worst gift ever?

[katemary63]

I opened them and almost cried, but I gently looked at MIL and said, "That's so nice of you to keep things even, so these must have been for someone else because these are not from Pottery Barn."

 

You Rock!!!

 

My MIL gives us full sized sheets for our queen sized bed. :confused:

[Maverick_Mom]

Oh girls some of these are real beauties! I think my worst gift was either the nice "stay put" underwear my mother gave me last year for Christmas or the pajamas from Talbots that looked like nursing home lounge wear!

 

MIL bought me underwear one year, too. They had pandas on them and came with a panda ornament for the Christmas tree. I don't know why, but the idea of MIL buying me underwear, with or without a Christmas ornament, creeps me out.

 

Too small clothes. My MIL buys everyone clothes she KNOWS won't fit. When you open it she's says, "It probably won't fit, but I got it for $1.00." and then laughs. (She's quite insane.) My DH has taken to opening his size M shirt at her house and then intentionally leaving it there. She never bothers to get it back to him.

 

This is my MIL, too, but you can't get away with leaving it at her house -- she'll either chase the car as you drive away or she'll call you every day for the next two weeks letting you know that the clothes are still there at her house and when are you coming back to pick them up? :rolleyes:

[bookfiend]

After reading this thread, I am immediately going to forgive my husband for buying me a clock radio as an anniversary gift!

[Osmosis Mom]

Wow, I don't think I can top that.

 

Our first Christmas after getting married, Hubby bought me a throw pillow for the couch and a Southern Comfort magazine. He thought the magazine would remind me of home (I'm from AL). :glare:

 

I actually find this one cute. Looks like he loved ya.....

[Osmosis Mom]

A $4000 1 carat solitaire ring. I had wanted one for 25 years but as soon as I got it I discovered my husband was having an affair....so I hate it.

 

I think you should love the ring and be happy it brought you to where you are today... Enjoy it and the fact that he had to shell out the price!!

[Scarlett]

I think you should love the ring and be happy it brought you to where you are today... Enjoy it and the fact that he had to shell out the price!!

 

Here is the funny/sick part....Our actual 25th year anniversary came and he gave me a Nike sensor to put in my IPod to run with. I think it cost $60. It wouldn't work with the IPod that I had and I didn't have the Nike shoes that would hold the sensor. So I went and bought a new IPod and shoes and tried to hide my disappointment that my husband bought me RUNNING equipment for my 25th annniversary.

 

THEN about a week after our anniversary my parents threw us a big party....the day before the party he goes out and buys the ring. It was all for show. He even charged it. The judge made him take that debt in the divorce and I got to keep the ring. :D

[Dmmetler]

Not so much a bad gift, but a "What were you thinking?" one.

 

DH and I got married in my home town, but were in graduate school most of the way across the USA, so could only take back what we could fly with. While most of our friends and family took that into account in their gifts, either shipping them to us at our school address, or giving gift certificates or cash outright, one person didn't get the message. We got a nice, I'm sure expensive, set of nested iron skillets. At least 10 of the things, in sizes ranging from "fry a single egg" to "Make Cornbread for the 9th regiment".

 

Box must have weighed, conservatively, at least 50 lbs.

 

As far as I know, the skillets are still at my parents' house. We've been married 16 years.

[unsinkable]

You know those "lovey" toys that look like a stuffed animal and a small blanket all in one? Cute, plush, soft little things?

 

Well, I got something similar for my last baby. Except that instead of a cute stuffed animal, it had a rubber doll's head.

 

Just the head, wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket.

 

DH got it from one of his patients and brought it home. When I pulled it out of the bag, I think I actually jumped, then I laughed until I cried. DH and I have fun leaving it for each other in random places (it's even creepier when it's draped over a gallon of milk in the fridge).

 

I NEED ONE OF THESE.

 

Right. Now.

 

Oh, the fun I'd have!

 

Is there anyway we can put the pic right in this thread.

