42 Times People Shared the Worst Gifts They've Ever Received

Receiving gifts is an exciting experience until you unwrap a box full of things you would never buy for yourself. It makes you wonder why the other person would spend their money on something you would never use.

People shared similar experiences online, recalling the time they received the worst gifts of their lives. Scroll down to see what these people said about their unusual experiences.

Comments have been edited for clarity and grammar.

1. The Mysterious Christmas Present

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.

2. The Wishlist Presents

u/P0werSurg3: My parents found the Amazon wishlist of someone with the same name as me but NOT me. They thought it was a bunch of weird items but didn't pay much attention to it.

They decided NOT to check in with me or any other family member to see if they had the right list, and that's how I, as a 24-year-old male, got a maternity body pillow for Christmas.

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. Huh.

4. The Clown Collection

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, my father managed to divert him to kittens in my mid-twenties, but four years later, 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."

5. The Extra Bracelet

u/wlking_dead: On Christmas at my aunt's house, I was walking around and stepped on a bracelet. Since my aunt has six kids, I figured it was one of theirs. I gave it to my aunt and then went on with the festivities. It turns out my aunt completely forgot to buy me a gift for Christmas, so what does she do?

She takes the bracelet I found, wraps it, and gives it to me as a gift. I honestly thought it was just a joke. I turned around after opening the gift to expect giggles and smirks but got hit with my aunt's cold, stern look. So I politely said thank you and threw the bracelet away the next day.

6. Is This a Prank?

u/PhilLikeTheGroundhog: We celebrated Christmas Eve with my wife's family (about 20 people). Everyone was opening presents, etc. At the end of the night, my wife asked me if I needed help carrying my stuff to the car. I just said, "Nope. I'm good." When we got home, she asked what my favorite gift was.

I told her that I didn't get anything and didn't have a favorite. For most of the night, I thought it was a prank, but nope, nobody got me anything. She was super embarrassed and started to apologize. I cut her off, said I didn't want to talk, and watched The Christmas Story three times in a row.

7. The Most-Awaited Gift

u/FreckledLasseh: 11-year-old me, chubby and awkward. Gifts under the tree early because mom was like that. Beautiful cylindrical tin, printed with some iridescent whatnot and graced with a big glittery bow, made out to me. I was stoked to open this gift for a good three weeks of torture.

It's Christmas morning. Everyone is there: grandparents, brother's girlfriend, pets, and the whole nine. I'm so stoked to open this gift; everyone is wondering what it is. Mom knows. Mom knew. With the equivalent of fanfare, I open the top of this thing and pull out BRIGHT PINK GRANNY PANTIES. I was so mad. I'm still mad.

8. A Friendly Reminder

u/Wienerwrld: For my husband's 50th birthday, his parents gifted him the deed to his own cemetery plot tucked inside his birthday card. It was very valuable and thoughtful in their own way.

They couldn't understand why he was so annoyed. They bought one for everyone in the family, including me, so we could all spend eternity together. It was an expensive but poorly timed gift.

9. Instilling Good Habits

u/lexrp: When I was 7, I received gifts and was excited to unwrap the biggest one first. When I did, I found a Dustbuster box inside. I thought my actual present was inside the box.

I opened it, but my excitement faded when I saw a Dustbuster inside the box. My parents got it for me so I could vacuum the stairs easier. Thanks guys.

10. They Took My Gift Away

u/MoonGas: A few years ago, my parents got Macbooks for both my sisters, and I got $100 cash. I ended up buying my own earlier this year. Then, my apartment was burgled a few months later.

I guess it just wasn't meant to be. I'm typing this from my sister's Mac while she's overseas. I get it for two more weeks, and then I'm back to having no computer. Hold me, I'm scared.

11. Same Presents

u/AssMaster6000: I am a little late to the game, but for Chanukkah, my cousin and I always got the same presents so we wouldn't fight. Same little purses, same cutesy jewelry. Well, one Chanukkah, my mom showed me my cousin's gift, and it was Kirby for the Gameboy! I was so excited because that meant I would get it, too!

