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“What Is The Worst Gift You Ever Received?”: 45 Undeniably Bad Gifts, As Shared By The Bored Panda Community
Receiving a gift is generally thought to be a pleasant experience. However, certain gifts can be a disaster rather than a delight and might leave you with feelings of sadness, anger, or disappointment. Sometimes it's the circumstances surrounding the presentation of a gift that can change its meaning from exciting to hurtful.
I decided to learn more about what makes an awful gift and asked our Panda community to share their worst experiences yet.
To learn more about gift giving, bad gifts, and the importance of gift wrapping, Bored Panda got in touch with a gift wrapping expert, aka The Gift Wrapping Queen, Jane Means. Read the full interview below.
More info: Instagram | janemeans.com
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
When I was 10, I lost my cat to the road because my mother didn't believe in indoor cats, I was devastated. A few weeks later for x-mas, my aunt gave me a book called 101 Things To Do With A Dead Cat. I spent the rest of the evening crying.
20 years later, I sang Ding Dong the Witch is Dead in my head at her funeral. She was a hateful woman.
Final score:
389points
If you have ever had trouble choosing a gift, you are not alone. These things can get tricky and time-consuming, but Jane might have a solution for you.“We often rush buying gifts during those time-poor occasions, such as Christmas and the holidays. You spend your well-earned cash on gifts that leave the recipients disappointed. A good idea is to buy gifts throughout the year and place post-it notes on them. Keep them ready in a bottom drawer. Gifts don’t have to be valuable, but it’s important to think about the recipient when buying.”
#2
Nothing. My family forgot to get me anything at all for Christmas one year. The husband and kids all forgot. I was in my 40s but felt like a child that had been kicked. I've never forgotten how it felt.
Final score:
301points
SparkleFarts 2 years ago
My MOTHER has forgotten my birthday a few times. I don't care about not getting a gift, but at least tell me happy birthday. And I'm an only child, it's not like she has a bunch to remember
#3
My mother bought me a dress from a high-end fashion catalog that I had been drooling over for weeks. I was ecstatic until I noticed it was the wrong size. I was about to tell her the seller made a mistake, but she cut me off, saying "Something to work towards will motivate you to lose weight." She intentionally ordered a medium, I wear XL. My Christmas gift was just a new way to fat-shame me.
She told me about her plans to buy an expensive NFL team jacket for my brother's birthday... Something he and my father had both admired.
She said she was ordering a size medium. He wore an XXL. She said she refused to buy a larger size "so he'll get off his lazy butt and do something about his weight."
I told her she was psychotic and cruel and that she shouldn't bother buying it since neither of us would be coming home for any more celebrations.
She told me I was disgusting and selfish and an embarrassment.
Nice, huh?
Final score:
259points
DinosEatNoods 2 years ago
I was never overweight but even then my mom would always make comments like “oh be careful you’re looking kind of heavy in the back” or “your husband likes women who look like dolls so be careful what you eat” (he is now my ex btw)… and I now tell her to be careful what she says because it makes her face ugly when she says things like that. She stopped and my new husband cooks me delicious food that I enjoy to the fullest.
We all have been in a place where re-gifting might have been the best option. Whether you went with it or not, gift wrapping is also part of a gift, and it might change how the recipient will perceive your gift.“The whole point of gifting is to make the recipient feel valued and special so the gift is as important as the wrapping. If you do re-gift items, it’s crucial that you make a note so you aren’t giving the gift back. If you received a gift that’s not likely to be appreciated, you may be better off selling it on an online marketplace, such as eBay, and buying something you or they want with the proceeds.
The other suggestion is to gift something completely unsuitable as a joke, and then take the recipient out for coffee and cake in their favorite café.
If you are re-gifting anything, the wrapping can look amazing, which heightens the senses, only for the recipient to be disappointed at the final stage. When re-gifting anything, choose carefully who it goes to,” wrote Jane.
#4
At the time I was mortified my great-aunt gave me underwear for Christmas, but now that I realize she was very poor but a complete sweetheart, it was actually the best present I have ever received. It's not a coincidence she was born on Valentine's Day, and I miss her every day.