 

That is EPIC!

[elise1mds]

BWAHAHAHAHA!!! :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

I am loving these, from the creepy doll head to the Pottery Barn sheet snafu.

 

My oddest gift... well, I have one that was just embarrassing for ME and one that just makes you go :confused:

 

DH and I had been married about nine months. We had only known each other for three months before getting hitched, so this Valentine's Day was going to be our first together. The day before V-Day, we were discussing gifts, and I popped off and said, "As long as you didn't get me jewelry, we're all good."

 

There was a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG silence. Sure enough, he'd gotten me a necklace. I still have it, and I do wear it on occasion. It's a joke now.

 

---

 

Actual worst gift I've ever gotten was from my BIL and his wife. It was an Eiffel Tower shaped lamp. They had gotten it on sale at Target. I have no idea why they thought I'd like it because I don't do kitschy decor at all, and this lamp wasn't even big enough to be useful. I stuck it in a closet for a couple of years and then told them I had nowhere to put it and gave it back to them. They love it.

[KJsMom]

The first Christmas after my dh and I were married he gave me a stocking filled with kitchen utensils. Wooden spoons, whisks, etc. I might be ok with that now, but not then!

[Angie in VA]

Huh, quite a few mentions of in-laws. I'll add another:

 

One year SIL gave me some book by Kay Arthur and said, "I couldn't find the one I wanted to give you: How to Change.":lol:

[cdrumm4448]

You know those "lovey" toys that look like a stuffed animal and a small blanket all in one? Cute, plush, soft little things?

 

Well, I got something similar for my last baby. Except that instead of a cute stuffed animal, it had a rubber doll's head.

 

Just the head, wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket.

 

DH got it from one of his patients and brought it home. When I pulled it out of the bag, I think I actually jumped, then I laughed until I cried. DH and I have fun leaving it for each other in random places (it's even creepier when it's draped over a gallon of milk in the fridge).

 

OMG! I laughed until *I* cried when I saw this. It still makes me laugh when I even think about it.

[Scarlett]

Huh, quite a few mentions of in-laws. I'll add another:

 

One year SIL gave me some book by Kay Arthur and said, "I couldn't find the one I wanted to give you: How to Change.":lol:

 

Hilarious! :lol:

[Garga]

DH has always said I have a low tolerance for pain. I never agreed with him. I actually think I have a pretty normal pain threshold.

 

When I got pregnant, I decided to give birth without pain medicine. For the first delivery, the nurse on duty while I was in labor made a point of coming to see me the next day to say how amazing I had been and she felt honored to have been part of the birth. (Maybe she says that to everyone, I don't know, but I felt really good about it.)

 

And for the second birth, the midwife also gushed the next day about how amazing I was.

 

I had sort of expected that after years of telling me I had a low tolerance for pain, my dh would finally realize what an amazing woman he's married and would forever be in awe of me and buy me an expensive gift.

 

Needless to say he didn't.

 

Seven years go by, and I let it go...until just the other day he says AGAIN that I have a low tolerance for pain, at which point I tell him the above (about the nurses and midwife, about having my privates literally ripped open and then sewed back up w/o pain meds), and he FINALLY got it. He finally looked at me all soft and realized I'm amazing.

 

So the next day he bought me.....

 

 

 

 

 

ready for this?.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

a box of Crunch N' Munch.

[TXMomof4]

I have received some gifts that just made me :confused:, but none of them were intentionally BAD. My best friend however -

 

She got married very young to her highschool sweetheart. It didn't last a year and in our very religious families it is a BIG thing to get a divorce. The Christmas after her divorce was final she went to visit her grandmother. GM had a gift for her (which suprised friend greatly) and she was touched by the thoughfulness. GM wanted her to open it immediately. It was a box of coasters - a set of eight. Only 7 of them had been removed and gm explained "You couldn't even stay married, I figure you'll only need one coaster from now on. I kept the rest for myself." OUCH!

