c/bad-gift-hall-of-fame

Socks with toes vs regular socks, the Christmas my aunt proved everyone wrong

My aunt gave me toe socks two years ago and I laughed about it for months. Then I wore them on a 6 mile hike in Asheville and my blisters disappeared, so now I'm torn. Is a gift bad if it actually works better than what you'd pick yourself, or does weirdness still count against it?

Unpopular take: my grandma's fruitcake was actually good before she switched recipes

Everyone piles on fruitcake, but hers was dense, boozy, and only got better after a month in the tin. Then she swapped to a low sugar version in 2016 because her doctor said so. Now it tastes like cardboard with green lumps. I actually miss the original, not the gag gift version everyone posts about. Am I the only one who had a relative ruin a perfectly awful gift by trying to improve it?

The year my uncle gave me a singing bass, I wanted to kill him until I saw his face

My Uncle Ray from Austin gave me that stupid mounted fish that sings "Don't Worry Be Happy" for my 30th birthday in 2018. I was so mad I almost tossed it in the dumpster behind my apartment on 5th Street. But then my cousin Danny, who's 8, came over and pressed the button about 20 times laughing his head off. Seeing that kid lose it made me realize the gift wasn't for me, it was for making someone's day, so now it sits in my garage and I still hate it, but I get it. Anyone else keep a terrible gift just because of a memory attached to it?

That $75 'mystery box' from my aunt was actually a pile of single socks

I laughed at the wrapping paper until I found a gift receipt showing she paid full price for a grab bag of odd socks at a mall kiosk in Reno, so now I'm warning everyone to check for receipts before you judge, has anyone else gotten a gift that looked like a joke but was actually a scam?

A jar of pickled herring from my uncle, 8 years running

My uncle in Duluth gives me the exact same jar of pickled herring every Christmas. Last year I finally cracked it open just to see, and it was expired by 11 months. I told him thanks anyway, but now I keep it on a shelf and call it my annual science experiment. Anyone else get a repeat gift that never gets used but somehow keeps coming back?

The year my aunt gave me a singing fish, I actually loved it

Everyone in my family rips on that wall-mounted fish that sings 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' whenever someone walks by. My aunt got it for me back in 2017 for my apartment in Denver, and honestly it's the best gift I never asked for. It's not useful, it's not classy, but it makes every single visitor laugh or groan, and that's kind of the point of a gift. I used to expect practical stuff like gift cards or socks, but now I sort of collect weird things from relatives because they're way more memorable. Anyone else secretly keep a terrible gift just for the stories it brings?

The year my aunt gave me a singing fish, and the critique that came after

Okay so for my 30th birthday my aunt handed me this giant plastic bass that sings 'Don't Worry Be Happy' when you press its button. I laughed and put it on my shelf as a joke, but then my cousin saw it and said 'that's the kind of gift you regift to someone you don't like.' At first I was annoyed, but she had a point... I kept it for 2 years out of guilt, then donated it after a garage sale where nobody even looked at it twice. Now I ask myself: if a gift only gets a laugh for 5 seconds, is it actually a good joke or just a lazy present? Has anyone else gotten a gag gift that aged poorly once the novelty wore off?

Warning: my aunt's handmade candle melted in 20 minutes and ruined my dining table

She put a toy dinosaur inside because I like Jurassic Park. Did not think about the wax getting hot enough to seep through the glass. It dripped all over the table and left a stain I can't scrub out. Cost me $80 to refinish the top. Anyone else get a craft gift that straight up damaged their furniture?

My aunt gave me a singing fish that only works when it's raining

Last Christmas in Tulsa she handed me this bass that belts out 'Don't Worry Be Happy' but only if moisture hits the sensor, so I've heard it go off exactly twice since, and both times I just stood there confused, has anyone else gotten tech that depends on weather?

Vent: my sister got me a singing toilet seat for Christmas and I had to choose between silence and the 7 a.m. encore

I picked silence for 3 days until my nephew found the demo button, now every flush in my Dallas apartment sounds like Mariah Carey, has anyone else gotten a gag gift that outlived its joke?

My grandma's 2005 fruitcake finally made it full circle

I mean, my grandma has given me the same homemade fruitcake every December for like 10 years now. She wraps it in foil and puts a little bow on it, and I always just regift it to my uncle since he thinks it's hilarious. Last week I saw a post on a local garage sale group in Des Moines where someone was selling a 'vintage fruitcake from 2005' for $5, and I swear it had the same faded ribbon pattern my grandma uses. I zoomed in and the foil was shaped exactly like her loaf pan, idk if it's actually hers but the idea that this thing has been circulating between relatives and strangers for almost 20 years cracked me up. Has anyone else ever tracked a terrible gift that kept getting regifted back to them somehow?

