Bad, Bizarre, or Baffling Gifts share your stories

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My MIL gave me super large lace panties. I tried to wear them for DH but they would just fall down. We laughed so hard.

I’m cracking up here. So much to laugh about

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My grandmother gave me trash bags made from recycled plastic for Christmas. If that wasn't bad enough my dad owned the company that made the trash bags.

that year for Christmas my brother got a family heirloom. Clearly I was not the favorite.

Hmm.. Maybe in the box of trash bags there was a note that said your dad was gifting you his company? Otherwise, yes, that's quite awful.

When I was a teen there was one Christmas on which each kid got a book and a sweater, but just one of the kids also got a roundtrip plane ticket to Europe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Maybe your sister found the brand name discontinued item at an outlet or a place like TJ Maxx, doesnt mean she didnt splurge.


I have thought about getting my MIL trash bags, as a gag gift. She has a regular size trash can, 13 gallon I think, but uses grocery store bags inside it instead of buying trash bags. Drives me bonkers.

Omg, my mother does that too with her trash. It's so messy and I cant understand it! I always mean to bring over some but always forget.

My mom, too! She sets a paper grocery bag in her kitchen trash can. You can't just open the lid and drop the trash in because you might miss the bag on the inside. She also tears the top off of an old Kleenex box and puts it in the bathroom trash in place of a trash bag.

What is this about??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Maybe your sister found the brand name discontinued item at an outlet or a place like TJ Maxx, doesnt mean she didnt splurge.


I have thought about getting my MIL trash bags, as a gag gift. She has a regular size trash can, 13 gallon I think, but uses grocery store bags inside it instead of buying trash bags. Drives me bonkers.

Omg, my mother does that too with her trash. It's so messy and I cant understand it! I always mean to bring over some but always forget.

My mom, too! She sets a paper grocery bag in her kitchen trash can. You can't just open the lid and drop the trash in because you might miss the bag on the inside. She also tears the top off of an old Kleenex box and puts it in the bathroom trash in place of a trash bag.

What is this about??

My inlaws do this also. They use the plastic bags from the grocery store that are always too small and they jerryrig the handles to the side of the can so the bag stays open. My guess is that they are trying to be cost conscious and not waste a good trash bag if they already have one they can use from the store. They grew up during the lean years in the 1930s.

[Anonymous]

My MIL used to send gifts for my husband and kids. The gifts would be cushioned in a new bath towel. The towel was my gift.

Our relationship is fine. She didn't send me the annual bath towel out of malice, but it still makes us laugh.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My petite daughter in kindergarten tended to eat much more if her food was presented on swizzle sticks. The mini swords ones, hearts on top etc.

Grandparents got her a pack for her stocking. Imagine how red my face got about a week into lunches, when I realized the ones they gave were different sex positions!

OMG what?! This is amazing!

This is so hilarious. I can just picture your parents in a Party Supply Store a little too close to the 'adults' section with the bachelorette party crap and saying "but these ones with the little people playing leapfrog are SOOO CUTE! Put the heart ones back, we're getting these!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP Maybe your sister found the brand name discontinued item at an outlet or a place like TJ Maxx, doesnt mean she didnt splurge.


I have thought about getting my MIL trash bags, as a gag gift. She has a regular size trash can, 13 gallon I think, but uses grocery store bags inside it instead of buying trash bags. Drives me bonkers.

Omg, my mother does that too with her trash. It's so messy and I cant understand it! I always mean to bring over some but always forget.

My mom, too! She sets a paper grocery bag in her kitchen trash can. You can't just open the lid and drop the trash in because you might miss the bag on the inside. She also tears the top off of an old Kleenex box and puts it in the bathroom trash in place of a trash bag.

What is this about??

My inlaws do this also. They use the plastic bags from the grocery store that are always too small and they jerryrig the handles to the side of the can so the bag stays open. My guess is that they are trying to be cost conscious and not waste a good trash bag if they already have one they can use from the store. They grew up during the lean years in the 1930s.

https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=jerry-rig%20-%20it%27s%20not%20accurate%20The%20actual%20term%20is%20jury-rig

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mom is famous for latching onto a theme. Say you mention briefly in passing that you like something that happens to have a flamingo on it. The next Christmas, you'd get an entire array of things with flamingos on it.

Now that I'm older, I find I have a definite tendency to do this too. As fall was starting, my middle school daughter announced that she had to have a chenille sweater - they were so soft and a few of her friends had them. I go to the store, there are tons, obviously a very trendy item this fall, so she gets one for her birthday.

