Worst Gift Ever Received

[freebird5825]

Offshoot from another thread...Let's hear about the worst gift you ever received from a relative, friend, co-w*rker, neighbor, perfect stranger , etc. If you still have it, let's see a picture. If you don't, where is it now?

If you have never received a "worst gift", have you ever given one?

I'll go first...a repeat from other thread...

I was given a set of Johann Havilland (spelling?) china for my wedding by my exMIL, all bought from the local grocery store. I was not consulted about the pattern beforehand.
It is now in a box and/or being used at dh2b's son/wife's house in CA. They were thrilled to get it since they did not receive or buy any china for their wedding. There was no "family china" on her side.

 

[Walt34]

My sister once gave me a plastic dog doo pile. I kept it in the silverware drawer to surprise house guests. When I got married DW made me move it. She has no sense of humor sometimes.

But the worst was a neon-orange sweater my mother gave me in Jr. high school. What was she thinking?

 

[Sarah in SC]

Sister in law gave me a doggie doo calendar one year.

Mother in law gave both SIL and I the same gift one year, a see through leopard print nightie with spaghetti straps and a ragged bottom hem like it had been shredded by animal claws. The worst part? That she said she just knew we would like having them, since Dad just loved the one she bought for herself!
Aaaaacccckkkkkk! TMI TMI TMI!

However, the best story has passed into lore: we used to do this horrible gift exchange with my Dad's side of the family with complicated rules where you got a number and could trade out your gift, etc (think it was non-PC called Chinese gift exchange).

Anywhoo, the horrible gift that memorable year was a dickie. For those not in the know, a dickie is a fake turtleneck collar, just the collar and a bit of a bib on the front and back so you could tuck it into your sweater and, I dunno, pretend you were wearing a shirt underneath. The purpose escapes me.

This particular model, a repellent color of pale gray made of the lowest grade of polyester, went around the room as many times as possible, as people hurried to dump the dickie.

Alas, it wound up in my hands, and forever more we consider a sucky gift to be "getting the dickie".

 

[freebird5825]

...went around the room as many times as possible, as people hurried to dump the dickie.

Lord, please give me strength....

Great stories.

 

[freebird5825]

I'll walk the plank first...I gave a "worst gift" for a wedding present.

One of my former co-w*rkers, and a very good friend, was not stuck up but she sought out the finer things in life. We were direct opposites, she being very girly-girly and me a total tomboy.
Her wedding was coming up, and I volunteered to be a helper for whatever might be needed "last-minute" at her reception. So I joined the family for the pre-reception period, making sure things were just so.
I had her wedding present with me, and recruited her sister to stand watch while I snuck it into the reception room, hiding it behind a skirted table. No guests had arrived yet.
I was talking with her father, and noticed a lot of water running off the roof. When I pointed it out to him, he got all serious and disappeared. Next thing I know, fire trucks are arriving and we are evacuating the building. The fire was confined to the uppermost floor and quickly doused.
On the way out, I grabbed the gift and somehow got it outside and back into my car without her seeing it. It was wrapped in very loud paper and big and bulky.
The later police investigation, in which I reported seeing a guy walk upstairs on my way to the ladies room, turned up the fact that one of her out-of-state friend's boyfriends (the guy I saw on the stairs) was a pyromaniac. He had set a small fire way way upstairs in the reception hall building. The water I saw was the upstairs sprinkler system runoff.

The gift? 2 huge pink flamingos for her front lawn.
Her family and I had her unwrap them later during the reception to get this poor girl to laugh. It w*rked.
She replied in kind when she moved to Florida by sending me one of those cute little flamingo snow shaker globes you see in tourist trap gift shops. I still have it on my dresser.

Flamingoes in knee high water with snow on the floor is a little joke between us.

 

[Moemg]

Years ago I had this boyfriend I was crazy about but things were definitely cooling . On valentines day he gave me a red tool box . We broke up shortly after .

 

[Moemg]

I just thought of another one . My daughter who went through this artsy phase and got into strange photography sent me framed pictures of close ups of people's noses . Being they were from my daughter I had them hung in my bedroom for a few years and then hid them.

 

[CuppaJoe]

....