But my mom said, "No, sweety, I got you something a little different... It is kind of crazy." I immediately knew then that my present would be a pet chameleon. Or so I thought. Mom got me a dictionary. My cousin got Kirby, and I got a dictionary just a year or two before the internet was good enough to replace it.

12. You're So Sweet!

u/navert: When I was fifteen, we were broke as a joke. My crazy mother (who hates all men and thinks all of her poor life decisions come because of men) decided to give me and my sister "gifts" for Xmas. My sister got a new robe, while I got a mason jar filled with sugar with a handwritten note mentioning how sweet I was.

When I opened it, I could see in her eyes she was daring me to say anything negative. "Thanks for the sugar, mom," I said. Two days later, I came home to find that the sugar was gone. My mom used it to make herself some cookies. Guess if I got a cookie.

13. Unequal Efforts

u/purplepinkpurple: Last year, my boyfriend wanted to show my family his best self, so he begged me to give him gift ideas for my family. I didn't feel it was necessary, but he insisted and bought everyone awesome gifts, including my sister, whose favorite wine was hard to find. After calling dozens of stores, he discovered it was only sold in one place in the state.

It was expensive, and he drove several hours to pick it up. He wrapped it beautifully and included such a nice card. My sister got him a sample-size bottle of garlic and onion sauce for cooking. He is allergic to onions and garlic. Now he understands why I told him not to bother.

14. Who Bought the Jewelry?

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.

15. Remembering the Dead Dog

u/everyone1hatesme: I have so many stories to post. 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.

I wouldn't have been so pissed if she didn't keep telling my husband beforehand that I would be offended by the gift she bought. I think she did it intentionally to annoy me.

16. The Unforgettable Present

u/Morlok8k: Christmas 2008, I think. I met my girlfriend to swap presents. I gave her a framed photo of us and a DVD, while she told me she cheated on me. This was almost a year into our committed, exclusive relationship, so it wasn't like we had just started dating.

At the time, though, I was just speechless and handed the gifts to her, told her we were over and left. I didn't want the gifts. I didn't want my promise ring back. I didn't want anything to do with her. It took me some weeks to get all my stuff back from her place.

17. My Evil Boss

u/[deleted]: My boss pretended to forget about my paralyzing fear of spiders. For my birthday, he gifted me a box. I opened it before my colleagues, and inside was a huge spider. Overwhelmed by fear, I felt faint, and paramedics rushed me to the hospital. He was smirking as they loaded me into the ambulance. My revenge was brutal. Four days later, he came running to me, face red and eyes filled with tears, shouting, "How could you do this to me?!"

Deciding to use his fear of heights against him, I anonymously sent him tickets for a hot air balloon ride as a "reward for his hard work." On the day of the ride, I watched from afar as he hesitated, then finally climbed aboard, visibly shaking. As the balloon ascended, I sent him a message: "Enjoy the view from up there, and remember, what goes up must come down."

18. With Love, Dad

u/Hanarchy: I'm going to get buried, but my dad gives the worst gifts. Every year, I tell him exactly what I want, even send him links to an item, and he still gives me a bunch of random stuff he thinks I will like that I have never said I like.

For instance, he gifted me a children's jewelry case while I was away at college. It was Barbie pink with neon green peace signs and purple flowers. I told my mom to give it to my nieces. Last year, he got me a purple masquerade mask and an elf mug.

19. A Gift for My Father-in-Law

u/[deleted]: My father-in-law always claimed he didn't know about my severe bee allergy and deliberately released a jar of bees near me during our family barbecue. I spotted him laughing when doctors were taking me away in an ambulance. It was time for payback.

My husband stormed into the room the next day, "What did you swap in there?!" With a sly grin, I pointed to my father-in-law's freshly brewed morning coffee. "A laxative, just a tiny bit. His morning ritual is about to get a lot more... unpredictable." My husband sighed, "This family feud is going to a whole new level."

