# Worst Christmas gifts EVER! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 14, 2011, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950 "2011-11-14T23:44:18Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/61 "2011-11-16T07:48:57Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Used sex manuals, from my parents, with folded down pages and highlighted passages. I think we have a winner. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/62 "2011-11-16T14:46:53Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Used sex manuals, from my parents, with folded down pages and highlighted passages. What’s worse than being told you need help with sex? Being told you need help with sex BY YOUR PARENTS. ---
**Author:** ![Soylent\_Juicy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/82dd89/32.png) [@Soylent\_Juicy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soylent_Juicy)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/63 "2011-11-16T16:36:34Z")
When I was 19 my then-boyfriend’s brother (who would have been in his 20’s) bought their mom a picture book of animals doin’ it. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/64 "2011-11-16T19:23:07Z")
Last year was my first Christmas after getting separated and I had the kids in the morning. My kids were 4 and 2 at the time so I didn’t expect them to go out and get anything, but I had expected their mother to take them out to get something. Instead she gave me a picture that I had already given _her_ of the kids. So I got my own photo back. That was all I got last year. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Lord\_Il\_Palazzo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Il_Palazzo)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/65 "2011-11-16T19:58:36Z")
> [@chacoguy](#): > > Used sex manuals, from my parents, with folded down pages and highlighted passages. Ahh, the gift that keeps on giving… disturbing mental images. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/66 "2011-11-16T20:37:49Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Last year was my first Christmas after getting separated and I had the kids in the morning. My kids were 4 and 2 at the time so I didn’t expect them to go out and get anything, but I had expected their mother to take them out to get something. Instead she gave me a picture that I had already given _her_ of the kids. So I got my own photo back. > > That was all I got last year. I don’t really get the thing of buying presents for your spouse and then having the kids give it to them as though they picked it out and purchased it themselves. I mean, you’re basically wanting your ex-wife to buy you a Christmas present here. The kids will get you presents when they’re older and have some pocket money. But, this post is really to share another bad gift that **Edward The Head** ’s post reminded me of. One year for Christmas I got my dad an Ohio State T-shirt. He likes Ohio State, and he wears shirts, so it seemed reasonable enough, and he said he liked it. A few years later I got the same shirt back as a gift. I think he forgot that it had originally been from me. I didn’t say anything about it. It’s actually a really nice shirt, so I’m not that worked up about it; I just thought it was somewhat amusing. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/67 "2011-11-16T20:38:34Z")
> [@OpalCat](#): > > I’ve always been an arts&crafts type of person, and so one year, when I was maybe 5 or 6, I made my mom a creche (manger scene) for Christmas. I made it all out of paper and tape; everything was 3D–it wasn’t just a cut-out shape of each animal or anything. > > She opened it, looked at it for a second, and then threw it in the trash right in front of me and scolded me for giving her garbage for a gift. > [@IvoryTowerDenizen](#): > > That makes me so sad. What a thoughtful gift. ☹ > > We still use as our centerpiece for Thanksgiving the Pilgrim boat the kids made out of a paper mache OJ carton and toilet paper roll pilgrims that go in it. The were, maybe 4 and 7? They are 13 and 16 now. It’s really cute and means so much to me. It makes me sad, too. My daughter’s first year in preschool, she made me a Froot Loop necklace for Mother’s Day. Then she ate all the Froot Loops off of it. I still have the string. **Opal** , I’m sorry your mom didn’t recognize your lovely gift. ---
**Author:** ![Edward\_The\_Head](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/ce73a5/32.png) [@Edward\_The\_Head](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Edward_The_Head)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/68 "2011-11-16T20:42:30Z")
> [@MsWhatsit](#): > > I don’t really get the thing of buying presents for your spouse and then having the kids give it to them as though they picked it out and purchased it themselves. I mean, you’re basically wanting your ex-wife to buy you a Christmas present here. The kids will get you presents when they’re older and have some pocket money. **I** didn’t buy it, or rather I didn’t pick it out, I allowed the children to get something for their mother and I made sure it was ok for her. It helps them understand that they are giving something. This year I will also have them pick out something for each other and have them wrap it. I guess that’s just me though. ---
