Most people agree that “It is better to give than to receive.” When we give presents to someone we care for, whether it is for a holiday, a birthday, a wedding, or another event, it elicits positive feelings and emotions for both the giver and the receiver.

However, when we choose the perfect gift, we should always consider the true meaning behind it.

Sadly, some people buy gifts for the sake of buying and can’t care less about choosing the perfect present for the person. Sadly, some presents are so horrible, they leave those who receive them in complete shock.

Below are some stories of people sharing the worst gifts they have ever received.

1. That’s Not My Wishlist!

u/P0werSurg3: My parents found the Amazon wishlist of someone with the same name as me but NOT me, thought it was a bunch of weird items, and decided NOT to check in with me or any other family member to see if they had the correct list. As a 24-year-old male, that’s how I got a maternity body pillow for Christmas.

2. The Beloved Dog

u/everyone1hatesme: My mother-in-law gave my 1-year-old daughter her dead dog’s bed as a Christmas present. She said it was for my daughter’s naps.

3. Gifts for the Couple

u/lunnrais: The very first holiday after my wedding, my MIL sent my wife and me, each separately, the same self-help book on how to survive living with an abusive spouse.

Not how to divorce or anything, but how to live IN the relationship with an abusive spouse. Not just to her, not just to me. To both of us. Two copies of the book.

4. Crockpots Every Year

u/sevensevensixseven: I received the same crockpot from my ex-husband’s mother three years in a row.

She gifted his new wife one last year. I’m confident this woman has a pallet of crockpots stashed somewhere in her house.

5. The Savage Present

u/[deleted]: The Christmas after my mum died, I got an alarm clock as my present. Her husband said it was so I ‘might wake up in the morning now and actually contribute something.’ Still salty eight years later. He’s dead now, though, so who is the real winner?

6. It’s Supposed to Be like That!

u/The_Brain_Fuckler: I got a rubber Hulk Hogan figurine (it looked like it was a Christmas ornament with the loop snipped off) glued to a very effeminate toy horse.

An elderly family friend gave it to me and wouldn’t stop mentioning how “they are supposed to look like that; that’s how it came from the store,” even though I didn’t voice any doubts. It’s also kind of the best gift I ever got.

7. Are You Afraid of Clowns?

u/mayonnaisejane: Clowns. Every year, a new clown. I tried to tell my Abuelito I don’t like clowns. They are weird.

I got a new clown figurine, doll, lamp, picture, or whatever every year for Christmas and birthday. I have BOXES of clowns.

Thankfully, sometime in my mid-twenties, my father managed to divert him to kittens. But that was only after four awkward years when he decided I loved cows. I don’t love cows, either.

On the bright side, since I kept them all on my dresser growing up, I was never afraid of clowns. They’re just background noise to me. I could probably walk into one in a dark alley and just be all, “Oh… it’s just one more clown.”

8. My Uncle’s Gift

u/ediaNS: My uncle gave me an Xbox Live points card for my birthday. When I went to redeem it, it said, “Card not activated.” This happened two years in a row until my mom told him about it.

9. Is That a Rock?

u/gennieb7: A few years ago, my aunt gave me a rock. She gave presents to me and my two older cousins and said it was time for the big girls to open their gifts.

She made my cousins go first, and they got scarves. When I opened my present and pulled a rock out of the package, I looked up, waiting for her to laugh.

Instead, she asked, “Isn’t it wonderful?” I said, “Yeah, I love it.” She told me she had dug it out of her garden the previous summer and said she knew I would think it was so cool.

The following year, she gave me acorn tops because “some people know how to use them to whistle, and I don’t know how to show you or explain, but I’m sure you can figure it out.” She is a tad eccentric. Both were pretty terrible presents.

10. One Pair of Socks

u/justatypo: The first year at family Christmas with my now-wife, her Nanna gifted me one pair of socks.

The best part was that it was one pair of sports socks you get in a pack of 10. So, she bought a pack and just wrapped one pair for me.

Of course, at the time, I wanted to act super grateful, so I pulled off my current socks super enthusiastically and put on the new ones as soon as I opened them. (I think my socks were actually a little damp from the winter anyway.)

11. The Missing Packages

u/I_am_paperclip: I had some excess cash when I got home from college. I decided to invest in some new video games for myself and had them sent to my house.

The strange thing was I had only received half of the games. I emailed the suppliers and told them I hadn’t gotten my packages yet and was growing quite sad.

Well, Christmas morning came around, and I was opening up my presents. I got to the one from my older brothers.

