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What's the worst gift you've ever been given?

(176 Posts)
HelenLake Tue 19-Mar-24 10:40:11

Let's be honest, we've all received a gift and had to pretend we like it.

Mines probably a henry hoover for Christmas... that sucked 😅 It was a bit of a jokey gift, as my husband told me he won it in a work raffle. He did buy me a really nice necklace that year so he clawed back some brownie points 🤣

LadyGaGa Wed 20-Mar-24 22:51:26

My step son and daughter in law presented me and my husband with a big, beautifully wrapped gift. My DIL was very excited about it - she said she had one and loved it so thought she would buy one for us. It was a mop and bucket 🤣

Mogsmaw Wed 20-Mar-24 22:20:13

Dh gave me a book of John Dunn poetry, i loath John Dunn. I’m dyslexic and not a lover of poetry in general.
I got it the year I first saw love actually. Emma Thompson getting the cd really hit a nerve, but at least she liked Jonny Michell !

eddiecat78 Wed 20-Mar-24 22:03:55

My OH gave me a radio one year - which would have been lovely except he gave it to me 10 days early which was his sister's birthday

Deedaa Wed 20-Mar-24 21:52:54

I don't remember a stand out awful present, but I was always disappointed at Christmas. Although I had quite a lot of uncles and aunts I had never even met some of them so presents were rather mundane sewing sets or handkerchiefs. What I would really have loved would have been book tokens, because new books were so expensive, but I think our family felt they were a bit unadventurous (compared with handkerchiefs?)

ginny Wed 20-Mar-24 15:18:55

Midgey 😄

The mother of one of my DDs ex boyfriends gave her a flight pack. Eye shade, toothbrush, mini toothpaste and grey socks one Christmas. The sort that used to be given to passengers.
Luckily she took the hint and didn’t get into that MIL/ DIL relationship !

shysal Wed 20-Mar-24 09:45:46

When DD1's ex heard that his teenage son was not perfect after all, and needed spectacles, he gave him a dozen tins of sardines for his birthday as he had heard that they improved eyesight!

midgey Wed 20-Mar-24 09:36:23

Ginny! My DH gave me exactly the same thing! Cost him a fortune too.

Aldom Wed 20-Mar-24 09:31:00

Doodle I feel so sad for your mum as the little girl who received a scrubbing brush for her birthday.
How wonderful that she was very much loved by your father. flowers

Chocolatelovinggran Wed 20-Mar-24 09:22:54

Oh everyone, keep these coming. You have started my day with laughter!

Lipstick Wed 20-Mar-24 08:43:29

One year my husband bought me a black mohair jumper 3 sizes too big because that’s all they had left

Bonnybanko Wed 20-Mar-24 08:32:00

When I was first married 53 yrs ago I got a tea set from my husband I’m sorry but I was so disappointed

Gala Wed 20-Mar-24 08:26:08

I was a financially strapped SAH mum of 2 small boys when my mother presented me with 3 cake forks. Cake was an unaffordable luxury. The same Christmas my 2 small boys got 'grown up' trousers as their present, outside of school they lived in joggers. When my first son was born she gave me a pink babygro. It was 'the only colour the shop had' - apparently. The maternity ward was awash with beautiful floral arrangements, I was given a handful of limp flowers picked from a garden. When second son was born, no visit, no flowers, no babygro. Another son, the ultimate disappointment.

HowVeryDareYou2 Wed 20-Mar-24 08:25:18

My (late) MIL again - when DH and I got engaged, she gave us a sherry decanter and glasses - I was 19, he 20, and neither of us liked sherry

RosesandLilac Wed 20-Mar-24 04:43:22

My MIL gave me a bar of used coal tar soap and a face cloth. No, she didn’t have dementia, she was just a very unpleasant woman who strongly disliked me and made that abundantly clear at every opportunity.

Tricia2 Wed 20-Mar-24 02:03:31

My husband gave me a clay garlic roaster. I felt like hitting him on the head with it.

Coolgran65 Wed 20-Mar-24 00:58:38

I was 14 and got a new school blazer!!

MissAdventure Wed 20-Mar-24 00:24:10

I remember my mum getting a writing pad from my nan.

Lesley60 Wed 20-Mar-24 00:22:27

My mother in law bought me a pair of tea towels

pably15 Wed 20-Mar-24 00:14:11

Marthjolly1

2 Christmases ago I received a car cleaning kit from OH. Its still under the stairs.

Hubby should be there too,,,

pably15 Wed 20-Mar-24 00:11:16

Maggymay

DH once received a pair of brown pillow cases from his Mother
And DS aged 9 received 2 bottles of ketchup for his Birthday from her.

Oh yes ...kids love tomato sauce....

annodomini Tue 19-Mar-24 23:27:35

My then husband must have toured a few junk shops to find the 'antique' 'silver' propelling pencil which he gave me for our first married Christmas. It never worked. Why did it take me 16 years to see the light?

Moonwatcher1904 Tue 19-Mar-24 22:54:46

I worked for a small sweet company for 8 years until I retired in 2017. There were only 8 of us so I wasn't expecting much. I got a small bunch of flowers, a potted plant some cheap pens and a bag of caramel sweets.

MissAdventure Tue 19-Mar-24 22:50:21

It had probably been there.... "ever and ever and forever and everrrrr......."

V3ra Tue 19-Mar-24 20:03:18

Before we were married, my husband bought me a Demis Roussos cd. He could see I wasn't impressed so offered to take it back.
Thinking I'd be able to buy something more to my taste I asked if he'd had any problems returning it.
"No," he said, "they gave me my £1 back."
It had been in the bargain bucket bin in the shop... 😠

Doodle Tue 19-Mar-24 19:40:18

My mum was given a scrubbing brush for her 9th birthday. The year her own mum died. 🥲. Fortunately life treated her more kindly when she met and married my dad who was devoted to her.