13 People Share the Worst Christmas Presents They’ve Ever Received

Besides decorating and enjoying festive entertainment and food, the other big thing that makes the holiday season the holiday season is shopping for presents.

Some people really like shopping and are true pros at picking out the perfect gifts for everyone on their list. This is a talent that not everyone has. That’s why wish lists exist. Even Santa wants kids to tell him what they want for Christmas so he doesn’t have to guess.

Other people seem to be in their own world when it comes to gift giving. By that, we mean that they really don’t seem to have the knack for picking out gifts. Maybe they’re just lazy about it, but some of the gifts seem deliberately bad, like, as if they thought this was a white elephant gift exchange instead of a real gift that someone is actually supposed to like.

Reddit user James_Camer0n asked the community, “Dear Reddit, what was the worst gift you got in Christmas?”

Scroll down to read about some seriously bad Christmas presents. Please, do not give anyone any of these things this holiday season. This year has been difficult enough to get a disappointing gift.

  1. I Thought It Was a Nintendo

    Reddit user anthonymyers3000 wrote:

    I got a Nintendo system for Christmas right after they first came out. It was what I asked for, but the game seemed a lot more fun in the commercials. The game I got was called “Staring Contest”. You played against Walter Mondale, the idea was not to blink your eyes before he did.Years later my mother admitted that she just taped an 8″ by 10″ photograph of Mondale to the TV screen, and the “Nintendo” machine was really just a shoe box with a cat toy for the controller.

  2. Actual Coal

    lmMrMeeseeksLookAtMe shared:

    My parents actually got me coal one year. They usually filled my stocking with candy and little games but that year I just got coal.I ran through my head every bad thing I could have done that year. I decided it was because I started using curse words. I almost cried because I thought I was on the naughty list for good.

  3. Not Nearly an Equal Gift

    dallasdreamer added:

    One year my brother and sister got Nintendo DS’s. I got a small tin of peppermint Christmas tea. I was 15, so it’s not like it was a lame adult gift. Worst thing is, knowing my mom she bought it right after the previous Christmas to keep as a random gift for whoever she felt like giving it to. I was the lucky winner who got it… point is, it was easy to tell who she loved more that year.

  4. My Own Umbrella

    SulfurTongue wrote:

    My mom once gave me an umbrella. Not just any umbrella, but my own umbrella. One that she had given me the year before. I had left it in the garage next to my golf bag during the winter, she wrapped it up and gave it to me again.

  5. Very Unthoughtful

    rhetoricetc explained:

    NOTHING. Years ago. After flying across the country, buying thoughtful gifts and cards for each person (father, stepmother, half-sister), on minimum wage, and watching them open their presents while slowly realizing they hadn’t even gotten me a card. They are very well off financially and spoil my half-sister like crazy.

  6. What Was Grandma Thinking?

    huphelmeyer wrote:

    A purse full of tampons from my grandmother when I was 7. I’m a male.

  7. A Good Gift for Someone Else

    CDC_ explained:

    I guess it would be baseball stuff. My dad is a good guy and he really tried. But he was always OBSESSED with getting me into sports, and I just couldn’t get into them at all.

  8. Hardly Seems Fair

    TITTY-PICS-INBOX-NAO added:

    When I was 10 years old I got a 2 pack of toilet paper with a note that said you’ll use it” and a coupon for buy one get one free small fries at McDonald’s from my step-grandmother. She got my half brothers video games, gift cards and books.

  9. Not Really Appropriate

    Written by TurningWater:

    My dad was a drunk. He got me a “Happy 21st birthday” card and a $10 gas gift card. I was 9 years old.

  10. A Great Gift for a Baby

    45MinutesOfRoadHead shared:

    You know those little cardboard books that are like 4 pages long and meant for babies?My aunt got me one of those when I was 16.

  11. A Really Bad Christmas

    Shared by almightygt:

    My parents got divorced shortly before Christmas so that year was already ruined for me. However, I was really into photography at the time and begged my parents for one of those cheap digital cameras. Well my parents both got me the same crappy digital camera at their respective Christmas gift giving days. The feeling of getting one of what I wanted? Amazing. The feeling of getting 2 of what I wanted because my parents weren’t together anymore? Crappy.

  12. Not a Romantic Gift

    IamIrene explained:

    For our first Christmas together, my ex got me windshield wiper fluid, de-icing fluid, new wiper blades and a scraper. So romantic.The whole marriage was like that, obviously it didn’t last very long.

  13. “Slightly Damaged”

    blue_surfboard added:

    A few years ago, my mom got a gift from one of the ladies at church who is a family friend. The gift was labeled to my mom, but intended for the family. She would normally get us something small, but the gifts got worse. One particular year- one large pack of generic white socks. Included on the pack- a label that said “Slightly Damaged.” Gee thanks.