However, the best story has passed into lore: we used to do this horrible gift exchange with my Dad's side of the family with complicated rules where you got a number and could trade out your gift, etc (think it was non-PC called Chinese gift exchange).
...."getting the dickie".

They called that a "grab bag" exchange at an office X-mas lunch. It was hysterically funny. The gift was to be under $5.00 and the "dickie" gift was a cassette tape of Christmas carols, guess who wound up with it? There were six Jewish attorneys in the group, of course one of them was the one to un-wrap it. It went round and round the table and worked as an ice breaker. The prize gift everyone wanted was a stack of baseball cards. Go figure.

 

[FinanceDude]

I guess I'll take the bait........ I got a CHECK from my dad and stepmom instead of their appearance at my wedding to DW. Turns out my stepmom convinced my dad that they should not go because her and I didn't have a great relationship.

That has got to be the worst gift ever.........

 

[FinanceDude]

Looks like I sucked the life out of yet another thread, sorry guys........

 

[freebird5825]

Looks like I sucked the life out of yet another thread, sorry guys........

No, no, give it time. People will add on as we go.
Heck I started it out talking about a "not-so-nice" wedding present from my exMIL. In a way, my china from the grocery store experience was sad but also a little funny when I step back and think about it.
I'm sorry this happened to you BTW. I have a few choice stories about stuff like this myself. We all do.
If all else fails, think about pink flamingoes and fire trucks at your wedding reception, like my poor friend had to go through.

 

[FinanceDude]

No, no, give it time. People will add on as we go.
Heck I started it out talking about a "not-so-nice" wedding present from my exMIL. In a way, my china from the grocery store experience was sad but also a little funny when I step back and think about it.
I'm sorry this happened to you BTW. I have a few choice stories about stuff like this myself. We all do.
If all else fails, think about pink flamingoes and fire trucks at your wedding reception, like my poor friend had to go through.

My wedding day was the best day of my life. DW and I didn't let her family know my parents weren't going to attend, because it would have freaked out her tight-knit family. Everyone went well. One funny moment was when the photographer wanted a picture of the bride and groom and the groom's parents. DW and I wondered what to do until one of her feisty aunts came running up yelling, "I'm the MOM, I'm the MOM"!!!!!

We still have that pic up over our mantel, the surrogate mom and her "kids"..........

 

[freebird5825]

My wedding day was the best day of my life. DW and I didn't let her family know my parents weren't going to attend, because it would have freaked out her tight-knit family. Everyone went well. One funny moment was when the photographer wanted a picture of the bride and groom and the groom's parents. DW and I wondered what to do until one of her feisty aunts came running up yelling, "I'm the MOM, I'm the MOM"!!!!!

We still have that pic up over our mantel, the surrogate mom and her "kids"..........

I'm picturing this scene in my mind.
What a totally cool aunt! Feisty is good stuff.

 

[Sarah in SC]

But, FD, at least you didn't get the dickie......

 

[Moemg]

I guess I'll take the bait........ I got a CHECK from my dad and stepmom instead of their appearance at my wedding to DW. Turns out my stepmom convinced my dad that they should not go because her and I didn't have a great relationship.

That has got to be the worst gift ever.........

Sorry , I could send you a framed close up of a nose if it would make you feel better .

 

[FinanceDude]

But, FD, at least you didn't get the dickie......

No dickie for you, ONE YEAR!!!

Should I tell the part how an old frat buddy who was uninvited crashed my reception with 4 ounces of pot?

 

[Sue J]

When I was a little girl if we got sick sometimes my mom or dad would get us a little "sick present". Just a little something to cheer you up and keep you occupied. Usually it was a coloring book or a small toy or book.

I got really sick with flu or something for about a week when I was about 7. I was never a prissy kind of girl, didn't dress up or play with dolls. I always thought dolls were creepy and icky. I had lots of stuffed animals and other fun stuff like games but avoided dolls. Always.

My Dad came home from work with a sick present for me. It was a doll. I was crushed. It hurt because I thought we were so close, how did he not know that I didn't play with dolls? Was he trying to change me into the daughter he thought I should be? Was he disappointed in the real me?

Being that I was the polite, appreciative kid, I thanked him and hugged him and went back to bed and sobbed. I was really hurt and I stuck that awful doll under something in the closet so that I'd never have to see it again.