Final score:
219points
*Displayname*=idk 2 years ago
I love when I get underwear and more happy when it's socks. But I guess it can get embarrassing sometimes 😇
#5
Our Christmas gift at work was a chocolate-covered apple. For the Christmas potluck (yes, we had to provide for our own party) I sliced mine up and brought it. The boss's face!
Final score:
202points
If you happen to always struggle with gift-giving and worry about choosing a bad gift, here is what Jane suggests to you.
“It’s always a good idea to find out and note down anything your friends and family like. It’s easy to engage in conversation to find out what they love, what their hobbies are and what is their favorite color, etc.
The best place to get feedback is to go on a shopping trip with that person as you quickly hear their desires and feedback. (I have often run back to the shop to buy something when a friend has commented how gorgeous a particular item is and not bought it!)
Anything personalized or with some humor is always well received… for instance, you could have a T-shirt made up with ‘Gardening Guru’ if they are green-fingered, or subscribe to a magazine they are likely to enjoy reading with a box of their favorite tea. This makes their leisure time enjoyable throughout the year, and it’s the thought that counts.
Although I’m not a personal shopper, I love to take my time buying gifts and always put a lot of thought into the process. As we are so busy with our gift-wrapping service at Christmas, it’s vital that I buy early and be organized. Gifts do not need to be valuable, but it’s the thought and first impressions that count, and presentation is everything.”
#6
My weirdo father gave us 3 boys each a special present one year. He gave me a dirt bike (imagine my excitement), my brother the key (to my dirt bike, and I didn't get one), and my other brother - he gave all the gas. Apparently, nothing worked without something from my brothers. We all had to get along to make it go . . . . I'm not sure if my pop was genius or demented. (Probably both)
Final score:
181points
Darth Daddy (Submission author) 2 years ago
He was something else. One year as a punishment he made us pick up all the acorns on the farm and plant them in neat rows. That wasn't too bad, but then he had us un-plant them and put them all back. It took forever ! ! ! ! ! ! !
#7
My inlaws expected a gift for every single holiday (including birthdays, retirements, and anniversaries) even when we were struggling, but when my birthday came around they gave me a card without anything written inside except their names. A gift isn’t necessary, but you can’t even say something nice?
Final score:
158points
girlsrock4ever 2 years ago (edited)
Give them what they give you for their birthday. Then see how they react.
Whether you are experienced with gift wrapping or not, Jane runs an online gift wrapping course “Wrap with Jane” where you can learn or improve your skills. Luckily for you, dear Pandas, this course is now 20% off with promo code BOREDPANDA.
And here is just one of the tips Jane has for you today on difficult gifts to wrap. “Usually, this depends on the size and shape. For instance, if you’re trying to wrap something huge like a bicycle, a roll of paper won’t be wide enough and will not mold around the item well. For extra-large items that are a weird shape, I always opt for a paper tablecloth or some fabric. It is larger in size and can mold easily around the gift.”
“We recently gift-wrapped a drum kit for a well-known celebrity with 32 meters of fabric!”
#8
A birthday card from my dad, three months late, and he spelled my name wrong.
Final score:
150points
#9
Over the years I have collected quite a stash of gifts that I have never used for one reason or another. Someone once gave me a nose hair trimmer in the shape of a great, big, yellow finger, for example. So I understand the motivation behind this thread. I just don't agree with it.
Every time I have chosen and given a gift to anyone, it has been done with the intention of improving that person's day, even if it only raises a brief smile. When I receive a gift I only consider what is in the giver's heart rather than what is in the parcel before me. So even if the gift is a great, big, yellow finger, I am grateful for it, because it shows that the giver cares enough to go out, choose it, buy it, and wrap it. And great, big, yellow fingers can't be that easy to wrap.
Final score:
149points
#10
No one wished me Happy Birthday when I turned 11. They completely forgot about it because it was on a Monday and we had to celebrate it on the weekend (which was fine by me). I just wanted someone to say something nice to me on the very day I was born, even if I wouldn't get a present. Instead, I got yelled at for "being selfish".
For me, it wasn't the worst birthday present, but the worst birthday "day".
