birthday to the greatest hits of the day - bananarama et al!!!

 

[maymorganlondon]

I hope it won't be the LED bulb I'm giving to OH

The only way it won't be is if it's a joke present, and the real one is something like her favourite perfume...

 

[loveallthingsitalian]

Does anyone have any idea why people, usually males, buy such naff presents.
Do they really think it's what you want (do they know you at all?).
Can they not be bothered to put any thought into it (need a thick ear).
Or do they just not get the gifting thing and reckon anything in a bag will do?

 

[thatu]

A mug with a bell inside. From someone who thought I had that sort of a sense of humour. ????
:taphead:

 

[maymorganlondon]

Does anyone have any idea why people, usually males, buy such naff presents.
Do they really think it's what you want (do they know you at all?).
Can they not be bothered to put any thought into it (need a thick ear).
Or do they just not get the gifting thing and reckon anything in a bag will do?

The sensible man just asks what you would like, I think.
Generalising here, but they don't like to spend long shopping, and a specific list not only of items, but where to get them is a safe approach.
And, generalising again, I don't think Christmas occupies that much of their thoughts outside of December, so it can rather take them by surprise (unless they work in retail, I suppose).

Most of the guys I know get given a list of what to buy, and tend to ensure they've bought from that. A few brave ones venture into "buy a surprise" territory (hit and miss at best), but ensure they've got an insurance policy in at least one thing off "the list".

Oh, and if giving a list - shoe sizes, bra sizes and dress sizes are usually a good idea if anything to be worn is on it...

 

[Vienna]

Many moons ago and long before internet or telly shopping I worked a Christmas season in BHS. On Christmas Eve the store was full of wandering males looking for a gift for their wife or girlfriend. Many would buy nightwear or underwear and they frequently didn`t even know what size to get. Come Boxing Day the store would be full of those wives or girlfriends queuing at the CS desk and either exchanging or getting a refund on the red skimpy bra and knickers which were 3 sizes too big or small. Nightdresses were another epic fail, the men having either bought the slinky shortie baby doll-ish chemise type or the old lady buttoned yoke floral cotton number, once again either small enough for the lady in their life to fit one leg in or big enough to bury him in, let alone half a tonne of cement to weigh him down.

 

[DunmowDizzy]

The worst presents I have received have been those that are relatively expensive or at least to those that have purchased them but things I really don't want as no houseroom for them etc. I feel consumed by guilt, one year my mum and dad gave me an ornament that they felt I would love and had paid a bit more than they would normally would. With a smaller than needed house and three small children I really didn't want clutter without a purpose other than looking pretty. I decided to be practical and give to the local hospice shop rather than put away in a box as I thought at least some good would come out of it as it would raise some money. Days after my dad died unexpectedly and I went to the charity shop but it had already sold. I would much rather receive inexpensive gifts my best gifts are those hand made. A friend made a quilt for my third baby I think that was my best present ever (well at least in adulthood).

 

[donna255]

I was 23, for some reason my aunt thought a tin of biscuits was the perfect gift. I am not what you would really call a biscuit eater even today(more likely to say no even today), so was really confused why she thought it would be perfect for me.:mysmilie_17:

I have trained friends and family now, so bottles of wine, cash or gift card, makes me very easy to buy for.

 

[diamonds]

My worst presents are a cheque given by my OH every year for Christmas ,birthday and anniversary .Once in while it's fine but he says he does not want to see the disappointment on my face so this is the best or if I ask him something then he will buy .He never ventures out to get anything. And I miss that .

 

[boffy]

my friends sister buy her bath salts every year but she has only a shower

 

[Julius]

My ex girlfriend once got me a box of chocolate-coated olives Now I like chocolate and I like olives - but not together! I ate one and tried to be dignified as I spat it out, when what I was thinking was: "why the hell did you get me these disgusting things!?"

 

[amn]

My MIL bought me a vest two years ago. Not a camisole, or anything lovely like that - a vest. :mysmilie_11:

 

[louise66]

Wine, as I don't drink, and chocolate/confectionary, when I don't eat it. And they know this, but keep buying them. The emotion of giving is, fundamentally, what matters. I would never insult anyone, by mentioning it.