Tell us down in the comments!

#1

When I was 10, I lost my cat to the road because my mother didn't believe in indoor cats, I was devastated. A few weeks later for x-mas, my aunt gave me a book called 101 Things To Do With A Dead Cat. I spent the rest of the evening crying.

20 years later, I sang Ding Dong the Witch is Dead in my head at her funeral. She was a hateful woman.

#2

My mother bought me a dress from a high end fashion catalog that I had been drooling over for weeks. I was ecstatic until I noticed it was the wrong size. I was about to tell her the seller made a mistake, but she cut me off, saying "Something to work towards will motivate you to lose weight." She intentionally ordered a medium, I wear XL. My Christmas gift was just a new way to fat shame me.
She told me her plans to buy an expensive NFL team jacket for my brother's birthday... Something he and my father had both admired.
She said she was ordering a size medium. He wore an XXL. She said she refused to buy a larger size "so he'll get off his lazy butt and do something about his weight."
I told her she was psychotic and cruel and she shouldn't bother buying it since neither of us would be coming home for any more celebrations.
She told me I was disgusting and selfish and an embarrassment.
Nice, huh?

#3

Nothing. My family forgot to get me anything at all for Christmas one year. Husband and kids all forgot. I was in my 40s but felt like a child that had been kicked. I've never forgotten how it felt.

#4

Over the years I have collected quite a stash of gifts that I have never used for one reason or another. Someone once gave me a nose hair trimmer in the shape of a great, big, yellow finger, for example. So I understand the motivation behind this thread. I just don't agree with it.

Every time I have chosen and given a gift to anyone, it has been done with the intention of improving that person's day, even if it only raises a brief smile. When I receive a gift I only consider what is in the giver's heart rather than what is in the parcel before me. So even if the gift is a great, big, yellow finger, I am grateful for it, because it shows that the giver cares enough to go out, choose it, buy it and wrap it. And great, big, yellow fingers can't be that easy to wrap.

#5

At the time I was mortified my great aunt gave me underwear for Christmas, but now that I realize she was very poor but a complete sweetheart, it was actually the best present I have ever received. It's' not a coincidence she was born on Valentine's Day, and I miss her every day.

#6

My weirdo father gave us 3 boys each a special present one year. He gave me a dirt bike (imagine my excitement), my brother the key (to my dirt bike, and I didn't get one), and my other brother - he gave all the gas. Apparently, nothing worked without something from my brothers. We all had to get along to make it go . . . . I'm not sure if my pop was a genius or demented. (Probably both)

#7

The same distinctive bottle of alcohol i gifted them 2 years earlier

#8

My inlaws expected a gift for every single holiday (including birthdays, retirements, anniversaries) even when we were struggling, but when my birthday came around they gave me a card without anything written inside except their names. A gift isn’t necessary, but you can’t even say something nice?

#9

A bottle of wine with the price tag still attached - $1.00.

#10

A birthday card from my dad, three months late, and he spelled my name wrong.

#11

Almost all gifts I received from my late aunt. Old-fashioned, torn out bags or clutches that she wouldn't wear anymore; stained clothes (which sometimes had holes too); outdated touristic guides from the '60s; any object that she wanted to get rid of; useless flyers and ads that she'd collect from her vacations. I felt angry and humiliated, and all the "gifts" ended out in the trash bin after her visits.
There is a lesson I learned from this - never treat people like that. Get a proper gift. A flower or some fresh fruits are rather cheap and will always be better than your personal trash. And if you still decide to give personal items, make sure they have some value (such as a useful book, a jewel or an old painting).

#12

My family went on vacation Disney World while I was in school and sent me the complementary hotel toiletries as a gift.

#13

No one wished me Happy Birthday when I turned 11. They completely forgot about it because it was on a monday and we had to celebrate it on the weekend (wich was fine by me). I just wanted someone to say something nice to me on the very day I was born, even if I wouldn't get a present. Insted I got yelled at for "being selfish".
For me it wasn't the worst birthday present, but the worst birthday "day".