Final score:
142points
DinosEatNoods 2 years ago
That’s terrible!!! Say Happy Birthday to that little 11 year old girl for me… hugs!
#11
I'm not religious, but my grandparents are. When I was 14 they gave me a copy of The Purpose Driven Life, a Christian book. I stuck it on my shelf and was like, oh well, whatever, not gonna read it. I felt kinda crappy about it because they made it clear they thought I was going to hell.
Six months later my best friend pulled it off the shelf and started flipping through it, reading passages ironically, and found $20 bills tucked into the pages randomly.
Like. They were trying to pay me to convert? It was pretty funny at the time. We shook the cash out and spent it on pizza. That part of the present was great actually. But the book, not so much.
In hindsight, I laugh about it. I thought this list could use a laugh, a lot of these are sad.
Final score:
124points
Populus tremuloides(they/them) 2 years ago
In the psych ward right after being diagnosed as autistic (I am not saying that is a bad thing pls don't construe it as such) someone sent me a copy of a room called earth, this book about an autistic woman, all about how she was one of the good ones because she could socialize and go to parties and flirt with men and dress fancy. I don't know who it was from, but the 3 people that were sending me books are all really kind and accepting so I think they just hadn't read it. In contrast, one of my favorite staff lent me a copy of the curious incident of the dog in the night time. I loved it, and bought a copy when I got out. Ms. Nat if you somehow see this you made my time there a lot better
#12
This text for me from my mother.
"Your uncle died today, happy birthday".
Final score:
121points
#13
My family went on vacation to Disney World while I was in school and sent me complementary hotel toiletries as a gift.
Final score:
117points
Weirdest Bi You’ll Ever Meet 2 years ago
Oh dear god! I might as well bring you to Busch Gardens, down here in Florida. Don’t worry. My family has a annual pass 😉
#14
My mother-in-law came to visit us for Christmas. Our relationship was already rocky as she would wait for my husband to leave the room and then start berating me about my weight.
(I was hit by a car when I was walking while pregnant, so I put on a lot of weight from bed rest and just haven't been able to lose it.) And when she wasn't making me feel self-conscious, she was talking down to her partner and generally treating him badly.
She's also a hoarder who lives on attending and doing yard sales. Lives. For. It.
I didn't have high hopes for Christmas. I wasn't expecting any gifts from her, and I was okay with that. Four or five gifts in for my husband she tossed me a small package.
Inside? A rusted angel ornament.
"I hope you like it, I couldn't sell it at the yard sale for a nickel."
The trash gained an angel that year, and now she doesn't gift me anything at all anymore.
Bonus, she doesn't come to visit anymore either. Merry Christmas to me!
Final score:
109points
#15
My mom has received some pretty awful gifts. One year, my dad got her a pedometer for her birthday and nothing else. For mother's day, my grandparents gave her a broom. I still feel bad for her.
Final score:
108points
MJLstrd 2 years ago
One Christmas in the 60s Dad gave Mom formal elbow length gloves that you'd wear to a gala of some sort. They had never done anything like that and they were never going to do anything like that. Turns out Dad was seeing the mother of one of my classmates. Did he get the gifts mixed up?
#16
Almost all the gifts I received from my late aunt. Old-fashioned, worn-out bags or clutches that she wouldn't wear anymore; stained clothes (which sometimes had holes too); outdated touristic guides from the '60s; any object that she wanted to get rid of; useless flyers and ads that she'd collect from her vacations. I felt angry and humiliated, and all the "gifts" ended out in the trash bin after her visits.
There is a lesson I learned from this - never treat people like that. Get a proper gift. A flower or some fresh fruits are rather cheap and will always be better than your personal trash. And if you still decide to give personal items, make sure they have some value (such as a useful book, a jewel, or an old painting).
Final score:
107points
#17
The same distinctive bottle of alcohol I gifted them 2 years earlier.
Final score:
105points
#18
When I was a kid I had a favorite Barbie doll with long hair. I loved her so much and brought her with me everywhere. I had an Aunt who told me she was going to do something for my doll for my birthday and so I thought she was making her a little outfit or something, so I gave her the doll and on my birthday she gave her back to me with her hair chopped short and she said, "isn't it so chic? She looks so modern and pretty!!" I was legit so upset about it. It's not like her hair will grow back you jerk!