It's a wonder I didn't end up in therapy.

As an adult my worst present was a "PVA 10X" which is a floor mop for Mother's Day. As Seen On TV - Blue PVA Mop - Highly Absorbent Super Mop Save Time And Effort With The Revolutionary Blue PVA 10X Mop! Dramatically Reduce Clean Up Time With The Blue PVA 10X Mop!

Yeah, don't do that.

 

[FinanceDude]

I guess on a lighter note, the worst gift I "got" was at my wedding reception. One of the guys from my frat in college still lived in the area. He heard I was getting married and decided to crash the party. He shows up with FOUR OUNCES of pot in a baggie and starts waving it around. He goes outside on the balcony and starts passing around and rolling joints.

DW finds out and gets me to "do something about it". Trouble was, my sister, the maid of honor, and all the other members of the wedding party are out there, and most of them are partaking.........

A heck of a wedding present. The guy unfortunately died in a tragic accident while in the Merchant Marines. At his funeral, I spoke, and alluded to the fact that "Clark always found a way to make people feel better"............

 

[bbbamI]

The worst gift I received was the same gift I gave...literally.

One year I got a cheap plastic coin counter (from my MIL) that was completely worthless. So, the next year I wrapped it up and gave it back to her. Fortunately, she thought it was funny, so she in turn gave it to her daughter on the next Christmas. This went on for years. We would all sit around leering at each other to see who would wind up with the "gift that keeps on giving."

 

[Calgary_Girl]

We have an old friend of the family who must be in her '70's now and she gets stranger every decade.

About 10 years ago she came to visit (lives in a different city) and she gave me a pin (the kind that you can pin to a sweater, etc.) of a telephone. When you pushed on the phone, it would actually wring! It was hilarious.

Not sure where it is now...

 

[Westernskies]

I guess I'll take the bait........ I got a CHECK from my dad and stepmom instead of their appearance at my wedding to DW. Turns out my stepmom convinced my dad that they should not go because her and I didn't have a great relationship.

That has got to be the worst gift ever.........

I realize that many of you here will find this story difficult to believe, but a week before DW and I were getting married, my MIL had a meltdown and pleaded with her to call if off, because I was........................... "sarcastic" ...

(Yeah, like I needed her support...)

Six years later, DW and I are happily married, and MIL and I are living under a [-]fragile[/-] truce.

 

[shoe]

I have received a few tasteless gifts in my time, but they pale in comparison to what my SIL got from her MIL one Christmas. She got a roll of "Stitch Witchery" which is hem tape that you iron on. Each of her boys ( 6+10) got a 3 pack of microwave popcorn. As if that wasn't bad enough, the MIL's daughter's boys each got a big remote controlled airplane. Unwrapped at the same time mind you.

 

[FUEGO]

gift from the Company at our annual Christmas party a few years ago. The prez of the company was big into looking fancy and wealthy and status and all that jazz. Every other person in the firm could care less. Our gift? A nice grey cashmere v-neck sweater. The kind that our prez wears frequently and also the kind and style that no one else at all ever wears EVER. Everyone received a sweater. Everyone gave the obligatory smile and meek thanks. Then everyone promptly took the sweater home and placed it in their closet, never to wear it. Until we took a group photo a year later and we all had to find our old grey cashmere v-neck sweaters. That was the first and last time I ever saw anyone other than the prez wear that grey cashmere v-neck sweater.

And this was the year that we didn't get bonuses because of the economy and the fact that the company didn't have enough money. Instead we got a grey cashmere v-neck sweater. With company logo on it. Those things aren't cheap.

And it isn't anything against company schwag - we received company logo polo shirts the next couple of years and everyone wears these all the time around the office.

 

[bssc]

For my first wedding, we got a regifted set of placemats from someone at work. They were awful colored and there was a piece of tape and some of the old wrapping paper on the bottom of the box.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Memorable gift

My now deceased LBYM frugal Aunt once gave me a pair of dish scouring pads made from the lace cups of an old brassiere she had cut and hemmed. She was very serious about what good scrubbers they made and was very proud of having made this discovery. I have had a good laugh about this over the years, and I do appreciate her ingenuity. I think of her fondly, and I also admire her as she amassed a good retirement on very little earned income. Waste not, want not.