20. Too Many Gifts

u/TheHeroOfAllTime: Two years ago, I started opening gifts from my mom. The first was a bunch of screws. "Okay." I thought. "Thanks, Mom!" "It's something you asked for!" She explained. "You'll understand when you open the rest of them." Well, I continue to open presents; some are things I ask for, but others are strange. Weird brackets and pegs. Hardware-type stuff. I remain clueless.

After a while of opening up strange hardware, it dawns on us that the presents I'm opening are for my dad, and they are part of a workbench he had asked for. As my dad and I have the same name, my mom has wrapped all his presents and mistakenly given them to me. Needless to say, it was super confusing.

21. A Life-Changing Surprise

u/[deleted]: My father-in-law pretended he didn't know about my egg allergy and mixed some eggs into my food. I asked him, "Why did you do that? You know about my allergy!" "Oh, I just forgot," he smirked. As the doctors took me to the hospital, I devised a cunning revenge plan.

A few days later, my infuriated father-in-law burst into my room, yelling at me. I calmly held up a video clip on my phone showing him deliberately adding eggs to my food. "I sent this to the whole family," I whispered. His face turned white, realizing his deceit was now public knowledge.

22. The Easy-to-Get Gifts

u/8337: My college boyfriend was a shoplifter. Every gift I ever got from him was stolen. I didn't find out until after we broke up. It explained the odd gifts. Always small things that I had never expressed much interest in but would have been easy to nab.

I would get CDs of bands I didn't dislike but never talked about. Or a box of chocolates, even though I rarely ate sweets. And a chiffon scarf although I only wore T-shirts and jeans. I thought he was just bad at selecting gifts.

23. The Kiddie Jacket

u/MoShellshocker: Staff raised money to get an 8-year-old girl a winter coat (we live in rural Canada). The girl came to school the next day in a t-shirt in the dead of winter, her mom wearing the brand new, child-sized jacket.

Edit: For those wondering - the principal confronted her about it, but the mom didn't want to talk about it. She said anything her kids owned belonged to her, and she could do what she wanted with it. Children's Aide was called, and that student lives with a very nice foster family now.

24. An inside Joke

u/pagerama: My father gifted me a potato masher on one of my birthdays, and I had no idea why. He said it was some sort of an inside joke we had, but I was totally clueless.

And inside the card was a Starbucks gift card. Too bad I noticed it was the same gift card I gave him for Father's Day. We're working on our relationship.

25. The Handmade Gift

u/[deleted]: My brother walked out of the room with wrapping paper and a pen. Thinking he was going to wrap a gift hidden in the other room, I was touched. He returned with the wrapping paper folded in half and taped shut.

He drew a hand turkey on the wrapping paper and gave it to me 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.

26. It's Time for Revenge!

u/saturatedscruffy: My brother went into my room and wrapped up a few articles of clothing from my dresser and a necklace from my closet. He did this three years in a row.

The following year, I put a couple of his weights in a bag and left a tootsie roll inside it before handing it to him. He almost cried because he thought I got him a huge, expensive thing.

27. Sharing Is Caring

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.

28. The White Elephant Celebration

u/Farcry18th: When I was younger, my family used to host a White Elephant celebration every year on Christmas Eve. About a month before the party, everyone who participated in it would draw names from a hat. One year, my older cousin pulled my name.

I was extremely excited when I found out because he was very wealthy and had gifted good things previously. The night finally came. I opened my present, only to find that they had got me soap in the shape of ice cream. The kicker to it all is that I'm lactose intolerant. I'm not sure to this day if it was some kind of sick joke.

29. You 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.

30. The Missing Packages

u/I_am_paperclip: When I got home from college, I had some excess cash. I decided to invest in some new video games and had them sent to my house. The strange thing was that 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.

When I opened my presents, I got to the one from my older brothers. I tore the paper away and opened the box. Inside, there were several other packages that had been mailed to our house with my name on them. My brother had taken half of my games and hid them from me.

