Have You Ever Given a Bad Gift?

Yes, yes I did, T.. To this day, I don't know what I was thinking. It seemed like such a good idea at the time. My niece had just met her soon to be husband and this was the first holiday that we would be spending with him in the fam.

I got him Tazmanian Devil floormats for his car. He was, in fact, a grown a$$ man of nearly 30. My niece had just told me he liked the Tazmanian devil on the cell phone. I was standing outside the bathroom door in the car care section of the Target waiting for my son to finish going. They were there, hanging on the wall, looking all Tazzy. It just happened.

Absolutely not!

LOL - I don't think so. Some people get the generic stuff (hand lotions, candles, etc) but those are all work people - not family and friends.

Aside from the gifts I didn't give because I couldn't afford to, I think the worst gift I ever gave was to my brother... when he finally moved into a house with his wife, I baked them this big, beautiful apple pie and wrote out a heart felt 'welcome home' card... um, totally forgot my brother is deathly allergic to apples. My SIL enjoyed it though! ;)

Yeah, I bought my MIL a really nice electric carving knife after watching her struggle to carve the Thanksgiving turkey. I thought it was a very useful gift, but the next Christmas when I was wrapping presents (the presents my in-laws were giving out), she gave it to me and asked me to wrap it up for her brother. Ouch!

Fortunately I married a great gift giver- he makes the lists and I check it twice! Seriously... he's one of those people who pays attention when someone casually mentions something... writes it down in a notebook and will remind me before a birthday or Christmas of what that person said.

Last year for Mother's Day, he bought MY mother a new shower head with a weighted shower curtain because theirs was old and loud. The "old plumbing" in their house wasn't matched well with the "new fixtures". She commented on our curtain more than once so he bought it for her and then installed it all. She LOVED it!

Me? Much less creative, so I leave it to him!

I try to give thoughtful gifts but they tend to backfire - lol. My Mom is notorious for pretty much hating everything she gets - it's a running joke in my family. Well - one year I decided to get them tickets to a lacrosse tournament (they are big big fans and I checked the appropriateness by asking one the their close friends) and they said yes yes yes! So I buy the tics - money is kinda tight cause we're due to have a baby in February and had to spend around $1000 just to get back home to celebrate - so my sister and I split the cost - spent $60 a piece. Well - my mom seemed happy with the gift - but a week or so later I got an email from my other sister saying "Mom and Dad are really upset cause you only spent $60 on their gift and we all know how much money you guys have (not sure where THAT came from - we're middle class at best) and you need to do some explaining." I simply called her and cried (hormonal crazy preggie lady) and said sorry I couldn't afford to get you more but thought it was something you would really like. The kicker is about a year later we were talking about gifts and I said I'm never on the mark and my mom pops up and says "well what about those awesome tickets you gave us a last year - we loved them."

Family...lol

Oh sure!
I truly hate giving the generic gifts that would be just "fine" for any recipient. You know....shower gel, hand lotion, mug, lottery tickets for a co-worker, etc.

And I really admire people that have that "knack" for picking out the exact RIGHT thing for just the right person!

No! All my gifts are awesome and everyone thinks I'm great!!! hahahaha! One year I didn't know my Aunt would have my cousin (his parents are divorced) so I didn't have anything for him at our house to open. He was supposed to be with his dad and I thought I had more time to get him something when we celebrated later but for some reason those plans fell through and my Aunt didn't tell me! I felt like doggy dodo. I would have grabbed something from my kids but I only had my DD and I didn't think he would want a barbie! Yikes!

Yes, although I had no idea it was a bad gift until it was opened. My sister is an artist and she always gets art supplies, etc as gifts. One year for Xmas, I thought that I would 'think outside the box' and giver her a non-art gift. So, I bought her a set of bocce balls since she'd mentioned she was now living next to a nice park. My intention was to make her feel like a whole, rounded person with many interests and not just an "artist" and that's it. When she opened the gift, she looked so hurt! It was awful!

I'm sure I have given many not-so-well-thought-out gifts but the ones
that stick out in my mind are the wedding gifts I used to give when I
was 18-24.

Instead of going off of the registry, I used to put together a basket of:
champagne or wine glasses, bottle of wine or champagne, cloth dinner
napkins, napkin rings, candles w/candle holders, a framed poem I
had written myself about love etc.

It wasn't until I was much older and got married that I realized how needed some of the things people listed on their registries (toasters,
blenders, mixers etc.)

The only upside?: 3 of my friends that are still married that I have given those baskets to still have those glasses. They use them, I've drank out of them when I visited, they still have their framed poems up etc.

So? :) You live and learn. ;)

I put a lot of thought into my gifts .. so not sure if someone has ever disliked them (for their good, they didn't tell me :) however.. I feel this way, you needn't feel bad... you put a lot of thought into that gift.. don't feel like a jerk... your intention was pure and good..

my feelings... people should STOP complaining.. you get what you get.. act happy and if you don't like it.. take it back or donate..

A good friend once bought me a straw hat and "matching" straw purse... YIKES.. I mean.. we have no hay rides here in the big city.......... :) but nonetheless, I thanked her and smiled...

I have a time or two, I two am super sensitive about watching reactions and being very careful to "feel" out what people want. Though a fall short a few times.
I got my ex-mother in law a book about Home Improvement Tips and Idea, only because we had been discussing it earlier and she was saying her husband is no help and she needs better ideas. When she received it she was really disappointed and made sure to put on the drama. I felt bad and found out later she took it as a hint that her home cleaning skills were under par. OMG that was never the intention but it was too late. She hated me till I divorced my husband.