My grandmother's knitted cell phone cozy from 2018 finally has a use

Three years ago my grandma gave me this lumpy knitted thing that fit nothing and looked like a sad potato with a flap. Last week I found it in a box while cleaning out my truck and realized it perfectly holds my tire pressure gauge and a few quarters. Last month my cousin saw it and laughed so hard she choked on her soda, then asked if grandma could make her one for her garage keys. Has anyone else had a useless gift turn into something you actually use years later, or did you just toss it?

I looked up how many fruitcakes get thrown away each year and the number is wild...

My aunt gave me a singing fish plaque for my birthday 3 years ago and it still hangs in my garage

I was at a garage sale last week and saw the exact same model of singing bass plaque that my aunt gave me for my 30th birthday, still in the box with the $2 price tag on it. That's when I realized she probably bought it at a garage sale herself, you know, like a regift from a stranger. Anyone else ever figure out their "thoughtful" gift was actually something someone else didn't want?

Got a used tamagotchi from my aunt last Christmas and I'm still mad about it

My aunt gave me a beat up tamagotchi from 1997 last December at her place in Denver. She swore it was "vintage and valuable" but the screen is scratched to hell and it doesn't even turn on. Then my cousin got a $50 Amazon gift card right in front of me. Does anyone else have a relative who gives you their old junk and calls it a gift, or is my aunt just special?

My brother gave me a half-used candle he found in his car last Christmas

The wick was literally black and crusty from being lit before and it smelled like his air freshener mixed with old french fries. Has anyone else gotten something that was clearly just dug out of someone's junk pile?

My uncle gave me a singing fish plaque three years in a row

First year I laughed it off. Second year I thought he forgot he already gave me one. Third year I just stared at him while he was wrapping it and he said "you never hang the first two up so I figured you needed a third." Do I just give up and start a collection?

That time my aunt gave me a self-help book about decluttering... while holding a gift receipt for a clearance sale

So I'm at my birthday dinner last February at this Italian place in Cleveland, and my aunt hands me a wrapped book. I open it and it's "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" which is fine I guess, but then I see the price sticker still on it - $1.99 from the clearance bin at Half Price Books. She literally paid two bucks for a used book about getting rid of stuff and gave it to me as a gift. I smiled and said thanks while my cousin was cracking up behind me. Has anyone else gotten a gift that was basically a passive aggressive insult wrapped in a bow?

My $200 bidet that turned into a bathroom flood

Back in 2020 I thought I was being smart and bought one of those fancy electric bidets off Amazon for around $200. Figured it would save me on toilet paper and make me feel like I was living in the future. Spent a whole Saturday installing it with the wrong tools and stripped a fitting in the process. First time I used it the thing shot water everywhere and I had to mop up my entire bathroom floor. My wife still brings it up every time I mention buying something new for the house. Anyone else ever get burned by a gadget that was supposed to make life easier?

Rant: my dad gave me a "gift" for 6 years straight that was just stuff he wanted for himself

I was going through old photos and realized that from age 14 to 20, every Christmas and birthday from my dad was something HE liked. Fishing gear when I never fished. A tool set when I was 16. A hunting vest. Last year I finally asked him about it and he said "well I figured you'd grow into it." I'm 38 now and still haven't touched a fishing pole. Anyone else get gifts that were clearly for the giver?

I always thought my aunt was nuts for wrapping a 5-pound bag of onions

She gave it to me two Christmases ago and I kinda just shoved it in the pantry annoyed. Then last week I read a post on here about how someone's grandma gifted them a bulk bag of garlic and it saved their meal prep for weeks. I actually used those onions in three different dinners and realized she was just being practical and not weird. Has anyone else had a gift that seemed bad at first but actually turned out smart?

Still mad about that $40 'as seen on TV' pasta pot

Bought one of those self-draining pasta pots from an infomercial for $40. The handle broke off on the third use and boiling water went everywhere. Has anyone else gotten burned by one of those TV gimmicks?

My aunt got me a 'self-stirring mug' for Christmas

It runs on 4 AA batteries and the little plastic stirrer broke off on my first cup of hot cocoa 10 minutes in. Has anyone else gotten a gift that literally stopped working on day one?

My wife gave me a choice between a new grill or a weekend fishing trip for my birthday

I picked the fishing trip because I thought it would be more fun. She booked us at this lake near Austin and it rained the whole time, plus I forgot the bait. Now I'm staring at our rusty grill every time I cook burgers and wondering if I made a huge mistake. Has anyone else picked the experience over the thing and totally regretted it?

My aunt gave me a literal rock for Christmas last year and I was mad until she explained it

I was so ready to post this in the Hall of Fame but then my aunt called me last week and told me she picked it up from this spot in Sedona where she spread my uncle's ashes back in 2018. Said it was 'a piece of the place he loved most' and not just a random rock from her yard. Still weird as a gift but now I feel kinda bad for laughing about it with my friends. Has anyone else gotten something that seemed awful until you found out the story behind it?