31. The Mistreated Stepchild

u/defiantapple: When I was really young, my stepfather got it into his head that he was supposed to replace my father. So, when I refused to call him dad when I was five (because I still had a relationship with my father), he got angry and gave up on me. His entire family mistreated me. My younger brother, who was his kid, was thankfully spared, but I dreaded the holidays because of it.

I distinctly remember watching my brother open piles of incredible presents only to receive for myself one of those cheap make-up kits from CVS/Dollar Store and a used, opened Jamaican Barbie. There is no better way to tell a little girl you hate her than to give her a used Barbie. What kind of adult mistreats a child for something out of their control? I will never understand. My children will never be allowed to interact with him or his family.

32. I Bought the Whole World for You!

u/freestbeast: Christmas when I was 7 or 8 was pretty bad. You know when you're a kid and feel excited upon seeing a big present. One present in a giant box had a HUGE gold bow around it, so I was excited and waited to open it last. It was a globe. A brown globe that you see in libraries. I was not a history fan at that age, and my parents knew I hated geography subject in school.

It wasn't a joke gift. They thought I'd love it, and it would be a great homework tool. Yeah, just what a kid wants for Christmas, something that refers to homework. It is still just a decoration on a mantle in our house, and I can't think of a single time in the past 20 years when I went, "Hmmm, well, that's a tough question. Better consult the globe to be sure."

33. I'm Allergic, Remember?

u/zoestercoaster: I can't say I've ever had the worst present. However, my stepmom keeps forgetting that I'm super allergic to scented stuff. They trigger migraines for me, so I prefer to pick out my own scented lotions and things because I know what will and won't work (typically through trial and error).

Every year, bless her, I get a scented lotion set that I can't use. Once, I gently reminded her how sensitive I was to things, which devastated her. She felt horrible about herself. I feel terrible reminding her every year, so I genuinely thank her and quietly regift the lotion later.

34. A Devastating Christmas Gift

u/goaway432: My entire family is, for the most part, a bunch of mean people. As a child, I got socks and underwear and nothing else from my grandmother one year for Christmas.

All of these items were from Goodwill (Yes, used underwear). That same year, my grandmother got the other cousins 3-wheeler ATVs, Atari, and stuff costing thousands of dollars. I was devastated.

35. The Awful Wedding Gift

u/ThrowraMom567: My mom made fun of my fiancé, Kevin because he had no facial hair. She hurt him by calling him "unmanly." Before the wedding, she hosted a dinner to apologize for her comments. She handed him a wedding gift at the dinner and insisted he open it immediately. When I saw what was inside, I WAS SO FURIOUS that I lashed out at my mom. "Why are you humiliating my fiancé in front of the entire family?!" I asked her.

The gift was a set of shaving tools and shaving cream. When Kevin opened the gift, my stepfather took it from him and showed it to everyone. They all laughed at him, making him leave. At that point, I asked my mother to apologize, but she refused. I knew what to do next. I told her, "No apology, no wedding invite."

36. It Was Just the Beginning

u/[deleted]: My father knew I was afraid of big dogs, but he gifted me three big Dobermans for my wedding. Out of fear, I fainted, and doctors took me to the hospital straight from the altar. My husband said my dad laughed the whole time, so I decided to TAKE REVENGE ON HIM. A few days later, his angry new wife came running to me, exclaiming, "What have you done?!"

With a smirk, I showed her the paperwork proving I'd bought the property right next to theirs and set up a sanctuary for rescued big dogs. Every morning, the symphony of barking would serve as a loud reminder of that fateful wedding day. It was clear: my revenge was just beginning.

37. Fatal Gift

u/[deleted]: I gifted my brother a car for his birthday. He died in a car accident a day later. I survived, but the pain shattered my soul into a thousand pieces. My parents blamed me for his death, kicked me out of the house, and left me penniless. I lived on the streets for years. MY REVENGE WAS BRUTAL. Two days later, my mother, in tears and screaming, ran up to me and exclaimed, "WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"

With a cold and calculated expression, I revealed to her the evidence I had secretly gathered over the years, implicating them in a series of financial frauds. I had anonymously tipped off the authorities, leading to my parents' assets being frozen and arrest warrants issued. "I didn't cause his death, but you took everything else from me," I whispered. I walked away from them as the police sirens wailed in the distance.