I'm 43 and still salty about it. I was talking to my mom just the other day because the aunt had called for the first time in a while and I just squinted my eye and she knew I was thinking about what she did to my doll, lol.
Final score:
104points
#19
A bottle of wine with the price tag still attached - $1.00.
Final score:
97points
#20
After 25 years of marriage, husband forgot my birthday. When I reminded him, he insisted I was wrong, but said he had my card in his car. He came back with a sloppy stupid note written on trash from his car. We're divorced, of course. Maybe he remembers his new wife's birthday, I don't know, as long as he remembers my support check, I'm very happy.
Final score:
96points
OmBoyGanesh 2 years ago
He gaslit you by claiming you were wrong about which day you were born??? Wow!!!!
#21
A metal strap watch. From my ex. Despite him knowing that I absolutely hate metallic stuff. I don't wear even any kind of jewelry. I despise wearing any. All this after 6 years of being together. The added insult was him saying 'giving you gifts has become an obligation'
Final score:
95points
Dip thong 2 years ago
I don't like jewelry. When I did wear it. It was the first thing that came off when I walked through the door at home. Even before my shoes. Wearing jewelry gives me anxiety. I can't keep my hands off of it. I'm married but retired my wedding ban years ago. I would fidget with it all day.
#22
Trust issues! At Christmas when I was 7 or 8 I was on the phone with my auntie who lived abroad and she said she would send me something for my birthday (which was a few weeks later). I was excited - what kid wouldn't be? My birthday came, but the gift didn‘t. I thought nothing of it....maybe it takes so long, because the package comes from abroad (neighboring country). I checked the mailbox every day after school - it was long after Easter when I finally stopped. It didn‘t get lost in the mail, she simply forgot.
Moral of the story: Never promise something you can't or won't keep - especially to a child.
Final score:
95points
#23
A book on how to handle my introverted mindset.
Final score:
91points
#24
I grew up in a rural area. Neighbors were miles away. I was the youngest of 3 and we were many years apart in age.
In other words, I only had “school” friends.
Yet, my parents got me multi-player board games. Like, sorry, you won’t be getting to the Head Of The Class in this Game Of Life.
Final score:
87points
#25
Suddenly a lot of makeup... Right after I came out as nonbinary.
I got back at her by using it to do goth makeup, clown makeup, and sfx stuff and sending her pictures.
Final score:
87points
#26
I got a rotten pumpkin... Worst. Birthday. EVER.
Final score:
82points
girlsrock4ever 2 years ago
Who gave it to you? I'm just curious, because- Well, come on! Who'd give someone a ROTTEN. PUMPKIN.
#27
Spoons.
My dad thought it would be a fun joke to give his son, fresh home from college after having eaten nothing but soup for a month...spoons. For Christmas. This was after I had told them all about what I had been going through. It was the first present I opened. I was so heart broken while he just giggled like he'd done something clever. I just dropped them and went back to my room and locked the door sobbing. Both me and Mom were so upset by that Christmas and the lack of effort he put into getting us anything that we actually didn't celebrate Christmas the next year. I don't know if he ever learned anything from the experience. I've given up caring about people who don't even know me...
Final score:
81points
Nene Miu Miu 2 years ago
that's what I'm trying to do too, not care about people who don't even know me or care about me! Good for you for figuring this out! I appreciate the brilliant way you put this so that the lightbulb went off in my head and I completely understand what I need to do now! Thank you very much Let's try and fill our lifes with people who do care about us
#28
For my 17th birthday, my mother gave me a carton of cigarettes. This was about a month after my stepfather and I had a knock-down drag-out fight, which I lost. She made her choice as to which one of us was more important. I was living with my father at the time. The worst part? Christmas was three weeks later and guess what I got for that one?
Another carton of Marlboros.
Final score:
79points
#29
There was a year when one sister got a scrapbook set (complete with scissors, paper books, embellishments, etc). Another sister got a new TV, brother got tires for his truck... I got a pair of $7 earrings that were hideous.
