With the holiday season upon us, presents are on top of many people’s minds.When it comes to the receiving end, a survey from Novemberfoundthat 43 percent of Americans would be the happiest if they got money, making it the most desired gift this year.But not all letters reach Santa in time. A few days ago, RedditorLeading_War_5847made aposton the platform, asking everyone what’s the worst thing they found under the Christmas tree, and it already has nearly 15,000 replies.From a bottle of shampoo to a case of toilet paper, here are the ones that earned the most upvotes, or sympathy, if you will.Image credits:Leading_War_5847This post may includeaffiliate links.
With the holiday season upon us, presents are on top of many people’s minds.
When it comes to the receiving end, a survey from Novemberfoundthat 43 percent of Americans would be the happiest if they got money, making it the most desired gift this year.
But not all letters reach Santa in time. A few days ago, RedditorLeading_War_5847made aposton the platform, asking everyone what’s the worst thing they found under the Christmas tree, and it already has nearly 15,000 replies.
From a bottle of shampoo to a case of toilet paper, here are the ones that earned the most upvotes, or sympathy, if you will.
Image credits:Leading_War_5847
This post may includeaffiliate links.
When my wife and I first got married her parents hated me. One year they got me a woman’s sweater. It was very obviously a woman’s sweater too. The next Christmas I wore it over and my MIL asked my wife why I was wearing a woman’s sweater.
Okay mine was a good “seriously?“My boyfriend’s grandma is getting me a diamond ring. NOT AN ENGAGEMENT RING.She and I had gotten dinner while he was on a 3 week trip. She had a really unique diamond ring and I complimented the setting. So we got lunch on the 23rd so she could give me my Christmas present. I opened the box and was really confused because it was little plastic rings. I thought it was maybe something craft related (I crochet). Turns out it was for sizing a ring. And a piece of paper under it showing me the ring that was being custom made.So yeah. She said it’s a good “every day diamond”. So now I’m apparently a woman who has every day diamonds.
We managed to get in touch with Leading_War_5847, whose real name is Kate, and she was kind enough to have a little chat with us about her now-viral post and the discussion it has started.“Just before I blasted that question out to ther/AskRedditworld, I had pondered this and past years' gifts that had me mentally or verbally stating ‘…What? Why? Is this real life or did I really just open an avocado as a Christmas gift?’ (If you know the meme, you know),” she toldBored Panda.“I knew I wasn’t the only one who had these same thoughts and wanted to hear different strangers' responses!”
We managed to get in touch with Leading_War_5847, whose real name is Kate, and she was kind enough to have a little chat with us about her now-viral post and the discussion it has started.
“Just before I blasted that question out to ther/AskRedditworld, I had pondered this and past years' gifts that had me mentally or verbally stating ‘…What? Why? Is this real life or did I really just open an avocado as a Christmas gift?’ (If you know the meme, you know),” she toldBored Panda.
“I knew I wasn’t the only one who had these same thoughts and wanted to hear different strangers' responses!”
I got a positive one that made me say “seriously???” in an excited way. My husband got me a ring with our kids birthstones and it was so unexpected and touching. I also made a comment about the stocking thing going around about mom’s having empty stockings. He tries and puts a couple small things in. I mentioned it was such a fond memory having an over-stuffed stocking with a couple small gifts and loads of candy. My stocking was comically stuffed this year with some items even having to sit beside it. Bless this man.
Recovering gambling addict here, thankfully I managed to kick the habit before it totally ruined my life. This year I got a bunch of lottery scratch off cards. Had my wife do the honors with them, and joke is on my family, they actually won a decent amount of money. Nothing life changing but will definitely pay for some bills we knew were on the way.Yes, they knew about my addiction. They still have gotten me Texas hold-em poker sets when those were en vogue, and other gambling related stuff over the years. Despite my continued insistence they not, and pointing out that some of these would be like giving a recovering alcoholic a gift card to the liquor store.Ah, the gift of not being heard
$2k. I’m going into the 3rd month of my maternity leave and have exhausted my gov’t aid, PTO, and paid maternity leave hrs. We’re moving in two days to give my little one a new room. Money has been tight. My mom is retired, doesn’t have much, and lives in a other state. She gifted me 2k in cash and I’m still in disbelief. It’s going to help cover so many bills. Parents are amazing!
Kate releases poetry and other forms of self-expression on her blog, and whether it’s her compassionate nature shining through or not, she doesn’t necessarily believe in a “bad” Christmas present.
That being said, “there are well-thought-through, caring gifts, and last-minute, careless gifts. I personally prefer the first group!” she explained.
My dad gave me a hammer and pliers from his extensive tool collection. Wrapped it and everything 🤣Put it the gift bag with the baking dish he got me( which I wanted).I was like wtf until I realized the other day I told him I don’t know what happened to my pilers or hammer.
A bar set with very nice glasses from someone who knows I quit drinking after 30 years of alcohol abuse and a fatty liver disease diagnosis. It was my mom. My family just cannot process the idea of not consuming liquor every day.
Kate’s right. Research into the psychological side of the subject suggests there are two things to consider when giving someone a gift.
Thefirstis to make the recipient happy — that mostly depends on whether the gift is something they want.
So there’s no one universalthingfor all.
My sister and I bought each other the same orchid Lego set 🤣 it was a good “seriously” moment lmfao
This was an internal “seriously” that is now a running joke. I love whiskey and Star Wars. A few years ago, my wife got me a really cool Stormtrooper decanter and I absolutely love it! Then a few months later I got a promotion and my old branch gave me the same decanter as a going away gift. Then I got one from secret Santa last year. Now my Brother in Law is 21 and he is excited. He got me the same decanter.The great part is I love Star Wars and always have room for duplicates. Now I have a stormtrooper army to hold my whiskey. Plus somehow the original my wife got me is a higher quality so I will never mix it up with the others. I love them all but have to laugh at it lol.