She was wearing it last week and I stroked it and said how nice it was and she looked me dead in the eye and said, I have a feeling I'm going to get too many of these for Christmas. So I have to restrain myself - they are super cheap most places (like ~$15) but I am committing to not buying more than two. But maybe she will also get chenille socks and a Chenille robe.......argh I can't help myself. I am my mother.

My mom does this too! For years she bought me purple socks or purses because I liked the color when I was 7, like a lot of young girls. If you mention something once conversationally, she'll translate that into a passion just like Flamingo Mom. You never know exactly which thing you mention sticks, so it's baffling until she explains that while you were at the pier gift shop six months ago you commented on how cute the turtle candle was, so she thought of you when she bought the turtle salt &pepper shakers, don't you love them!?

It's cute. Her intentions are sweet, and the gifts are inexpensive little add-ons to a usual monetary gift anyway.
Good for you for recognizing this tendency in yourself.

[Anonymous]

My XMIL used to send me boxes of clothes that included things like Kathy Lee pantsuits in shades of cream, navy, and aqua, blouses with huge (bigger than an inch across) multicolor jewels studding the collars, animal print track suits, and exotic leather jackets (e.g. snake and ostrich).

They were the kind of clothes that *she* enjoys wearing (and I'm sure she meant well, like now we will be flashy buddies together), but are about as far as possible from my style. FWIW I'm a vegetarian and don't wear leather/fur/etc but she thought it only applied to food. She was genuinely upset that I wouldn't accept a fur coat from her (I was able to head that one off at the pass because she asked me first).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom is famous for latching onto a theme. Say you mention briefly in passing that you like something that happens to have a flamingo on it. The next Christmas, you'd get an entire array of things with flamingos on it.

Now that I'm older, I find I have a definite tendency to do this too. As fall was starting, my middle school daughter announced that she had to have a chenille sweater - they were so soft and a few of her friends had them. I go to the store, there are tons, obviously a very trendy item this fall, so she gets one for her birthday.

She was wearing it last week and I stroked it and said how nice it was and she looked me dead in the eye and said, I have a feeling I'm going to get too many of these for Christmas. So I have to restrain myself - they are super cheap most places (like ~$15) but I am committing to not buying more than two. But maybe she will also get chenille socks and a Chenille robe.......argh I can't help myself. I am my mother.

My mom does this too! For years she bought me purple socks or purses because I liked the color when I was 7, like a lot of young girls. If you mention something once conversationally, she'll translate that into a passion just like Flamingo Mom. You never know exactly which thing you mention sticks, so it's baffling until she explains that while you were at the pier gift shop six months ago you commented on how cute the turtle candle was, so she thought of you when she bought the turtle salt &pepper shakers, don't you love them!?

It's cute. Her intentions are sweet, and the gifts are inexpensive little add-ons to a usual monetary gift anyway.
Good for you for recognizing this tendency in yourself.

Yep, this is my mom, too! Which is how I, a 37 year old, fully functional adult, ended up with a Peppa Pig table lamp as a Christmas gift last year. "But you loved pigs when you were little!"

My poor DH ended up with Three Stooges stuff every single year.

[Anonymous]

My mom lost about 60 pounds, while I gained 50. For Xmas she wrapped up her old fat pants and gave them to me. My sister in law got beautiful gifts.

I had no problem telling my mom what I thought of her gift and she’s never done that again. She said they were expensive, nice brands. But yeah, no. The next year I got a Marc Jacobs handbag so she has redeemed herself.

[Anonymous]

My husbands stepmother gave me lingerie while I was 8 months pregnant. She said “ for you to feel sexy again after the baby”

I opened it in front of my husbands ex wife ( we wanted to invited her to Xmas morning to be with her son while the magic was still there )

[Anonymous]

A little background - I'm in my mid 50's and I had a very old father for the times (he was 40 when I was born.) My aunt only had boys. We spent one Christmas at her house when I was in college, so I was 19 or 20. She would have been 58 or 59 that year. She gave me a makeup kit that was for little girls - this was back in 1983/84. I can't remember the brand but it would have been sold in a toy department for 6 year olds. I'm not sure if she didn't realize how old I was or if she thought young women wore that type of makeup. Her youngest son (my cousin) had a wife who wasn't much older than me and I remember she had to stop giggling when I opened it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husbands stepmother gave me lingerie while I was 8 months pregnant. She said “ for you to feel sexy again after the baby”

I opened it in front of my husbands ex wife ( we wanted to invited her to Xmas morning to be with her son while the magic was still there )

I love all of this. You're a good person.

[Anonymous]

I got this from co-workers when I was leaving a job. It's from japan and when the alarm sounds it says "wake up. Don't sweep your wife away. Mooooooo"

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