Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

People Break Down The Worst Birthday Gift They've Ever Received

People Break Down The Worst Birthday Gift They've Ever Received
Royalty-Free photo: Happy Birthday cake with seven lighted candles ...

Your birthday doesn't guarantee that you'll receive what you want.

That isn't me being cynical, just so you know. There are people who are terrible and get you certain gifts for the sake of spiting you. There are also other people who mean well but just suck at giving gifts, and they're a different beast altogether.

After Redditor sulumannekahn asked the online community, "What's the worst birthday gift you ever got?" people shared their stories and all we can say to some of these is... ouch.


"Thought I was getting a bike..."

Thought I was getting a bike for my 15th birthday but my foster parents announced that they were sending me to a group home after living with them for 11 years. Devastation!

irisdenise06

"Yes, that's right..."

My own scarf. Yes, that's right, my mother went into my room took my only scarf, wrapped it and gave it to me like it was a new scarf.

sneakysnakeee

"Only problem was..."

A pair of homemade custom pajamas. Only problem was that they weren't made yet. It was just the fabric and a promise to make them for me. I had to give the fabric back and I never got the pajamas.

Revenge_of_the_khaki

"That's it."

An ex-boyfriend hyped up my birthday gift for days, so I was pumped. On my birthday, he presented me with a small, flat box. Inside was a passport. His passport. That's it. Just his passport. No tickets for a trip, no promises of a trip once we saved up together. He literally just gifted me his passport. I'm still baffled.

katzenmiauen

"She offered me..."

My ex celebrated my first birthday that we were together by completely ignoring it altogether the day after going all out for her friend's birthday the day before. She offered me a leftover piece of the birthday cake she got for her friend, but still never said "happy birthday". That should have been my signal to run because it never got any better.

powerbrows

"He was on a bender..."

My dad accidentally revealing that him and my mom were separating. He was on a bender and didnt realize he was texting me and not my mom. Happy 18th to me.

MikkelBulghe

"I got a credit card..."

I got a credit card for my 18th birthday and told not to use it because it wasn't "active yet". When I landed my first real corporate Job at 22 years old, the company ran a credit report on me and found out I had $350K line opened.

Turns out my father had tricked me into signing a co-mortgage, and not credit card paperwork on my 18th birthday.

I received Debt on my 18th bday.

masteroffeels

"One year..."

My grandparents were super low-effort low-budget at every birthday. One year they got me a second-hand colouring book from a swap meet. It was almost completely coloured in by what appeared to be a 3 year old with a single green felt pen.

Also i was 18 and they thought it was a good gift because it was Disney related and i was going to college for animation and design...

Vyper28

"A friend once threw me a birthday party..."

A friend once threw me a birthday party I wasn't invited to. I showed up at a local cafe to have a random acquaintance ask me if I was excited about my birthday party that night. When I asked what he was talking about, he directed me to a flyer on the bar with the friend's name, my name, and 4-5 other people's names being used to celebrate a joint "uniquenameofuser1's zodiac sign" birthday party.

I already had plans that night for dinner with a couple of people, but after dinner I stopped by the cafe. The bartender was the only person in the crowd there to acknowledge me or wish me a happy birthday for twenty minutes or so, until the organizer walked over and wished me a happy birthday.

"Hey Uniquenameofuser1, it's great to see you, " she said. "Happy birthday."

"Gee, thanks, " I said.

"I hope you don't mind that I put your name on the flyer," she said.

"That's fine," I said, and put my drink down and walked out.

Uniquenameofuser1

"When I was eight years old..."

When I was eight years old I was growing sunflowers with my mom one summer. My aunt decided to get me some fertilizer for the flowers for my birthday. On my birthday, I unwrapped my present and saw what looked like a tub of vanilla ice cream, but when I opened it, there was literal horse s***.

JPO_5x5

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

More from Trending/best-of-reddit

Angela Bassett
Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images

Angela Bassett Revives 'Black Panther' Character For Vogue World 2025—And Marvel Fans Are Losing It

Actor Angela Bassett had Marvel fans freaking out after she made a surprise appearance strutting down the runway at the fourth annual Vogue World: Hollywood fashion event in the original outfit worn by her character Queen Ramonda from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

The purple gown, designed by celebrated costume designer Ruth E. Carter, is the same one Bassett wore for a scene in which her character delivers a speech before the United Nations.

Keep ReadingShow less
Donald Trump
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Leaked Memo Lays Out Republican Effort To Elect Trump For A Third Term

Podcaster Brian Allen, who tweets using the handle @allenanalysis, shared a memo that argues for "reconsidering presidential term limits" so President Donald Trump can receive a third term, citing "unfinished business" and "continuity" as reasons why.

The memo, from the Third Term Project, is for a Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) event that was held on February 20, 2025, just one month after Trump took office again.

Keep ReadingShow less
Man carrying a box of belongings out of the office
Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

Career Mistakes People Don't Realize They're Making Until It's Too Late

We all make mistakes, and fortunately, they're often reparable if we're willing to put in the effort.

But sometimes, the mistakes we make are too extreme and too lasting for us to overcome. And that is devastating when that kind of mistake is made while you're navigating your career path.

Keep ReadingShow less
Gavin Newsom; Donald Trump
Patrick J. Fallon/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Gavin Newsom Fires Back At Trump Over His Bonkers Misspelled Medical Advice

California Governor Gavin Newsom hit back at President Donald Trump after Trump wrote a rambling Truth Social post in which he warned pregnant women against taking Tylenol and advised when to get certain vaccines.

Trump—who is by no means a medical expert of any kind—published the post at 4:19 a.m. local time on an overseas trip in Malaysia. While ranting, he somehow also managed to misspell the word "hepatitis" as "hepatitas" in reference to the disease characterized by the inflammation of the liver.

Keep ReadingShow less
Amazon driver and TikToker @garrettpxyz
@garrettpxyz/TikTok

Driver's lie shames homophobic family

When will MAGA folks finally learn to mind their business?

Apparently not today, Satan, because one delivery driver just delivered more than a package: he dropped off a masterclass in petty improvisation.

Keep ReadingShow less