**Author:** ![lorene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/65b543/32.png) [@lorene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lorene)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/69 "2011-11-16T20:47:16Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > **I** didn’t buy it, or rather I didn’t pick it out, I allowed the children to get something for their mother and I made sure it was ok for her. It helps them understand that they are giving something. This year I will also have them pick out something for each other and have them wrap it. I guess that’s just me though. No, we do the same thing. Now that mine are older, they do contribute their own money, though. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 10:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/70 "2011-11-16T22:23:27Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > What’s worse than being told you need help with sex? Being told you need help with sex BY YOUR PARENTS. That has to be the worst method of suggesting that it’s time for grandchildren that I’ve ever heard of. ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2011, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/71 "2011-11-16T22:52:25Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > **I** didn’t buy it, or rather I didn’t pick it out, I allowed the children to get something for their mother and I made sure it was ok for her. It helps them understand that they are giving something. This year I will also have them pick out something for each other and have them wrap it. I guess that’s just me though. Yes, we do this as well. The kids, when very young, helped wrap and draw a card and saw the gift. As they got older they helped brainstorm/pick things out. The kids get so excited when daddy opens “their” gift. We have them do this for each other, too. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/72 "2011-11-17T00:24:46Z")
When I was…let’s say 8…my gramma gave me socks for Christmas. A bag of socks, a plastic grocery bag. Many were not matched, and at least some were not apparently washed. She proudly explained that they had all belonged to my uncles when they were young. My youngest uncle was at least 45 by that time. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/73 "2011-11-17T00:43:15Z")
I can’t match the sex manual one…but I got a lot of mileage out of last Christmas. Bill sent me 6 litterboxes. While I thought it was a very nice and thoughtful gift, my coworkers were not impressed. They were showing off new baubles and bragging about new stuff and when they asked me how my Christmas was, I’d look all deadpan and say “I got litterboxes”. And to be honest, I had to give them away. My litterboxes have always been light tones to match my decorating. Bill, being an engineer, didn’t think about the color and sent me maroon ones. I didn’t think that cats would care about color, but Lucky did. He would go into the litterbox room, freak out and run away crying. Yes, I do have wierd cats. They are mine because nobody else would put up with them. ---
**Author:** ![phall0106](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phall0106/32/5934_2.png) [@phall0106](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phall0106)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/74 "2011-11-17T01:19:01Z")
Mitch and I were together for several years. He was a nice guy, but absolutely sucked at gift giving. One year, I got him (a STNG fan) the Star Trek pin. Nice, heavier weight metal. Pinned it to the new robe I got for him. It’s likely he still has both to this day. What did I get? Windshield wipers. Really. No, they weren’t on my car, they were actually wrapped and under the tree. One year, I got a huge (and I mean huge–maybe 5 or 10 lb.) bar of Hershey’s Milk Chocolate. I don’t like milk chocolate and I don’t eat Hershey’s Chocolate. One year, he gave me a singing Elvis type doll. No, I don’t collect dolls, and am not into Elvis. I wrapped that up and gave it to him for his birthday. We eventually decided not to do gifts anymore. Thank god. ---
**Author:** ![a35362](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3da27b/32.png) [@a35362](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/a35362)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/75 "2011-11-17T01:40:53Z")
The litterbox room? :eek: ---
**Author:** ![sherrycherie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5e9695/32.png) [@sherrycherie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sherrycherie)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/76 "2011-11-17T01:45:28Z")
I know someone who gave their 12-year-old “tomboy” twin stepdaughters a machete–“to share”!! ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/77 "2011-11-17T02:00:12Z")
When I was sixteen, I asked my parents for a BB gun. We lived in the suburbs, and I wanted to plunk tin cans in the backyard. I came down the stairs on Christmas morning to find … my father’s 12 gauge pump shotgun. Um, not _quite_ what I had in mind. We gave the old man crap for _years._ So about eleven years later, I wake up to find a BB gun with my name on it under the tree. My Dad is awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Motorgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Motorgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Motorgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/78 "2011-11-17T02:01:35Z")
> [@sherrycherie](#): > > I know someone who gave their 12-year-old “tomboy” twin stepdaughters a machete–“to share”!! I would have loved a machete! ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/79 "2011-11-17T16:16:32Z")
> [@Bilbo1967](#): > > Around Christmas I’m always listening out for gifts my wife might like. One year, she kept mentioning how much she liked the Kylie Minogue song in the charts at the time. Thinking I’d done a really good thing, I went out and bought the Kylie Minogue album as one of her presents. > > Cut to Christmas Eve, the song was on TV. Feeling pretty smug, I mentioned to my wife how much she liked that song. “Yes”, she replied, “but I heard the rest of the album at work and it’s rubbish”. :smack: Since I was about 15, I instituted a rule I try to keep to every year: after Halloween, do not express a critical opinion about anything I could conceivably receive as a gift. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950/80 "2011-11-17T16:25:54Z")
OMG, [so disturbing](http://whydidyoubuymethat.com/post/12556984960/you-are-looking-at-my-25th-birthday-present-from). SFW, but to describe it would ruin it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/worst-christmas-gifts-ever/602950.md?page=5)