Husband: sister and brother had tons of presents, beautifully wrapped, including new PlayStation... He received a black garbage bag of clothes- not in his size, with the clearance Kmart sticker on them. Nothing wrapped nicely. Just the trash bag.
Final score:
79points
#30
For my 35th birthday, my mother gave me absolutely nothing, not even a card. I wouldn't have cared, but 6 days earlier, she gave my husband a card, $100 and a beautiful cake. One of the many reasons she is no longer allowed in my life.
Final score:
78points
OmBoyGanesh 2 years ago
This sounds like a narcissist who was always trying to compete with you. I’m so so sorry regardless of her intention.
#31
A birthday card, wishing me a Happy 30th Birthday. On my 29th birthday. From my mother.
Final score:
76points
#32
Not a gift for me, but my in-laws gave my son a trash can a few birthdays ago.
Final score:
73points
girlsrock4ever 2 years ago
These gifts are getting worse and worse... I'm losing faith in humanity's ability to give good gifts...
#33
Used soap! My grandparents were poor farmers and never gave gifts to my brother and me. Except for one year, I received a gift in the mail, wrapped and everything! I was 9 and felt so special. Inside was a large, pink, scented heart soap. Okay .. then I noticed a line around the middle, it opened up and there was a key made of soap inside. It had been used a few times already. I was so sad!! It took me years to realize how poor they really were and had probably gotten it from their church not knowing that it had been used! But at 9…
Final score:
73points
#34
Everything my mom and stepdad bought me as a kid. Literally, everything felt like it was designed to remind me that they had no idea who I was or were intentionally ignoring what they should have known about me.
Usually, really girly/feminine gifts when I was an overt tomboy (trans but we didn't have the verbage for that in the 90s), but not as like a manipulative tactic, they didn't care that I was a tomboy at all, they weren't trying to change me, they just didn't bother to notice anything about my personality. I kept just asking to go to the library more often or get new books, and the closest thing they did was get me American Girl books which were waaay below my reading level and not my preferred genre. I pointed out a cheap boys' bike at a thrift shop, and they got me a more expensive one that was a brand new heavy pastel pink cruiser with streamers. Even when they'd ask what I wanted they just didn't listen.
To their credit I never told them I didn't like the things they got me, that felt like it would be super rude, but it was hurtful and uncomfortable enough over the years that I stopped talking about my birthdays in hopes they would just forget.
Final score:
72points
#35
When I was seven, my great-grandma bought my 2 cousins hundreds of dollars worth of toys, which I got to see them open. Then I was given my gift, volume 1 of an animal encyclopedia that you got for free with any purchase at the grocery store. I was pretty excited at first thinking about all the books I was going to have to read when the rest of the series came, until I found out volume 1 was the entirety of my present.
Final score:
70points
#36
The Evil Goat Puzzle. My uncle took a photo of some mountain goats, got the photo turned into a 2,000-piece puzzle, and gave it to my grandparents. It would've been cool, but the resolution of the photo was so bad, and the colors were all the same (just gray, black, brown, and white) so it took us MONTHS to finish. Every time anyone visited my grandparents, they'd have to work on the Evil Goat Puzzle. My grandparents just couldn't manage it on their own.
(Oh, I forgot to mention! When my grandparents first started working on the Evil Goat Puzzle, my uncle decided to help them. They made a lot of progress in the first couple of days. Unfortunately, they'd started it on the kitchen counter, so they had to move it to another table. My grandma was about to move it using some cardboard, but my uncle got frustrated and took the whole thing apart. It was a bad, bad day.)
Final score:
69points
#37
Used foot lotion. It was a secret Santa in the family that year. My youngest sister gave it to me. I guess she was too young to realize she could spend money instead of stealing it from our mom's closet 🤷♀️
Final score:
68points
#38
I still laugh about this. I absolutely do not like cake. Don't like the texture. Don't like the sweetness. Just not a fan. Never was. For my birthday I always ask for a pie instead of a cake. My wife and I were together for several years at this point and she knows my unusual dislike of cake and had always gotten me some type of pie. I loved every one. One year. She gets me a chocolate cake. I'm weird and don't like chocolate either. The wife and kids were happy to finish the cake. I bought myself a pie during my lunch break.