I tore the paper away and opened the box. Inside it were several other packages that had been mailed to our house with my name on them.

It turned out my brother had taken half of my games and hid them from me until Christmas… Worst present ever.

12. The Difference in Treatment

u/77jeep: One Christmas, my millionaire dad and his wife gifted my brother a house and a new Escalade for his family while they gave me a gift card to Men’s Warehouse for $200.

When he turned 40, they gave him $100,000. When I turned 40, they bought me dinner. They provided him with a ‘college fund’ of $250,000.00 for his kids.

When his kids dropped out of high school, they handed him the money to spend on cars, etc. Meanwhile, when my kids (straight A) graduated high school, my father and his wife told me that it was my responsibility to pay for my kids’ education.

Once, when I asked why there was such a difference in treatment, my dad told me I was being ungrateful.

13. You Should Be Grateful!

u/morgueanna: I was a step-grandchild, and my grandmother sold Avon to feed her QVC addiction. So, while the other six grandchildren got genuine leather jackets, diamond jewelry, motocross lessons, and, one year, an actual motocross bike, I got plastic Avon jewelry.

For reasons too long to list here, I got placed with my grandparents two weeks before Christmas when I was 16.

I watched everyone open their gifts, and then one aunt gave me a Walmart bag with some socks. Another one told me I should be grateful that the family was taking me in instead of leaving me on the street, and that was my present.

Seven aunts and uncles and their spouses, along with my grandparents, and that’s how they treated me in a situation that was out of my control. Needless to say, I don’t talk to my family anymore.

14. Some Bizarre Gifts

u/MizSanguine: My brother got a pocketknife wrapped like candy in a small cylinder package (an old toilet paper roll). Excited, I started unwrapping mine that looked similar.

Underwear. There was only underwear inside. And once a bathroom faucet. That is when I knew my childhood was over.

15. Resolidified Chocolate

u/SquatChick315: I got expired chocolate on Christmas from an aunt who loved gifting her old presents to others yet always expected expensive, top-notch gifts for her children on Christmas and birthdays.

Not only was the chocolate expired, but it was also evident that it had melted entirely and resolidified.

When I noticed, I went to her and said, “OMG! This chocolate is so good, you have to try it!” in front of the whole family.

I watched her unwrap a piece of chocolate, and when she noticed how it looked, she was hesitant to eat it.

When she looked at me, I just smiled and said, “It’s the best chocolate ever!” Then, I watched her slowly bring it to her mouth and try to eat it.

She quickly walked to the kitchen immediately afterward. I think I’ve only seen her once since that moment almost nine years ago.

16. The Book

u/hickory-smoked: My friend’s wife gave me a copy of “A Night Without Armor,” the book of poetry by Jewel. Not that I actively dislike Jewel or anything, but it was so clearly something she saw on a discount gift rack the day of my birthday and said, “Yes, this is an object.”

17. The Cool Ball

u/BloodChicken: The only present I got for Christmas was a little light-up ball. You put your finger on the two metal tabs, or you and someone else while holding the other hands, and the ball lights up.

It wasn’t awful, but it was underwhelming. After I figured out what it was and how it worked and tried it with a few people, Dad asked me if he could try, so I said sure.

I passed him the ball, and he immediately threw it on the ground hard enough to break it. “I thought it was a bouncy ball!” he said.

18. That’s My Gameboy!

u/tall_where_it_counts: When I was about 12 years old, I mowed lawns to earn some money for myself, and I spent many months saving up to buy a Gameboy Advance.

I loved this thing and played it incessantly for hours every day. Two months later, on my little brother’s birthday, my parents bought him a Gameboy Advance game, just the game cartridge. He didn’t have a Gameboy.

I was frustrated because I was forced to share my Gameboy with him, and when I was visibly salty about it, my parents told me to stop being selfish.

It’s not that I didn’t want to share with my brother, but it was unfair that they bought him a gift he could not use without borrowing my prized possession. When I expressed my annoyance, they made me feel guilty about it.

19. Taxidermy Gone Wrong

u/Tarsala3791: I received a taxidermied deer hoof with a candle holder stuck where the ankle would be. Only it’s bad taxidermy, so it is constantly shedding a fine white powder on the table.

20. I Was Excited

u/christinagleas: When I was a wee seven years old, my grandmother placed a long skinny box with my name on it under the Christmas tree about a week before the holiday.

For the next seven days, my small self drooled over the idea of a play baby stroller folded up in that box, just waiting to be filled with various stuffed animals.