38. Sweet Revenge

u/[deleted]: My stepmother knew about my severe honey allergy but gifted me a jar of honey during my wedding. I caught her laughing as paramedics rushed me away in an ambulance. MY REVENGE WAS BRUTAL. The next day, my angry dad stormed into the room, exclaiming, "What did you do this?!"

With a smirk, I replied, "Let's just say her precious heirloom vase won't be passed down any further." He glanced out the window to see the shattered pieces of porcelain spread across the garden. "Sometimes, a message needs to be clear," I added. Her horrified scream from the backyard was all the confirmation I needed.

39. Runaway Daughter

u/[deleted]: My daughter ran away from home when she was 14. My husband, the police, and I searched for her day in and day out, but to no avail. Eventually, I said to my husband, "Let's let her go. She doesn't want to be found." We then moved to a different city. Twelve years later, as I was making breakfast, a sudden shout rang out, "DON'T DO IT! You can't just let her go! She's the one who found out about our secret."

I turned to see a familiar face, my daughter, with a bitter expression. "You left behind debts and people who were after you," she said coldly, holding up old documents and photos. "You thought you could escape, but now they've found me. It's time you face the consequences of your past."

40. Greedy Stepmother

u/[deleted]: My stepmother never cared for me, while my dad worked hard to provide for us. Day by day, she exploited my financial successes. When I landed a job with a hefty signing bonus of $100K, she convinced me to invest it with her. Instead, she used the money for a vacation with her lover behind my dad's back. MY REVENGE WAS BRUTAL. A day later, furious, she stormed into my apartment, shouting, "I WILL DESTROY YOU."

Keeping my composure, I calmly said, "You should check your bank accounts." I had gathered evidence of her betrayal and reported her fraudulent activities to the bank and authorities. "You may have used me, but I made sure you won't benefit from your treachery," I added. Her face went pale as she realized the gravity of her impending downfall.

41. Ultrasound

u/[deleted]: I was pregnant, and just a few days before my wedding, I felt a sharp pain in my belly. My mom insisted I urgently get an ultrasound and even paid for my visit to the doctor. I decided not to tell my fiancé. When the doctor saw the ultrasound results, his face contorted with horror. "What's wrong?" I asked. Upon seeing the ultrasound results, I shouted, "OH NO! NOT THIS! THIS IS A NIGHTMARE!"

"I'm really sorry, but it seems your fiancé isn't the father," the doctor said. He pointed to the screen, showing markers consistent with a rare genetic condition my ex-boyfriend had. Memories of a one-time lapse months ago flooded back. The walls seemed to close in as I realized the complex web of truths and lies that now lay before me.

42. Family Business

u/[deleted]: I gifted my twin sister a dream trip to Paris for her graduation, as she had always dreamed of seeing the Eiffel Tower. On the second day of our trip, she tragically died. I was devastated, but the pain intensified when my father blamed me for her death. Consumed by grief and anger, he kicked me out of the house. I was homeless for years, but my revenge was cruel. The next day, he confronted me, his face flushed with fury.

"HOW COULD YOU DO THIS?!" he shouted. With a cold smile, I replied, "You blamed me without reason, and now I've taken what's most precious to you." I revealed that I had transferred the ownership of the family business, which he had neglected in his grief, to my name. He was left with nothing, just as he had left me. The taste of revenge was bittersweet, but it was what I felt I had to do.

Some of us have received the worst gifts of our lives on Christmas, while others have received them on birthdays. Whatever the occasion was, we've never known what to do with them. We've either regifted some of those things or just kept them around, wondering if they'll ever be useful in any way.

Have you ever received a gift that you thought was terrible? Who gifted it to you, and what did you do afterward? We'd love to know about it!