Final score:
62points
#39
I got a sponge with a face drawn on it for my birthday, courtesy of my Uncle Corey. He didn't get any birthday cake.
Final score:
60points
*Displayname*=idk 2 years ago (edited)
My dad got a potato dressed like him. He was "El Papa" because dad in Spanish is "papa" and so is potato. He lasted two years in the freezer. We threw him out once we moved because he went bad on the trip.
#40
Got a trip to spain from my mother. As soon as we took of, she told me I have to pay for it.
Final score:
58points
Richard Smith 2 years ago
Tell her, "Yeah, that's OK. I'll just have to save up for it." Then write her a check and put it in her casket.
#41
A baby pink, polyester pants suit with a matching bejeweled sweater. For my 30th birthday. Apparently I was a “grown up” now and expected to dress as such. Shrug.
Final score:
56points
Rachel Reynolds 2 years ago
I'm 40 and currently wearing a Boba Fett sweatshirt over a Bad Batch tanktop. And socks with pumpkins on them.
#42
my dad gave me a pizza pan he originally bought to try out on a frozen pizza because he forgot to buy me an actual gift
Final score:
53points
#43
not me, but my husband. my mother didn't like him, but then again, she didn't like anyone. she gave my husband a mcdonalds happy meal toy one year. and another year, she gave my brother cans of slimfast, all wrapped individually.
Final score:
53points
#44
One year, I gave lovely gifts to my brother, his wife and two kids for Christmas - but all I got was a fake potatohead with watercress for hair.
I kept waiting for the 'real' gift, but none came...
Final score:
47points
#45
nothing at all! any and all gifts are appreciated here
What do you think ?
Whalen With An N 2 years ago
As a gay man, people always think I want a gift that speaks to me being gay. Every time straight male friends of ours go on vacation and bring us back a souvenir, it's something d**k-shaped. Bottle opener, wine opener, squirt gun, soap, etc. I have a d**k and so does my husband, but everything isn't d**k-shaped in our house. Also, we don't fly a gay flag on our house, we fly an American flag, but man do we get tons of gay flag stuff as well. Just buy us thoughtful gifts that represent us and not just gay s**t. Geez.
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
Yeah being treated as one-dimensional is f*****g tedious. I used to do a lot of IT work and people always assumed I wanted s**t like windows installer disks. Like, really? No thanks. (a) I hate it, (b) I am not just IT. But TBH even tho I am "straight" I'd love a soap squirt gun shaped like a penis, so please feel free to regift. That sounds hilarious.
Load More Replies...
Christopher Bashimoto 2 years ago
Got a wedding present from an old boss. It was a $20.00 Starbucks gift card that had about $7.00 remaining on it.
Karen Philpott 1 year ago
Buy the coffee, and send him the empty cup for his birthday.
Load More Replies... Whalen With An N 2 years ago
As a gay man, people always think I want a gift that speaks to me being gay. Every time straight male friends of ours go on vacation and bring us back a souvenir, it's something d**k-shaped. Bottle opener, wine opener, squirt gun, soap, etc. I have a d**k and so does my husband, but everything isn't d**k-shaped in our house. Also, we don't fly a gay flag on our house, we fly an American flag, but man do we get tons of gay flag stuff as well. Just buy us thoughtful gifts that represent us and not just gay s**t. Geez.
censorshipsucks 1 year ago
Yeah being treated as one-dimensional is f*****g tedious. I used to do a lot of IT work and people always assumed I wanted s**t like windows installer disks. Like, really? No thanks. (a) I hate it, (b) I am not just IT. But TBH even tho I am "straight" I'd love a soap squirt gun shaped like a penis, so please feel free to regift. That sounds hilarious.
Load More Replies... Christopher Bashimoto 2 years ago
Got a wedding present from an old boss. It was a $20.00 Starbucks gift card that had about $7.00 remaining on it.
Karen Philpott 1 year ago
Buy the coffee, and send him the empty cup for his birthday.
Load More Replies...
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