Truly fantastic gift-giving is an art form.
In my youth, when I was more festive and generous, I was the ULTIMATE gift-giver.
I loved watching people's joy of truly being blown away by a gift they unwrapped.
There was laughter and tears that made irreplaceable memories.
What is also unforgettable (no matter how much we try) is receiving garbage gifts.
Little planning, poor presenation and a lot of WTF moments.
So people give gifts that leave others in a state of shock.
If you're going to be that kind of gift-giver... then just give nothing.
Anything is better than somebody's baby teeth.
(DON'T ASK!!!)
Redditor xjuggernaughtx wanted to discuss the times when the gift of giving was more of a nightmare, so they asked:
"What's The Worst Gift You've Seen Someone Receive?"
Scratched!
"I watched a friend's sister gift her an already scratched off scratch off ticket for he birthday. When asked why, she replied, 'Well, I didn't want to give it up if you won a bunch of money.' I laughed out loud, and when I got an icy stare, I realized she was serious."
- kinghodjii
Angry Luis Guzman GIF by Laff Giphy
Jaws Dropped
"My aunt (retired teacher) was visiting over Christmas. She spent Christmas Day with us. My wife and I spent $50 on a gift basket for her. It had mugs, cheeses, crackers, spreads, teas, and other assorted stuff. The next day, we went to visit my grandfather (my aunt's dad). She was there as well. When my grandfather opened his gift, lo and behold, it was the gift basket with about 1/3rd of the stuff removed."
"So she kept what she liked and regifted the basket to her father in front of my wife and me. This also means she didn't spend one cent on her father for Christmas. My wife and I were both looking at each other withour jaws dropped, but we were too polite to say anything."
- crujones43
For Kay?
"My elderly mother gave her lifelong friend a pair of fluffy socks for Christmas. I didn’t see it happen, but my mother was describing how soft they were."
"Conversation..."
"Me: Socks? My mom: Yes. Her favorite color, too."
"Me: For Kay?"
"My mom: Yes!"
"Me: Mom, think about it..."
"Mom: What? Oh…"
"Kay lost her legs below the knees in an accident when she was young."
"Kay, being the kind soul she was, didn’t point out the error. My mom said she never thinks about her missing her legs (obviously!)."
- hippocampus237
Wrong Sibling
"My step-grandparents thought it was my sister's birthday, so they brought gifts for her on my birthday."
- tofudisan
"I’ve had something similar happen. My grandparents are like 8 years in a row calling me on the wrong day/at all on my birthday. One has since passed, and the other is sprinting down the dementia highway, so there’s an explanation, I guess."
- MrSocPsych
R.I.P
"A dead fish."
"My Mom got my sister a whole new tank setup, and placed the fish in a small bowl (following the directions from the Pet store). She then put the bowl in a gift box early Christmas morning before my sister woke up."
"Between then and when she opened the box, the fish jumped out of the bowl."
- darksaber522
DIABOLICAL
"My cousin lost her hair during cancer treatment, and still her parents got her hair products for her birthday."
- ParticularBrush8162
Shocked Oprah Winfrey GIF Giphy
Silence
"My friend, who is a recovering alcoholic, received a bottle of whiskey from their sibling. The room went quiet."
- xarvensis
"I lived in a sober living apartment complex for a bit, and for our Christmas party, someone brought a fancy set of whiskey glasses and stones for the exchange. It was honestly hilarious in that context. Someone had been given it as their one-year sobriety present and decided the irony needed sharing."
- nangatan
No thanks, Dad
"My mom spent several thousand dollars to send my brother on a month-long school trip to Fiji, New Zealand, and Australia. He was a good student and did all the prerequisite academic stuff for the trip, but he didn't bother to do the fundraising and begged her at the last minute to bankroll it. My folks are divorced, and my dad didn't contribute to the trip."
"He brought back a pair of cheap plastic earrings purchased from a gas station, the type of thing you'd find at a dollar store anywhere in the US. She doesn't wear earrings, and they were already scuffed and falling to pieces. The value, or lack thereof, wasn't the issue, of course. Not bringing anything back at all would have been preferable, but he didn't understand why it was a rude thing to do back then, and still doesn't get it to this day."
"Then, for my 18th birthday, he gifted me a used thumb drive he'd found on the sidewalk the day before. He was terribly offended and asked for it back when I told him it was a shi**y thing to do, and I'd rather he'd not given me anything."
"As an adult, he's a self-described sociopath, so I guess that's just how he'll be for the rest of his life."
- bearatrooper
$50
"My great-grandmother, who is mentally aware and fit (no issues), gave me a pair of tool plyers when I was 13 y/o. My brother and cousins got board games and gift cards. I was the oldest child, but that side of the family always gave me gifts that were obvious they did not like me. For my 15th birthday, my grandmother gave me an open board game with clearance tags from Five Below. She gave my brother $50 on MY birthday, in front of me, and said, this is just because."
"Maybe I am adopted or something else."
- Moist-Leg-2539
20 Years Later
"My 18th birthday, my parents took me to a car dealership to pick out a (used) car, decided it was too much after all, then we left. The only gift I got for my 18th birthday was from my girlfriend. I don't understand how they thought they might be able to get me a car, not even looking at the prices beforehand, and then, when they figured they couldn't do that, they got me nothing."
"How could they have been so thoughtfully thoughtless (thoughtlessly thoughtful)? It's the fact that they got my hopes up, dashed them, and didn't even try something else when it didn't work out. That was 20 years ago, and it still bothers me."
- apetalous42
Tears & Violence
"A relative gave his wife a gym membership for Christmas after she put on weight."
Tears and violence!"
- JohnRedcornMassage
"My parents enrolled me in taekwondo for Christmas. I was in grade school. I hadn’t really expressed an interest but after they told me the explained that 'I was getting fat' so it would probably help."
- LukesFather
food fight family GIF by The Jerry Springer Show Giphy
Just Deal
"My sister-in-law once gave my husband, for his birthday, two books. One was about financial planning, which, fine, I guess. The other??? I had recently been diagnosed with autism as an adult, and she gave me a book on parenting toddlers. I wish I were kidding. He opened them in front of the two of u,s and she said that it was advice on how to 'deal with' me."
- LankyEntrepreneur267
The Organizer!!!
"My senior year of high school, my (relatively small) class decided to do Secret Santa. On the exchange day, I received a bag full of chintzy Chanukkah merchandise. Despite filling out the sheet describing my interests/likes, my secret Santa (the organizer!!!) decided my defining interest/trait was that I was Jewish. It’s been years, and it still annoys me to think about."
- TheEmoEwok
So weird
"A dirty used apple slicer from a hoarder-in-law. Mother-in-law would buy gifts I was allergic to (like scented lotions, etc). I would open the gift and say thank you. She would announce to everyone that I can’t like it because I am allergic, walk over, take the gift back, and place it by her chair. It was so weird."
- Kittykatinahat
Loose D's
"I got D batteries at a white elephant gift exchange at work. It really pissed me off. All the 21+ years old pretty much ended up getting liquor, and there were some other gifts you could put on a shelf somewhere, but I ended up getting a box of loose D batteries that I had no use for. I swore off gift exchanges after that.
- SkippyMagnificent
Energy Energize GIF by darkbean Giphy
Like I said earlier... Just don't give anything!
These people need a therapist.
Who gives a used apple slicer?
WHO GIVES AN APPLE SLICER?!
Gift exchange is like a game of Russian Roulette.
I'd rather play Russian Roulette.