#14

A metal strap watch. From my ex. Despite him knowing that I absolutely hate metallic stuff. I don't wear even any kind of jewellery. I despise wearing any. All this after 6 years of being together. The added insult was him saying 'giving you gifts has become an obligation'

#15

This text for m my mother.
"Your uncle died today, happy birthday"

#16

A book on how to handle my introverted mindset

#17

Our Christmas gift at work was a chocolate covered apple. For the Christmas potluck (yes, we had to provide for our own party) I sliced mine up and brought it. The bosses' face! ???

#18

For my 17th birthday, my mother gave me a carton of cigarettes. This was about a month after my stepfather and I had a knock-down drag out fight, which I lost. She made her choice as to which one of us was more important. I was living with my father at the time. The worst part? Christmas was three weeks later and guess what I got for that one?
Another carton of Marlboros.

#19

Not a gift for me, but my in laws gave my son a trash can a few birthdays ago.

#20

I got a rotten pumpkin... Worst. Birthday. EVER.

#21

my dad gave me a pizza pan he originally bought to try out on a frozen pizza because he forgot to buy me an actual gift

#22

I grew up in a rural area. Neighbors were miles away. I was the youngest of 3 and we were many years apart in age.
In other words, I only had “school” friends.
Yet, my parents got me multi-player board games. Like, Sorry, you won’t be getting to the Head Of The Class in this Game Of Life.

#23

I got a sponge with a face drawn on it for my birthday, courtesy of my Uncle Corey. He didn't get any birthday cake.

#24

My mom has received some pretty awful gifts. One year, my dad got her a pedometer for her birthday and nothing else. For mother's day, my grandparents gave her a broom. I still feel bad for her.

#25

A birthday card, wishing me a Happy 30th Birthday. On my 29th birthday. From my mother.

#26

nothing at all! any and all gifts are appreciated here

#27

my birth

#28

Used foot lotion. It was secret Santa in the family that year. My youngest sister gave it to me. I guess she was to young to realize she could spend money instead of stealing it from our moms closet ?‍♀️

#29

A baby pink, polyester pants suit with a matching bejeweled sweater. For my 30th birthday. Apparently I was a “grown up” now and expected to dress as such. Shrug.

#30

Used soap! My grandparents were poor farmers and never gave gifts to my brother and I. Except one year I received a gift in the mail, wrapped and everything! I was 9 and felt so special. Inside was a large, pink, scented heart soap. Okay .. then I noticed a line around the middle, it opened up and there was a key made of soap inside. It had been used a few times already. I was so sad!! It took me years to realize how poor they really were and had probably gotten it from their church not knowing that it had been used! But at 9 …

#31

Everything my mom and step dad bought me as a kid. Literally everything felt like it was designed to remind me that they had no idea who I was or were intentionally ignoring what they should have known about me.
Usually really girly/feminine gifts when I was an overt tomboy (trans but we didn't have the verbage for that in the 90s), but not as like a manipulative tactic, they didn't care that I was a tomboy at all, they weren't trying to change me, they just didn't bother to notice anything about my personality. I kept just asking to go to the library more often or get new books, and the closest thing they did was get me American Girl books which were waaay below my reading level and not my preferred genre. I pointed out a cheap boys bike at a thrift shop, and they got me a more expensive one that was a brand new heavy pastel pink cruiser with streamers. Even when they'd ask what I wanted they just didn't listen.
To their credit I never told them I didn't like the things they got me, that felt like it would be super rude, but it was hurtful and uncomfortable enough over the years that I stopped talking about my birthdays in hopes they would just forget.

#32

After 25 years of marriage, husband forgot my birthday. When I reminded him, he insisted I was wrong, but said he had my card in his car. He came back with a sloppy stupid note written on trash from his car. We're divorced, of course. Maybe he remembers his new wife's birthday, I don't know, as long as he remembers my support check, I'm very happy.

#33

I still laugh about this. I absolutely do not like cake. Don't like the texture. Don't like the sweetness. Just not a fan. Never was. For my birthday I always ask for a pie instead of a cake. My wife and I were together for several years at this point and she knows my unusual dislike of cake and had always gotten me some type of pie. I loved every one. One year. She gets me a chocolate cake. I'm weird and don't like chocolate either. The wife and kids were happy to finish the cake. I bought myself a pie during my lunch break.

#34

My old boss gave me a gift card for a restaurant I don't enjoy, Swiss Chalet, and worked for only one restaurant in the entire franchise.