I dont think there ever was a post about being embarrassed before about gifts so I will mention it here. I was SO tired of getting the WORST gifts at my ex-husbands office party. They played this dumb game where you put all the gifts on the table, pick a number, sit in a chair in a circle, go ot the table when your number is called, pick a random gift, and sit and wait for someone to steal it or you steal someone elses. I think it was so DUMB. I always picked some cruddy gift. NO ONE would steal it so i could go get a better one. I think some people there would seed the table with $hitty gifts in order for more stealing to go on. I was the schmuck that got them all. Used Sweater Fuzz Buster one year, the next NO KIDDING it was a lump of coal in a tin, the next a lady bug shaped fan. SO the fourth year I bought a cool animal 360 day calendar. Wrapped it, snuck it in there, and picked it out for me when it was my turn, see no one else had gotten it. WOOT I was golden, until my not so funny, and slightly drunk ex exclaims from across the room " HEY isnt that the calendar you BOUGHT? HOW did you get it?" Lets just say I was every shade of red I could be, I excused my self for being ill, and never went again for the next 5 years we were married.

I always believe its the thought that counts! I really do appreciate people's kindness...However, I didn't appreciate receiving a used gift. It was a sachet set in a satin box. They no longer had the perfume smell and the box was stained...Please people..if you regift make sure its a brand new item. LOL!

I have! When my nephew was 3 some store had a promotion where you got a free giant stuffed Spongbob if you spent so much money. We bought him and his siblings their regular gifts off the list and got the free toy. We didn't have kids so decided to give it to him as a smaller second gift (and get the others something small as well.) We knew his mom wasn't crazy abotu Spongebob but we didn't know how serious it was until he opened the gift and burst into tears saying, "no... not Spongebob. Spongebob is BAD. Mommy says he is rude." Oh, we felt so bad.
Years later it is a great story we tell every year. Now things have come back full circle. My husband HATES Spongebob and I could totally see my 3 year old daughter saying, "Daddy says Spongebob is stupid!"

Aww. I can see that you were trying to commemorate something huge in NYC history and that she might want it, somber as it was. But yeah....that would not be a nice face to witness, lol. My friends and family often make me buy gifts for them to give to others, because I am actually a really good shopper and really good at coming up with stuff people will like and feel special for. That's a "talent" I suppose, so I can't think of any thing except the FEW times when I gave my friend gift cards and felt terrible for it. However, my dad is a great one to tell on.
Let's see: I'm super easy. So besides getting a Barbie doll from my aunt every year, and one year a pack of panties under the tree (SERIOUSLY?), I've been happy with most gifts. The exception would be my dad. Who....is special. I tore 3 ligaments in my knee playing soccer, and couldn't walk. Dad bought me a bike for my birthday...I can imagine that he didn't realize I wouldn't be able to bend my knee (for years) that high to pedal and that he thought it'd be a less impact exercise...except that it was IMPOSSIBLE for me to do. (A decade and surgery later, there's still only one type of bike I can ride, where the pedals are out in front, not under you). But the problem is not in the bike. It's that he bought it from Walmart, but MAILED it to me. In pieces. In a box, lol! No site to store? No Walmart gift card to go get one? Nope, he wanted to spend the same price as the bike to mail me one. And then it was in pieces. That was pretty special (but of course I told him it was awesome).
He beat that by far though when he mailed my THREE YEAR OLD SON his Christmas gift: an adult Dictionary, Thesaurus, and highlighter set (with the price tag that said "clearance: $2"). A free Army beach towel (the kind you get at concerts if you can do 10 push ups in a row by the Army booth: I know, I went to a lot of concerts, lol). And 3 used (read WORN) Dora and Princess books that were hand me downs from my sister who was 7 at the time. And finally, a pack of bubble gum. That was the stuff that my 3 year old boy got from a wealthy grandpa for Christmas. Very special.
I would LOVE the bocce balls Melissa gifted. I see people play that on the beach and it looks fun.

Not sure I go with Gift Cards or KU shirts or other things that are useful however this year i'm only doing $10.00 each to my husbands nieces they are so ungrateful they gripe & grumble over everything so with that in mind I really didn't feel the need to splurge on BBW for them as I would of any other time.They are teens so no matter what nothing will make them happy at this time.I also don't go over board on who I need to buy for it is usually my parents his parents my sis,bil & brother, nephews,nieces & that is it on his side we don't buy for our bils & sils nor do I buy fo all my aunts uncles grandparents come on I have to draw the line some where if not it would be chaos of debt that is not necessary

Although my story is not as "sensitive" I recieved a horrible cookie jar that was shaped like a big bright green giant bulb......I regifted to my neighbor and filled it with homemade cookies. She decorates her house every year and I have YET to see that thing LOL. BTW I do like my neighbor, i just thought she would enjoy the cookie jar.

I have given a bad gift, but it was anonymously. My office did a "white elephant" exchange one year and being new to the corporate world, I looked it up online. I got the impression it was supposed to be funny and gag gifts. Well, I guess I took it to the extreme. I created a package full of all things "gas" related: can of beans, box of gas x, air freshener and a gift card to a Mexican restaurant (supposedly my redemption). LOL. I really felt bad because I walked away with a gift card for a massage!

What's funny is that the person who ended up with the package was named T. and from Grand Prairie, TX (I used to live in Arlington). Did I just tell on myself, LMBO!!!