On that magical morning, I ripped the box open only to discover it was a VACUUM CLEANER. Not a toy one, either. A real-life, serious, small vacuum cleaner.

My grandmother claimed it was a great idea because “I loved cleaning when I visited her house.” That’s because you’re basically a hoarder, and your house is disgusting, Granny.

21. Cotton Balls in a Bag

u/Thewrongbakedpotato: I got a Ziploc bag filled with cotton balls with the words “ghost poos” written on the bag with a Sharpie.

22. My Aunt Was a Re-Gifter

u/pixierambling: My aunt tried to re-gift me a bracelet and earrings I had bought for her a few months earlier. It was insulting to hear, “Oh Pixie! I got these ESPECIALLY for you!” in a saccharine voice.

The funny part is that she forgot we even gave it to her, considering my brother and I were the only people in the family who remembered her birthday and even bothered to do anything about it.

23. My Brother’s Present

u/[deleted]: My brother gave me a hand turkey that he drew minutes earlier for Christmas. This would have been okay if he was five or something. He was 21 years old. I framed it and gifted it back to him the following year.

24. Box of peanut butter cup cookies

Deleted user: My father-in-law gave me a box of peanut butter cup cookies, but the package didn’t mention peanuts anywhere. He pretended to forget about my severe peanut allergy.

I saw him laughing as my husband rushed me to the hospital. I GOT MY CRUEL REVENGE! Three days later, I received tons of angry texts from my furious mother-in-law.

At that moment, my husband burst into the room, his face red, yelling, ‘WHAT DID YOU DO TO DAD’S CAR?’ I had secretly filled it with dozens of air fresheners – the one scent he absolutely despises.

He couldn’t even sit in it without gagging. My husband was fuming, but I calmly explained it was a taste of his own medicine. Now, both our families are in a standoff, but I feel my point was made loud and clear.

25. A plastic pig

Deleted user: Every New Year’s since I was 6, my stepmom has given me a plastic pig. Yes, a pig. Every. Single. Year. I always acted surprised because she has some mental health issues, and I didn’t want to upset her.

But this year, my sister couldn’t take it anymore. She: “Are you seriously still clueless?” Me: “Clueless about what?” She: “Check the underside of the pig.” I looked, and my heart just stopped.

There was a tiny note – “Just because it’s funny!” Every year, it turns out, my stepmom thought it was a hilarious joke to give the same odd gift. There was no deeper meaning, no secret treasure, just a quirky sense of humor that I never quite understood.

Well, a gift is a gift, no matter what it is. Have you ever received a gift you despised? If yes, share your story in the comment section below.

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Bored DaddY

Love and Peace

This inspirational story took place some years ago, or in 2004 to be exact. It was shared by a man who explained how a simple encounter with a father and son turned into a meaningful event for the three.

The man explained that he was working at a sporting goods/automotive store at the time, at the customer service, when the father and the son walked inside the store and said they were looking for some camping equipment. The man pointed towards the gear when he heard the boy exclaiming, “I’m going on my first Boy Scout camp out!”

Now, if you’ve read my other stories, you’ll know that I’m an Eagle Scout, the man continued. I take this position very seriously, and will do everything in my power to encourage and help young scouts on their trail to Eagle. So I looked over at my boss, a nice lady who hired me because of my outdoor experience in scouting, and asked if I could go help these people personally. She smiled and said yes.

The father was COMPLETELY out of his element with camping gear. By his attitude and behavior I would guess that he had never gotten further out of the city limits than a highway in his life. Everything in the aisle perplexed him, but thankfully his son’s troop had given them a list of what equipment they’d need. So for about 20 minutes or so I went through the list with them, point by point, explaining what each thing was, what it did, what version to use, and how Kybo Tape is the scout term for toilet paper. That got quite a bit of laughter.

During this time I also talked with the kid. He was very new to scouting, only having joined a couple months prior. He was enthusiastic about getting to go out into the wilderness and camp and make campfires and fish and all the other activities he’d heard about. I talked about my experiences in scouting, which was all of what he was talking about and so much more. Climbing Mt Hood, going to National Jamboree, touring military bases, rafting down the Deschutes, the kid was very impressed. I kept telling him, “this is only the start, you have no idea how awesome it can get.”

So we finally have a cart filled with a small tent, sleeping bag, cooking equipment, small first aid kit, beginner backpack, rope, shovel, water bottle, etc. Quite a haul, but I’d done my best to get everything that the kid would need while still keeping things cheap. Well, cheap-ish.

