What is the 'meanest' present you ever received

One Christmas my boss popped into my office and placed a present on my desk. When I opened it I realised it was something she and her husband must have been given, probably the previous year. It was a bottle of black cherries in kirsch (yuk!) and she'd omitted to see that written on a label stuck on the bottle was her and her husbands name and 'with best wishes from..*******' I never said anything - sometimes I wish I had and wonder how she would explain it away.

haha! DH and I once received an address book from his brother ( Wing Commander) and wife for Christmas.

In the new year I opened it to start putting in addresses to find there were some for unknown people already in there! I am happy to support Christmas Bazaars and charity shops for pressies..but they could have checked it had not been used already!!

I think all these gift-givers are very firm believers in the adage 'It's the thought that counts'.

I'd rather just have a card.

In the 1950s we as a family received a Xmas gift from my very mean Godmother. Surprised at this unexpected gift we quickly opened it. Inside was a cruet set all made of plastic which comprised two potties for the salt and pepper and a toilet for the mustard.

We laughed so much and it has been a talking point for the last 60 years.

I worked with a very mean person who made no secret of the fact that she recycled every present she was given - including the one I gave her!

A year ago sister (the mean one who saved up all my little xmas tree gifts and gave them to me this year as my main present) and I went out somewhere, and I happened to mention that I needed to get in some more seed compost. For my birthday she gave me what I thought was a brick. It was a block of coir that you had to soak in water, which would give you perhaps enough compost to fill three large flowerpots. They cost about £2.99.

So for her birthday in May I asked her what she wanted, and she said she wanted something nice to put in her bath. I know what she really likes, and it's that very expensive Dr Hauschka stuff. I bought her a kilo bag of Epsom salts instead. I think from now on we may be exchanging cards only.

A similar thing happened to us sunseeker. DBiL said he would like to take us out for a meal, so we went to a lovely restaurant and looked at the menu, salivating! DBiL announced that he thought he would have the cheapest (and least appealing!] starter and main course so, when the waiter came to take our order DH, DSiL and I all asked for the cheapest dishes but when the waiter asked DBIL (who had very politely let us go ahead of him!!) he chose the two things that were not only the most expensive but what we would have chosen ourselves.

Since that time we have strict 50/50 rule so we can have what we would like!!

We once had friends to stay for 2 weeks, we took them on lots of day trips always paying any entrance fees etc. Towards the end of the stay they insisted they wanted to take us out for a meal to say thank you. We arrived at the not particularly up market restaurant and the waiter brought the menus, after looking through them they announced they weren't paying those prices and wanted to leave. DH said he would pay and so we ended up paying for our own (and their) thank you meal!

One grandmother used to give me pretty petticoats when I was young, until I married. The first Christmas after the wedding she gave me a pair of teatowels.

This thread has really made me think, DM always had to give very practical presents, underpants being the gift of choice. For my 30th birthday she sent me 2 pairs of the big white knickers, for her next birthday i went to Anne Summers and got the skimpiest i could find and put a wee note in the envelope saying,' as you seem to want me to wear your knickers thought you might like to try a pair of mine.
Not a word was said, and I got the money from then on, we have never got on.

I have received poundshop chocolates when I paid for good presents for a whole family. I've been given praline chocolates when I have a nut allergy. The giver had known this for years.

My mother, one Christmas when I was about 39, bought us all cheap talking Shrek toys. We had an hilarious chatting session with those. Another year she bought us all cheap Slankets which scrunched when used. They hit the bin.

But we did give my DD a ketchup container one Christmas because she covered everything in the stuff. And another Christmas I bought her a Cilla Black record. That got thrown across the room!

Karma!

My dear brother once gave me a roll of black bin bags for Xmas. I had been involved in a lengthy fight against the proposed siting of a landfill so this was his idea of a joke. He'd even gift wrapped them.

out of date chocs, out of date bath balls, mother often gives me cleaning stuff a friend gave me a rubber door mat with a horrible smell and I wondered what was burning for days until I smelt the horrid mat.
Am glad ive read these posts as I used to think I was the only one who got naff presents, glad im not alone.
BTW can anyone tell me why my elderly mother buys me huge big knickers like she would wear. The kind with pin holes in them and come up past my waist. Im not slim but a set that fit and are a bit lacy would be appreciated, ive told her lots of times but still get the horrors.

I got my own back on my friend who gave me her free BA Club Class amenity kit (start of thread). Last time I went to USA there was a special offer in a supermarket we popped into - buy two recycle bags for 50cents get one free The name of the supermarket was emblazoned on the side. I gave the 'free' bag to my friend for her birthday telling her, tongue in cheek, she was unlikely to come across anyone with the same shopping bag!

It's hard to believe that some people can be so mean!tightfisted/thoughtless/downright insulting as well.A small but well thought out gift is hardly difficult is it?
I had an e-card sent as a 'gift' which I thought was pretty awful, from someone I know very well. You have all had worse though!

Blimey !! I am now thinking that my secondhand ancient talcum powder was positively generous ! At least I could use it to get my gardening gloves on easier. Some of you have been seriously short changed !!

From a notoriously mean great aunt - now deceased god bless her - 2 left hand different sized grey gloves. But in her favour she was a splendid cook and once when staying with her as a teenager when coming in of an evening she used to leave me delicious warm meat patties and coffee.

My alcoholic ex husband gave me bottles of sherry, port and martini one birthday. I don't drink so he drank them for me so that they didn't go to waste

My parents gave me a bible for my 21st birthday I found it strange as I am not a religious person then or now really. It was given with the remark that as your sister wanted one for her birthday you got one as well. Before we were married my husband to be bought me a set of double pink nylon sheets.! After we had been married a while he bought me a Margaritte Patten cook book. We are still married 44 years later however I now list any presents I would like him to buy me.

Not really a mean present but a very disappointing one was a toasty maker given to me by my parents for my 21st birthday.

Your friend sounds like my sort of person sunseeker

A friend and I used to compete to see who could give the oddest and most inappropriate gifts, I think she won the year she gave me a baby's bottle..............filled with vodka!

I don't think I've ever had a mean present but for our 25th anniversary a lovely neighbour gave us frilly pillowcases to which she had added silver ribbon with our initials. The had put a lot into them but we are so definitely not frilly people. She is. Mr N had just been made redundant so we were not going out to celebrate and they had invited us to dinner but as we had colds (we felt OK) she brought the dinner round on trays.

My parents forgot my 14th birthday and when I reminded them in the evening they went out and bought me a little box of Milk Tray. At 14 that really hurt. Perhaps that is why I make a big fuss of family birthdays.

A tin-opener. Not an eletronic, fancy, state-of-the-art tin-opener, but a bog-standard, ordinary one. From my husband (ex), for our first wedding anniversary.

I sympathise Sunseeker. I suffered in the same way. Usually I got something from the nearest shop and totally unsuitable because DM had spent all day searching for the exact, perfect present that my brother had asked for!

It taught me to be very thoughtful about every present that I give other people. So something positive came out of it! X