 

Said friend let gm keep the 8th coaster so she'd have a full set and never visited again.

[Pippen]

A set of new tires for my car for Christmas. :001_huh: .

 

I got a case of motor oil for my birthday one year, wrapped up very nicely. Penzoil, to be exact.

 

Eventually we got back together and I married him.

 

I'm seriously needing some new tires on my van and these days since I don't care much about gifts I wouldn't mind that. Still wouldn't go for the motor oil though. :tongue_smilie:

[tiffijo1]

that is pretty bad!!

[BikeBookBread]

I have a feeling my birthday present this year is going to be pretty bad: a set of struts, new front brakes and universal joint boots for the Subaru... after we get this bill it's a sure bet I won't be getting that iPad I've been hinting at for the past 3 months. :crying::angry:

[bry's-gal]

My MIL is not the best gift giver- it is not a mean thing- just she isn't very good at it.

 

At the time I had a fish themed bathroom and our toilet seat was getting old and needed to be replaced. That year for Christmas, I received a new toilet seat complete with fish on it!

[Greta]

The same thing happened my first Mother's Day. My Dh (who is really a romatic sweet person normally) never even thought to get me anything. Not only was I a new mom but I had given birth to twins. I really felt I deserved SOMETHING. My mom had gotten me a gift and when he saw me get something it was like a lightbulb went on and his face totally fell. Later he went out and picked roses and brought them to me but I was already really hurt. I think he was even more hurt and disappointed in himself though.

 

Aw, he is a sweetie deep down! He caught on *quickly* at least! My dh took a few years. He did nothing that first year. The second year, he took me out to eat -- at a restaurant with food that I don't like but that he loves (and yes, he knew that I didn't like it). Finally, the third year he did something nice, and he's been better ever since. But boy we sure got off to a rough start!

[JMDRAD]

Wow, pretty incredible stories! My husband also missed my first mother's day. I cried. Since then though, he has given me expensive jewelry, a GPS (that I wanted), a Bose (again, something I wanted), and an iTouch.

 

As for an actual gift, it was the dollar store figurine that dh's grandmother gave us. She told us that it would be worth something some day and that we really needed to hold on to it. :lol:

[Barb_]

My MIL is not the best gift giver- it is not a mean thing- just she isn't very good at it.

 

At the time I had a fish themed bathroom and our toilet seat was getting old and needed to be replaced. That year for Christmas' date=' I received a new toilet seat complete with fish on it![/quote']

 

You like fish, you needed a toilet...what's not to like??

 

:lol: Too funny.

[Remudamom]

 

Yes, I married him anyway. No I'm not still married to him.

 

Good girl.

[Gooblink]

Wow! Most of these are funny,

Some of them are sad,

They all made me realize,

My worst gift wasn't so bad.

 

:)

[amys]

Oh my gosh; I can't stop laughing!! It was funny to just read about you leaving it in random places, but the sight of it has tears rolling down my face!!

 

 

You know those "lovey" toys that look like a stuffed animal and a small blanket all in one? Cute, plush, soft little things?

 

Well, I got something similar for my last baby. Except that instead of a cute stuffed animal, it had a rubber doll's head.

 

Just the head, wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket.

 

DH got it from one of his patients and brought it home. When I pulled it out of the bag, I think I actually jumped, then I laughed until I cried. DH and I have fun leaving it for each other in random places (it's even creepier when it's draped over a gallon of milk in the fridge).

[rwjx2khsmj]

Aw, he is a sweetie deep down! He caught on *quickly* at least! My dh took a few years. He did nothing that first year. The second year, he took me out to eat -- at a restaurant with food that I don't like but that he loves (and yes, he knew that I didn't like it). Finally, the third year he did something nice, and he's been better ever since. But boy we sure got off to a rough start!

 

My dh doesn't give me anything for Mother's Day either. I'm not his mother. My dad was the same with my mom so it doesn't seem weird to me.