The total was something like a bit over $200. Now, they say that a picture is worth a thousand words, but if I could have taken a picture of the dad’s face when the total came up, it would be worth a MUCH longer essay. It was a shock/fear/resignation combination that said, “damn, I didn’t expect it to be this much. But he’s so excited, I can’t tell him no, it would break his heart. Maybe if I just eat Ramen for the next couple weeks, I can afford this.” As dad reached reluctantly for his wallet, I flashed him a smile, looked at my boss, and knocked 20% off the total. “A scout is helpful and kind,” I quoted. The father thanked me profusely, as did the son. They left with a spring in their step and smiles on their faces. My boss said, “that was very nice, but don’t ever do that again.” I replied, “but boss, you do realized that, from now on, they are going to be in here on a regular basis to buy camping equipment, right? I know that kid’s look, he’s just like me at that age, and he’s going to be spending a LOT of dad’s money here.” She laughed, agreed, and the deed was put out of my mind as other customers approached.

But the story isn’t done yet, dear reader! For about a week later, look who comes running through the door, but our little first-time camper, with dad trailing along. This kid very specifically wanted to see ME, because he had pictures and he wanted to show them to me. Awwww, sweet! Sure, let’s take a look…hey, I know this camp! I know exactly where you were! So we talked about being at that camp, and taking the hike down the hill to the old camp location, and how the fishing in the lake is, and the deer that just don’t care that you are around, and how the chow hall seems to be made mostly of sieves given how drafty it is. We had a brag board up for the hunters who had trophy hunts, so I pinned a couple of the better pictures to the board. This kid beamed with pride, then ran off to use the bathroom.

This is when dad chimed in, and thanked me for a much more personal reason. He and the kid’s mom had gone through a fairly nasty divorce, and she had majority custody. Scouting events were one of the few ways that dad could spend extended quality time with his son, and this camping trip had been very good for the both of them. He got a little choked up about it, as did I. I simply told him, “this is what scouting is all about. ‘Help other people at all times.’ This is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Over the next year+, they became regulars of the store. I knew which troop they were with, a large and active one, so they were pretty consistently in need of various consumable camping supplies. More pictures got posted to the brag board. His first summer camp saw him earn four merit badges and the Mile Swim badge. I started to volunteer with his troop as a merit badge counselor, and had a great time.

However, real life gets in the way. School, and a couple of new jobs meant I couldn’t devote the time I needed to to help his troop out. We basically drifted apart, and the other things going on in my life made me forget about him and his dad.

Until late in 2010. I get a phone call out of the blue. The voice on the other end is deeper, self-confident. “Is _____ there?” “Yeah, that’s me, who is this?” It’s that young scout from the store, calling me up to invite me to his Eagle Court of Honor. I stood there in my kitchen in mute shock. All those memories of helping him out came flooding back. “You better believe I’ll be there. I’ll even try to fit into my old uniform.”

And so I did. Though I eschewed the shorts and went for pants. This young boy, now turned into a young man, stood tall and proud as they pinned the Eagle Medal to his shirt, recited the Eagle Charge, and gave a short speech thanking people who’d made a difference in his life. He looked right at me as he gave the speech, pointed me out, and said, “this guy right here, he was the first adult to encourage me. His example as an Eagle was what I followed. I cannot thank him enough.” Tears flowed.

Following the ceremony, I found his dad. Scouting had made both of them better people. He’d decided that being bitter towards his kid’s mom wasn’t what a scout leader (oh yeah, he was now an assistant scoutmaster, the bug bites very hard) should be doing. This had allowed their divorce to become more amicable, and they had successfully renegotiated custody some time earlier. He was a happier man, and was so proud of his son I was pretty sure his chest was going to burst. His son, now tall, strong, confident, and an obvious leader, was destined to go places. He would be graduating high school the next spring, and was looking at getting into college for a degree in psychology with a minor in criminal justice. He wanted to live his Oath and Law by being a police officer. My own chest felt like it was going to burst at this point.

I still keep in touch with him. He’s now coming up on his 21st birthday, and is readying applications for various police departments around town. I’ve already told him that I’d gladly be his reference, because he’s one of the guys we all want to become a cop, someone with a strong and steadfast sense of duty, honor, integrity, generosity, and kindness of spirit. He’ll make a damn fine officer, and I can say that a little part of that, just a little part, is because of my willingness to help him choose tents one day several years ago.

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Bored Daddy

Love and Peace