“I Thought It Was A Joke”: 42 People Share The Absolute Worst Xmas Gifts They’ve Ever Received

My husband once gifted me a bicycle ....I was 8 months pregnant and had recently fallen and cracked my tailbone.

My mom regularly gifted me Reeses-themed sweets and things with cinnamon, like scented candles, etc. While they could be great for the right person, I'm highly allergic to both cinnamon and peanut butter.

I'm now divorced and no contact with both parties.

When I was 21 my mum wanted a new jewellery box. She asked if I wanted a new jewellery box. I said no, because I don't wear jewellery. She bought "me" a huge wooden jewellery box for Christmas and then threw in "if you don't want it, I'll have it" when I said "we already talked about this". I took it because she always does this, and I wanted to [deprive] of the thing she clearly bought for herself. I never used it, and donated it 2 years later.

My brother gave me a hand turkey that he drew minutes earlier for Christmas. This would have been ok if he was 5 or something... He was 21 years old. I framed it and gifted it back to him the next year.

My brother-in-law is a pretentious and spoiled prick from a wealthy family. He was snobby, so I didn't like him at all. He didn't like me either. So, one Christmas, we accidentally got each other the same present. Ugly $2.00 clearance sweaters from KMart.

A bar set with very nice glasses from someone who knows I quit drinking after 30 years of alcohol, fatty liver disease diagnosis. It was my mom. My family just cannot process the idea of not consuming liquor every day.

I was in a Secret Santa gift exchange at work. We did 4 days of little, inexpensive gifts. I received NOTHING but an insincere apology on the last day from the person who was supposed to be my Secret Santa. It kinda [hurt] because it was my first Christmas away from home, and my family punished me for not coming home for the holiday by ignoring my existence for a few days. Not a gift, not a card, not a phone call.

My cousin lost her hair during cancer treatment, and still, her parents got her hair products for her birthday.

When my wife and I first got married, her parents hated me. One year, they got me a woman's sweater. It was very obviously a woman's sweater, too. The next Christmas I wore it over, and my MIL asked my wife why I was wearing a woman's sweater.

My uncle gave me soap and a razor as a Christmas present when I was 13. Not the best message from my weird uncle to a young girl starting puberty.

I had mentioned to my uncle one year that I wished I could grow a beard like his. Come Christmas time, my uncle hands me the present he got me. I unwrap it and what do you know...It's his beard in a Ziploc bag.

My stepdad's dad and his much younger wife always give us used presents at Christmas.

One year, I got a tube of body wash (already a cop out), only to find some crusted product on the squeezy hole.

Another year (13 at the time), I got a pair of Aldi women’s lacy underwear with the size scribbled out (they were XL). The woman came over to me after the present time and said, "I got them for myself, but they were too big, I just blacked that out so you didn’t feel embarrassed".

I’d rather not get anything than have to say thank you for that.

My sister gave me library books for Christmas and told me I would need to return them or renew them in two days.

Recovering from gambling, thankfully, I managed to kick the habit before it totally ruined my life. This year, I got a bunch of lottery scratch-off cards. Had my wife do the honors with them, and the joke is on my family, they actually won a decent amount of money. Nothing life-changing, but will definitely pay for some bills we knew were on the way.

Yes, they knew about my problems. They still have gotten me Texas hold-em poker sets when those were en vogue, and other gambling-related stuff over the years. Despite my continued insistence they not, and pointing out that some of these would be like giving a recovering alcoholic a gift card to the liquor store.

One Christmas, as my wife and I visited her dad and step-mom, I was amazed at the gifts bestowed upon her younger half sisters by her folks: new MacBooks and iPhones were among the presents under the tree. As we were leaving, they handed us a gift, which we opened when we got home. What treasure awaited us?

A decorative tin from Costco containing flavored popcorn, which had expired two years prior.

My boss regifted me a book that she’d never read. I had given it to her last year for Christmas.

From my sister-in-law, a nice pen with her initials engraved on it. I mean, I know you re-gift, Susan, but at least check that it wasn't personalized for you before you send it to someone else.

I gave my girlfriend $300+ in jewelry, she gave me $10 cleaning supplies, and said “I know you like to clean, so here”.

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.

My ex-mother-in-law gave me a used, broken tape dispenser for Christmas one year. My kids even remember this. Another year, she gave me a very oversized, deep purple sweater. Dragged my now ex-husband and made him wait in line to return/exchange it. Waited over an hour in line to find out it was a clearance item and only worth $1.75. Even he was a bit taken back at the time.

Meanwhile, sisters in law would get $100 gift cards, luxury items, and actual items off their lists we gave her for ideas. The woman is an awful human being, not because of her poor gifting of said items. Those are just minuscule examples of her poor demeanor.

The time I realized my ex-MIL hated me. She told me all the things the family wanted for Christmas, and I spent about a hundred dollars on everyone individually. I woke up Christmas morning to see all the presents already opened, and breakfast was eaten. One present was under the tree for me: a dog mug. I'm a cat person.
Also, I was involved with the family/with her son for 5 years.