[Ginevra]

Nice one, Gooblink!

 

My mom is the terrible gift-giver. It's her thrift-store, yard sale shopping that is to blame. If she perceives something is "a good deal," it doesn't matter if no other aspect of it matches the recipient. You're getting a pair of turquoise LLBean corduroys in a size 16. "L.L. Bean! That's a good brand! For a quarter!" :glare:

 

When I tell my mom, "You shouldn't have...," I usually mean it.

 

On the bright side, once in a great while, she has given me the most perfect gift. Once, while having dinner at my house, I commented that my apron was so nasty, wish I had a new one. I was musing out loud, never thought she would store that bit of 411 away. She made an apron for me, out of fabric with grapevines on it, which matched my decor. :D Why can she be that astute the other 99 times?

 

My MIL gives money all the time, and savings bonds for the kids. I love that she does that. It's perfect, practical and always exactly what I want. She has 18 grandkids and 12 kids/in-laws, so it's good for her.

[Cinder]

 

a box of Crunch N' Munch.

 

Well, I gave birth to my first w/o meds and I didn't even get Crunch n Munch. I did get a Burger King dinner, though. Only because there was no food service on Sunday in that military hospital.

 

Your story made me LOL! :lol:

 

Cinder

[Cinder]

My dh doesn't give me anything for Mother's Day either. I'm not his mother. My dad was the same with my mom so it doesn't seem weird to me.

 

Same here. And we don't "do" Valentine's Day.

 

Maybe I'm just not a romantic. ;)

 

Cinder

[Rosie_0801]

You Rock!!!

 

My MIL gives us full sized sheets for our queen sized bed. :confused:

 

Ha! My mother did that to my sister, then got upset and told her off for being ungrateful! Then got even more upset when my sister reminded her she'd TOLD her she has a queen sized bed! Mum told her to show some gratitude because it is the thought that counts :001_huh: (I thought of you while I was buying the wrong sized sheets and you should be grateful for that :confused:)

 

Ah well.

 

Rosie

[Pretty in Pink]

That doll's head blanket think is truly FAIL! You guys must have such fun with that. LOL.

 

The first year we were married my dh got me a waffle iron for my birthday. I asked him why he got it for me because he knows that I don't like waffles. He said, "I know, but I like waffles and I thought it would make you happy to make them for me." Seriously. Uh...not so much. :glare:

 

During our first deployment, my DMIL (who is actually dh's grandmother) sent me a book of stamps and a curt little note, something to the effect of, "Now you don't have any excuse for not writing to my grandson." A week later my dh got a whole box of mail that I had sent over several weeks' time. Did she forget that mail backs up when it's going through a war zone???

 

DMIL gives me the worst gifts. Ever. Sometimes she just cleans out her junk and gifts it to me, like boxes of old, broken holiday decor or dishes. And if she sees something on sale in one of her Chiccos catalogues she buys two: one for her and one for me. So that we can match when we visit and our family attends Sunday service with her.

[Nature]

A hair straightener and I already have very straight hair!

[LG Gone Wild]

You know those "lovey" toys that look like a stuffed animal and a small blanket all in one? Cute, plush, soft little things?

 

Well, I got something similar for my last baby. Except that instead of a cute stuffed animal, it had a rubber doll's head.

 

Just the head, wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket.

 

DH got it from one of his patients and brought it home. When I pulled it out of the bag, I think I actually jumped, then I laughed until I cried. DH and I have fun leaving it for each other in random places (it's even creepier when it's draped over a gallon of milk in the fridge).

 

 

Bloody Hell!!!!! I laughed at that until I cried! That's on my list for prank gift.

[*Inna*]

That is one angry-looking doll head. :001_huh::lol:

 

The worst gift(though I'm not offended) was from my best friends' mom. She gave me, for whatever reason- I don't remember, a weird pair of salad spoons and a handy-dandy little purse to keep your reading glasses in.