Said store was on the other side of town, which I never go to.

I don't remember the amount specifically, but I think it was either $25 or $50.

#35

One year, I gave lovely gifts to my brother, his wife and two kids for Christmas - but all I got was a fake potatohead with watercress for hair.
I kept waiting for the 'real' gift, but none came...

#36

My ex MIL once got me a tomato red blouse with a high neck & had long streams that were to be tied to make a large bow at the neck. It was hideous. To top it off she got me a size 12 (I've always been a petite person). ?

#37

I was once given a button-up furry coat… without the buttons.

#38

The Evil Goat Puzzle. My uncle took a photo of some mountain goats, got the photo turned into a 2,000-piece puzzle, and gave it to my grandparents. It would've been cool, but the resolution of the photo was so bad, and the colors were all the same (just gray, black, brown, and white) so it took us MONTHS to finish. Every time anyone visited my grandparents, they'd have to work on the Evil Goat Puzzle. My grandparents just couldn't manage it on their own.

(Oh, I forgot to mention! When my grandparents first started working on the Evil Goat Puzzle, my uncle decided to help them. They made a lot of progress in the first couple of days. Unfortunately, they'd started it on the kitchen counter, so they had to move it to another table. My grandma was about to move it using some cardboard, but my uncle got frustrated and took the whole thing apart. 'Twas a bad, bad day.)

#39

I was about 12. I desperately wanted to learn to play the guitar but I didn’t possess the instrument. One day my dad came home with a toy guitar. I was so disappointed and so angry that I tossed it in the closet. I never did learn guitar.

#40

QUARANTINE ON MY SWEET SIXTEENTH... thanks to my lovely friend who gave it to me.? I was not really ready to deal with that at the time so I just slept the entire day. At one point I got up because I got hungry and Im sitting on the couch having tea when my little sister (13) comes up to me and asks " So, you're 16 now...how does it feel?" And I, still half asleep replied " I'm too old for my age' then put my cup away and crept back into bed. One year later, it still remains one of our family inside jokes. I got an e-poster my little sister designed this year with this "quote" on it?

#41

There was a year when one sister got a scrapbook set (complete with scissors, paper books, embellishments, etc). Another sister got a new TV, brother got tires for his truck... I got a pair of $7 earrings that were hideous.

Husband: sister and brother had tons of presents, beautifully wrapped, including new PlayStation... He received a black garbage bag of clothes- not in his size, with the clearance Kmart sticker on them. Nothing wrapped nicely. Just the trash bag.

#42

Everything that I was given from my MIL.

#43

A coupon for an online dating service... At a time when I wasn't even halfway my divorce and my children didn't want anything to do eith me under the influence of their father. So I was absolutely NOT feeling like a new relationship.

Thank god my children eventually reached out to me and we were reconnected after 2 years :)

#44

For my 35th birthday, my mother gave me absolutely nothing, not even a card. I wouldn't have cared, but 6 days earlier, she gave my husband a card, $100 and a beautiful cake. One of the many reasons she is no longer allowed in my life.

#45

I'm not religious, but my grandparents are. When I was 14 they gave a copy of The Purpose Driven Life , a Christian book. I stuck it on my shelf and was like, oh well, whatever, not gonna read it. I felt kinda crappy about it because they made it clear they thought I was going to hell.
Six months later my best friend pulled it off the shelf and started flipping through it, reading passages ironically, and found 20$ bills tucked into the pages randomly.
Like. They were trying to pay me convert? It was pretty funny at the time. We shook the cash out an spent it on pizza and weed. That part of the present was great actually. But the book, not so much.
In hindsight I laugh about it. I thought this list could use a laugh, a lot of these are sad.

#46

For a wedding gift in 1970, my Dad presented me with a 1968 Mercury Colony Park with a 390 Cubic Inch engine, seating for 6 adults, 4 kids in back, got about 12 mpg. Similar to the family wagon in the movie Summer Vacation.
Perfect for a A1C (E-3) stationed in Marysville, CA, traveling to Tacoma, WA frequently (sarcasm font needed).