The worst kind of gift, on the other hand, is neither desired nor thoughtful.
“This is why buying a gift can be so anxiety-inducing. There is a social risk involved,” heexplained.
MIL got me an ugly boxed up purse with the TJMaxx clearance sticker still attached. The box it came in was dusty and damaged.She got our family of five an expired popcorn assortment and a container of Jolly Rancher lollipops.Meanwhile, I gave her an engraved bracelet with her late husband’s handwriting on it.Please don’t gift just to gift. Put a little thought into it or don’t give anything.
I got my wife a 375 count pail of Reese Cups. Next year I might get her the 5 gallon bucket of pickles I found on Walmart. I’m still chasing the reaction I got the year I got her the book “How to Talk to Your Cat About Gun Safety: And Abstinence, Drugs, Satanism, and Other Dangers That Threaten Their Nine Lives”
My mom made pineapple upside down cake for dessert because she said she knows it’s my favourite… I’m allergic to pineapple
My boss regifted me a book that she’d never read. I had given it to her last year for Christmas.
My MIL, is very much a theme giver. My husband gets all things WVU because we’re alumni. My son gets everything saxophone related because that is what he plays. My daughter gets gifts with cats be he likes cats. I have been dealing with breast cancer for the past year. My birthday and Mother’s Day gifts were breast cancer related. I told to please not do that for Christmas. Well, she didn’t listen. She got me a breast cancer awareness shirt, Christmas ornament (because nothing screams Christmas like cancer), and a table top snow man decorating a Christmas tree with breast cancer ribbons. 🤦♀️. I was polite and said thank you but inside I wanted to scream ‘are you kidding me!’. I’m not sure if it is all going to good will or the trash.
3 bottles of wine. Every year for the past eight years I work in to a conversation with this person that I don’t drink. Usually at a dinner or party “can I get you a drink?” Thank you, I’m good with water, I don’t drink alcohol.Every year I get wine.
Good “…seriously,” my husband not only got me tickets to the bowl game of my absolute favorite team, he had a legendary player from said team cameo to tell me. Many tears were had
Cheap bath set I’m allergic to. Every year, twice a year, for 20 years.
My dad got me a fire blanket. And then the next day, my wife’s aunt got me… the exact same fire blanket. I can only surmise that there’s some conservative lunatic podcaster advertising fire blankets.
I’m bald. I got shampoo…
I didn’t get a Christmas gift…again. Nothing. Seriously? My husband promised ski lessons last year that never materialized. This year he claimed (on Christmas Day morning) that the new coat I bought on sale two months ago was my gift. Sigh. 😔
I keep getting kitchen appliances every year, despite making it very well known I don’t have a square inch of countertop space to spare in my kitchen.
A personalized gift with my name misspelled
Nothing. I got nothing for Christmas this year at all.
Not me but my husband… his mom got him a tshirt with an ugly monkey in an army uniform on it, weird but whatever, that is until she told him she got it because she thought it looked like him. 😂
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I once got a beard trimmer only to discover that it had been used and put back in the box with curlies!
My sister gave my 15 yo son a flame thrower. 🤨
My sister got a book from my grandmother titled “Proper Etiquette.”She proceeded to tell her in front of the whole family that “She’ll be more likely to make the boys stay after reading it!”My sister just smiled and carried on.
I got a REALLY nice whiskey set from the MIL. Four tumblers, 12 bullet ice cubes, a decanter, and a high priced bottle of whiskey.I don’t drink…..
The same holiday set of s****y body wash I’ve been throwing away since I was like 17Edit: to stop the notifications the throwing away bit was for dramatic flair- it’s already in the donate bag with some other well-meant but not useful to me gifts that I’ll donate next week.
I got put into a 10k run. Unbeknownst to me
My grandparents gave my parents a framed picture of a random little boy and nobody knows who it isEdit: no it’s not the one that came with the frame
My son bought me a gallon of WD40. A gallon! Of WD40!I looked him straight in the eye and said, “this is the most alpha present I’ve ever received”
A bird house made out of bird seed.The premise of the gift is for the birds to eat themselves into homelessness?
A couple’s massage from my sister. My divorce is almost finalized and I’m not seeing anyone.
I asked for a jigsaw puzzle that had 300-1000 pieces.I received three jigsaw puzzles with 100 pieces each.
My brother gave me a bright orange wallet. Because you like orange so much, he said while flashing the wallet I gave him a few years ago. It’s red. He’s colour blind.
I have a 6 month old daughter. Brother figured an age appropriate gift would be a skateboard. Go figure
Whitening toothpaste. That’s all I got.
Case of toilet paper?So 2020.
First gift I opened said it was from my mom. There was a small jewelry box which I opened to find FOUR MOLARS.My sister starts cracking up. They’re her wisdom teeth LMAO. Her husband even found something with my mom’s handwriting on it to make the tag believable.
A shoe size measuring tool. Like a full on metal one that’s you’d see at a shoe store.
Rub on tattoos….I have real tattoos.
Cheese slicers…didn’t have any until now. For some reason my family thought it would be funny to get me FIVE different ones..
Two headbands bought at a craft fair. I’m 35 and have never worn headbands in my life. That was the only thing I got. Which is fine, just confusing. Thanks, mom.
I used to give family friends gift cards to Nordstrom or whatever and I always without fail, got the Ghirardelli peppermint bark squares. Now I love those… but like the jumbo bags, the snowman variation and the minis… for years…. Annoying. I stopped giving them gifts lol
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