 

The best part of it is that a few weeks before that I was at her house and she was going through her closet, found these two items and a bunch of other junk. I remember asking her about what she's going to do with all of this. She answered, 'Re-gift, I guess.' I felt sorry for the person who'll receive this cr*p. :lol::lol::lol:

[LostSurprise]

Horrid children's gifts~dh's grandfather gave us a red clown doll. It's arms and legs all shot straight up behind it (as if it was rocking on its stomach) and when you wound it up the head revolved completely around while playing a jaunty tune. I'm not making this up. Someone manufactured that, someone kept it, and dh's grandparents thought of us when they saw it.

 

We received it when ds1 was a baby and he was afraid of it. Dh would not let me throw it out. 4 years later I did so without telling him.

 

Dh bought me a vacuum for the first birthday we were together ('I know we need one') and a roasting pan for Christmas one month later. I bought him a leather jacket.

 

I don't get birthday gifts much lately, it's too close to Christmas, although a few years ago I got a book about Mr. Rogers from Goodwill and a package of M&Ms. This year I got a cake from Walmart.

 

In his defense dh does have some good, incredibly thoughtful gift ideas. And then there are other times I think he's operating completely on tictacs and panic.

[Forget-Me-Not]

That is one angry-looking doll head. :001_huh::lol:

 

 

I know! I think that's one of the funniest things about it--the doll head is not cute at all and it looks angry. It's startling to come upon it when you aren't expecting it. Our 2 yo has taken a liking to it and was carrying it around for a while. She dipped it in the pool, so I hung it on the clothesline to dry and yeah. . . that was disturbing.

 

Horrid children's gifts~dh's grandfather gave us a red clown doll. It's arms and legs all shot straight up behind it (as if it was rocking on its stomach) and when you wound it up the head revolved completely around while playing a jaunty tune. I'm not making this up. Someone manufactured that, someone kept it, and dh's grandparents thought of us when they saw it.

 

:lol::lol: Sounds like your toy was made by the same manufacturer as mine. LOL

[Tap]

Worst gift from dh....the year I didn't get a Christmas present and his reason was ....I was working too much for him to buy me a present...Hmmmm, I worked to hard so I don't get a present...LOL something is seriously askew there!

 

Worst gift from family...Mil bought me a large bowl size candle that was dipped in black sand. The wax was blue to look like water and it had very cheap plastic plants and a sea shell stuck into it to make it look 'natural'. I didn't know you could make something that looked like it was less than dollar store quality but they accomplished it.

[MistyJ]

1st Anniversary: dh brought home an Erma Bombeck paperback, (I detest that sort of writing) not even wrapped, and a frozen pizza. I threw out the book and left the house, walking around the neighborhood crying.

 

1st Christmas with in-laws in their home: they lavished my husband with gifts. Gave two sil's matching rings. Gave me a sort of wicker-woven-angel-wall hanging, that another sil's mother had made. :confused: Sort of 1970's homemade wall art.

[Corraleno]

Worst gift from dh....the year I didn't get a Christmas present and his reason was ....I was working too much for him to buy me a present...

Yeah, I had one of those Christmases. :glare: We moved back to the States on Christmas day (as in, spent the entire day on planes and in airports), so the following Christmas, the first in our new house, the first with DH's elderly uncle with us, was a BIG deal to me and I went all out. The house was decorated, gingerbread was baked, a huge Christmas dinner was planned, and I spent weeks coming up with the perfect presents for everyone. On Christmas morning there were 47 presents under the tree (yes, I counted), and I was happily snapping photos and taking video of DH, DS, DD, and DU all oooing and aaaahing over their awesome presents and announcing that this was the best Christmas ever. When all the unwrapping was done and everyone was admiring their gifts, DS says "Hey mama, where's your presents?" I look at DH, assuming he's hidden them in the closet or something and he looks sheepish and says "Um, I guess I owe you one." :mad:

 

And then there are other times I think he's operating completely on tictacs and panic.