#47

My mother-in-law came to visit us for Christmas. Our relationship was already rocky as she would wait for my husband to leave the room and then start berating me about my weight.
(I was hit by a car when I was walking while pregnant, so I put on a lot of weight from bed rest and just haven't been able to lose it.) And when she wasn't making me feel self conscious, she was talking down to her partner and generally treating him like c**p.
She's also a hoarder who lives for attending and doing yard sales. Lives. For. It.

I didn't have high hopes for Christmas. I wasn't expecting any gifts from her, and I was okay with that. Four or five gifts in for my husband she tossed me a small package.
Inside? A rusted angel ornament.
"I hope you like it, I couldn't sell it at the yard sale for a nickel."

The trash gained an angel that year, and now she doesn't gift me anything at all anymore.

Bonus, she doesn't come visit anymore either. Merry Christmas to me!

#48

The cheapest weaving loom my rich aunt could buy.

#49

not me, but my husband. my mother didn't like him, but then again, she didn't like anyone. she gave my husband a mcdonalds happy meal toy one year. and another year, she gave my brother cans of slimfast, all wrapped individually.

#50

This is going to sound ungrateful. A sewing machine. I had saved up and bought myself a basic but reliable sewing machine which I loved and used all the time. My MIL had a fancy sewing machine and was upgrading to an even fancier one so for my birthday gave me the one she was replacing, saying now I could sell my old one. I appreciated the kind thought but preferred my own trusty machine. I knew it would sound ungrateful so I sold my machine as instructed. The gift machine was "temperamental" and I never really enjoyed sewing as much as I had before.

#51

my cousin once gave me a plus-sized catalog to banana republic. for my birthday. needless to say, it made me feel terrible. i love making him feel bad about it though :)

#52

I got a cheap Christmas decoration from a great aunt I don’t really know. She had me for the family secret Santa. She got it for me because apparently “I was too old for toys” I was 10 at the time.

#53

A puzzle ? I just don’t like puzzles and I can barely do them-

#54

When I was seven, my great-grandma bought my 2 cousins hundreds of dollars worth of toys, which I got to see them open. Then I was given my gift, volume 1 of an animal encyclopedia that you got for free with any purchase at the grocery store. I was pretty excited at first thinking about all the books I was going to have to read when the rest of the series came, until I found out volume 1 was the entirety of my present.

#55

Got a trip to spain from my mother. As soon as we took of, she told me I have to pay for it.

#56

My brother once got me to wrap my own Christmas present, saying it was for his girlfriend's parents. I was so careful to do a nice job and make it look perfect for them. Then to my surprise the gift that I had been so happy to help wrap and make special had my name on it... I guess I should have been happy for the present - it was a cassette tape of my new fave band at the time (I know, I am dating myself) but I felt so let down that he would trick me like that when I put so much effort into what I thought was helping him do something nice for someone else.

#57

For my high school graduation, now many years ago, my aunt hand sewed me a polyester caftan that looked like something Mrs Roper from "Three's Company" would wear. It was basically a tent with a hole for my head and two holes for my arms and made with hideous fabric. I know she meant well, but seriously, what 18 year old would wear something that looked like it belonged to a 55 year old - no me.

#58

A tether ball set when I was positive I was getting a BMX bike and had to wait a week after Christmas to get it due to travel.

#59

Three offcuts sawn off a log and varnished for a wedding gift. Apparently the person was trying to pass them off as high-end 'plates. We passed them off as high-end bin fodder

#60

When I was 15, I went to my boyfriends family for Xmas, his mother gave me dish cloths “For when we get our first place together”

#61

Most of my friends or family who buys me clothes end up failing. I always get tshirts that I like, but theyre all a size too big. When it comes to jackets or hoodies tho my Dad is on point. However if he buys me a pair of jeans theyre way off. I just need to tell everyone if they want to buy me clothes, buy dress socks. $25 shirt? Nah, buy me $25 worth of dress socks. You cant get the wrong size, and Ill actually wear them. Another pet-peeve of a gift for me is anything guitar related. Unless you know what kind of strings or picks I use stay out of the guitar store. Also, no guitar player needs a neon clock in the shape of a guitar. Especially from someone who bought them an actual guitar the year before. (Mom!) However if you happen to be unfortunate enough to have someone in your life whos dumb enough to play guitar, cables (you know, the ones to plug in to an amp) they never fail as a gift.