Bad, Bizarre, or Baffling Gifts share your stories

[Anonymous]

My cousin was known for shopping at thrift stores. He was your typical wealthy northeasterner who could pinch a penny until it bled. For my wedding, our gift still had the price tag on it. Due to weird circumstances, we were opening gifts in front of the family. We all saw it and laughed, knowing that was so typical of him. He was pretty proud of how he found a great present. My husband knows him as the thrift store cousin now. I hold absolutely no hard feelings. It makes me chuckle every time i think of him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My in laws gave me a literal elf costume one year, when they got all of their kids and themselves, and the grandkids, matching christmas pjs. Mine had a hat, and bells, and lit up. I dont even celebrate christmas.

I hear those Pajama-gram ads on NPR all the time! Always wonder what people really do that (and now they offer for your dog and cat too)

[Anonymous]

Classic in our family:

A small gift for my niece was a collection of hair ties and ornaments all packed up in a Pop-Tarts box. When she opened it (she was maybe 9) she shrieked with delight -- "PopTarts! My FAVORITE!"

Also:

My UU church used to do a white elephant bingo event around Xmas. Took my mom one year (my mom who was puzzled every time I brought her to a service that they forgot to recite the Lord's Prayer). People would bring things wrapped in gift paper. Some items were awesome (I have a gorgeous cushion done with wool needlework from one of those events), others were ridiculous.

Mom was in her 80s. Her bingo prize was a bundle of sage that was already burnt--although enough sage (6 inches maybe?) to do a bit more sage-smudging with. She was completely perplexed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My mother in law got me 6 months of nutrisystem. This is not a DCUM brag when I say this but I am thin. I was probably a size 4/6 when she gifted this to me (in 2002, who a 4/6 was pretty thin). I remember thinking "omg what a bitch" and "wow this shit is expensive, this is a really nice gift" at the same time. I did eat the main entree food as my packed lunch for work but the snack food and desserts were really bad.

Size 4/6 is “pretty thin” in 2018 also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My uncle owns a porta potty company. One year he gave everyone coupons for one free rental of up to 7 days. He kept telling everyone, "that's a $1400 gift right there!" My aunt was beyond mortified. She'd just had twins at the end of November that year and tasked him with getting gifts for the family swap. She saw he had a stack of envelopes and figured he'd gone the gift card route.

So . . . did anyone actually use their coupon?

[Anonymous]

Our wedding gift from my SIL was his and hers self help books.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:MIL got my not quite 2 year old a book called "Leo the Late Bloomer" because she thought his vocabulary was so lacking compared to his same-aged cousin, the golden grandchild. I guess to help him with the self-esteem issues she assumed he must struggling with given his inferiority?

My mom gave me this book for my kids! (She was an elementary teacher and gave me a bunch of her old books.) It's kind of a classic and I have read it to them but that book would NEVER be written today.

Other books in the series?
Reggie the Retard, Alvin the Aspie, Suzie Special Needs?

[Anonymous]

I never even got the wedding gift my friend was supposed to give us because her dog ate it.

[Anonymous]

We did a gift exchange in 4th grade and I got an obviously used and falling apart book when other kids got a Care Bear or a cool hair bow. I’m fine with it in retrospect, but it sucked as a kid.

[Anonymous]

My VERY wealthy friends husband gave her a $20 things remembered bracelet for her wedding day gift. Maybe it was a giant f you? He’s set up pretty nice with her trust fund now.

[Anonymous]

I have homes in two states. One year a SIL bought me two brown wooden maps of the states with holes that you would fill with caps from beer bottles I assume from beer made in the state. I don't drink beer. I couldn't even re-gift them.

[Anonymous]

When I was in 6th grade, there was a class gift exchange. Of course I didn't have any money of my own. My mom made me give a box of cloth handkerchiefs for the exchange. I was so embarrassed. Still am, actually. The recipient was very nice about it.

[Anonymous]

When DH and I were only married for a couple of months, we went to his parents for Thanksgiving. As we were leaving, MIL gave me a ziplocked bag full of something I couldn't quite discern at the time saying: "I was thinking, you could use these since your hair is long and mine isn't anymore". I mumbled "Thank!s" and stuffed the bag in my purse. When we came home, I discovered she gave me a bag stuffed to the brim with used scrunchies, mostly of the flowery kind that old ladies generally wear in retirement homes.
I wouldn't be surprised if she took these off her own mother, at the time newly deceased.. Some of them could have been her own.

I dumped the bag immediately; next time I saw her, I was itching to ask whether or not she had half-used period pads she no longer needed. I didn't, but I will never forget those smelly scrunchies to the day I die.
It's been more than 10 years since that Thanksgiving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh let's see...

Friend invited to my baby shower gave me an outfit for the baby, but the outfit was a size 7. So I was still pregnant, but had an outfit to fit an elementary school aged child.

MIL routinely bought gifts for her only grandchild with the wrong name on them. Like the name is Jane and the ornament/pencil case/notebook says, "James."

The mother of a child invited to my kid's 4th birthday handed him "Harry Potter and Sorcerer's Stone", and a pretty used-looking, at that. Well, it only took 5 years of sitting on the shelf for my kid to start really enjoying it. )) So, PP, look at the bright side, 7 years in your baby will be able to wear that gift!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:MIL got my not quite 2 year old a book called "Leo the Late Bloomer" because she thought his vocabulary was so lacking compared to his same-aged cousin, the golden grandchild. I guess to help him with the self-esteem issues she assumed he must struggling with given his inferiority?

I'm surprised by your comments -- I (and my kids) loved that book! I thought it was very sweet.