:lol: On the rare occasion DH actually remembers to get me a gift, it's always the "tictacs & panic" variety!

 

Jackie

[Corraleno]

It's funny how many of the bad presents are from mothers-in-law! It's a standing joke that my MIL always "forgets" to buy me anything and ends up just grabbing any old thing from one of her drawers and wrapping it up. A chipped mug, some dusty silk flowers, an old bead necklace with a broken clasp, etc. She was also big on buy-one-get-one-free deals, so on the rare occasion I got something new, it was always a BOGO. One year my SIL and I each got metal stands that are supposed to hold your asparagus upright while you boil it. Another year DH and his brother each got a metal stand that holds a ketchup bottle upside down so you can get the last drop. :confused:

 

Last year we gave her a new Mac laptop, which I had loaded with 100s of photos of her grandchildren and tons of music and I set her up with an email account. She gave me a used hair barrette. Which was dirty. :glare:

 

But this is the all-time winner: last year MIL bought DH's brother a gorgeous $40,000 dressage horse for his birthday. For DH's birthday, she gave him... a framed 8x10 color photo of his brother's dressage horse. :banghead:

 

Jackie

[emubird]

My mother gave my two teen girls see through night gowns, which were too small.

 

I mean seriously, who even makes see through night gowns for 10 and 12 year olds? And who buys them? --other than my mom, I mean. Sure, if we were shooting a dirty movie starring my kids, I could see it, but what was she thinking???? I have to say, my kids were so relieved when they discovered they didn't fit.

 

I still have them, though. My first inclination was to throw them out in disgust, but before I got around to it, we needed a bit of racy lingerie for a play -- the nuns in the Sound of Music discover these flimsy bits in Maria's luggage just before she's married -- and they were perfect. So thanks, Mom, after all.

 

I believe she must have got them on clearance or at a rummage sale after someone else bought them on clearance. (They still had the orange clearance tags attached.) I can't imagine why they'd be on clearance.

 

However, this does remind me of the present my aunt got my sister and me one Christmas -- matching lacy underwear with interesting see through bits.

 

The worst present my husband ever got me was diapers.

[FO4UR]

10 year wedding anniversary was on Thursday, and I got NOTHING!!!!

 

I haven't mentioned it, and have given him the same...:glare:

 

When he remembers, in a few weeks, I will give him this look :glare:!

[missmoe]

My mother is the worst gift giver ever! As a child once I received a pair of pierced earrings. I didn't have pierced ears, because SHE WOULDN'T LET ME GET THEM PIERCED! She gave those to me because the store was out of what I really wanted. She figured I would save them for five years and use them when I was allowed to get my ears pierced!

 

More recently, I received a FL soap dish. My mother hasn't been to FL anytime in the recent past. I haven't ever been to FL. I don't have any special interest in FL. That particular gift never came with a reason. So, I don't know why I got the FL soap dish. It went to Goodwill.

 

The all time worst gift experience from my mother was a box addressed to my whole family from Santa. It was filled with random things, gift-wrapped and labeled "for whoever" . So, now grandma's gift packages are opened by me in private.

 

I made up for it by marrying the best gift-giver ever! One Christmas my dh surprised me with a trip to NYC to share with a friend I was missing. And a scheduled appt to have my hair colored and cut by Nick Arroyo (the What Not to Wear Guy)!

[Lolly]

My worst gift came from dh's aunt. She put brochures from local attractions near our home into a box and wrapped them nicely. Even paid to mail them to us. Of course, the laughter we got from opening a wrapped box of brochures was priceless. Maybe it wasn't such a bad gift after all!:D

[Guest janainaz]

Anything my dh would offer as a gift would be welcomed. I even received a bonzai bush from him. I loved it.

 

But I did receive a parenting manual once, I guess as a gift, and it was a book I absolutely hated. So, I guess that would qualify.

 

It's all about intent!