'Grandma got me a dollar store electric toothbrush': 40+ People who were shocked by the terrible presents they received on Christmas morning

Author image for Remy Millisky
Remy Millisky • Writer and Editor
Dec 11, 2023 3:00 PM EST

It's that time of the year to begin planning what you'll gift your friends and loved ones for the holidays. There are so many wonderful parts of the holiday season, and gathering with your favorite people for a meal and a gift exchange is one of those great times. 

Gift-giving is a common thing folks stress about during this time of year, though. There's always a few people in your circle who you just have no idea what to get for them. Then, when you ask them what they want, they insist they don't need anything. But if they're family, and you're getting presents for everyone, you'll still want to gift them a nice thing. 

Regardless of the present, we're taught pretty early in life to always react with positivity and gratefulness when we're given a gift. After all, that person took the time to go to the store and get a present and wrap it. At times, though, we're just left wondering what in the world was going through someone's head while they were picking said gift. These people below shared the worst presents they ever got, and it might make you feel better about your own personal worst-gift-ever moment. 

Next up, "Susan the Snack Stealer" tried to pull some shenanigans at the office potluck, but her colleagues were ready to confront her-- as a group.  

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 9848806400
    via JESHOOTS.COM on Unsplash
  • 02
    What's the worst Christmas present you have received?
    via u/[deleted]
  • 03
    + [deleted] My husbands step mother gave me, a 36 year old at the time, a kindergarten size back pack and when I opened it she said, "I actually bought that (a child) a few years for ago and she hated it so I threw it in a closet and I saw it and thought you'd like it. None of us did, we all think it's ugly." -
    via u/[deleted]
  • 04
    That same year they gave my 3 kids gifts totaling all together $15 with the clearance stickers on them while her biological granddaughter opened a $300 unicorn. Which they made sure we knew cost $300, and then they pointed out to everyone our clearance stickers and what great deals they were (they weren't), and then they made my kids leave the room so the grand daughter could take pics alone with her unicorn. It was the last Christmas we visited them. lol
    via u/[deleted]
  • 05
    El_Hijueputa Grandma got me a dollar store electric toothbrush. Y'all know that thing didn't even turn on
    via u/El_Hijueputa
  • 06
    BlueButterflies139 When I was 12 I bought myself a kindle. Me and my sister spent an entire summer working for our grandpa and stepdad to save up for them, each of us spending about 200$. My mom got all 3 of my brothers a kindle for Christmas and I got some Clothes from old navy.
    via u/BlueButterflies139
  • 07
    I was livid and when I talked to my mom about it she told me that my sister and I had been excluding our brothers from hanging out while we played videogames and it was unfair. She never apologized or saw anything wrong with what she did, and I honestly still haven't forgiven her almost a decade later.
    via u/BlueButterflies139
  • 08
    Ghostly Qbe A dishtowel.. I was 8 years old.
    via u/Ghostly Qbe
  • 09
    dariusz2k When the tomagotchi craze was in full swing my siblings and I asked for one. My sisters both got one, and I got a jacket because mine was torn up and small.
    via u/dariusz2k
  • 10
    When I asked my dad why I didn't get one and if Santa thought I did something bad that year. He told me I was too old for Santa and needed to learn life isn't fair. I was 8. My sisters were 7 and 5. From that point forward I only ever received clothing.
    via u/dariusz2k
  • 11
    beehaw7 So I was dating a guy for a few months when Christmas rolled around. He had recently started a new job that required travel and this was before smart phones and built in GPS in your car were common, so I splurged a bit and got him a Garmin to help him find his way. Thoughtful, useful, but not too sentimental; it felt perfect for where the relationship was at the time.
    via u/beehaw7
  • 12
    Due to schedules, we couldn't get together until a few days after Christmas. In my haste to go see him, I walked right out the door without his gift. I didn't realize it until I got to his house and I felt terrible, but he said, "No worries, I'|| give you your gifts now and I'll just get mine later." Cool. So he goes into the other room and comes back with two wrapped gifts. I noticed some of the paper was messed up like it had been rewrapped, but didn't think much of it in the moment.
    via u/beehaw7
  • 13
    I carefully unwrapped the first package. It was a MMA magazine. That had clearly been read. I was... confused. I do not like MMA. Not even a little bit. Nor have I ever expressed interest in MMA. Not once. He, on the other hand, loved all things MMA. Trying to move on, I politely thanked him, set the magazine down, and refocused on the next gift.
    via u/beehaw7
  • 14
    I could tell it was a DVD from the shape of the package. And indeed, it was a DVD. A Forrest Gump DVD. With the cellophane wrapper missing. Now don't get me wrong, Forrest Gump is a solid choice. Except, I already owned a Forrest Gump DVD. And now here I was suddenly the proud owner of a second copy that appeared used.
    via u/beehaw7
  • 15
    I again thanked him and sat there quietly, trying to wrap my head around how he could have arrived at the conclusion that a used magazine on a topic I didn't like and a secondhand DVD of something I already owned would make for good Christmas gifts. He also got a little quiet, then sheepishly volunteered, "I, uh, got bored so I watched the movie yesterday." I just stared.
    via u/beehaw7
  • 16
    "And then I, uh, hadn't seen that issue yet... so I went ahead and read through it. I think you'll really like it!" I slowly responded, "So... you got me a magazine because you wanted to read it and then watched the movie you got for me because you were bored?" His only response was, "Well yeah, I guess so." I left not long after. The next day, I returned the Garmin for a full refund.
    via u/beehaw7
  • 17
    About a week later, he called and said he didn't think it was working out. "No problem," I said, "I don't think it's working out either." As we were wrapping up the call, expressing well wishes and all that, he paused for a beat and said, "Hey, uh, were you still going to give me that Christmas present?" TLDR; MMA magazine that had been read and a used Forrest Gump DVD
    via u/beehaw7
  • 18
    ragedandobtused When I was 10 years old my grandparents gave me an unwrapped suitcase for Christmas. In the interests of convenience, they used that suitcase for the wrapped presents for my sisters.
    via u/ragedandobtused
  • 19
    tealgrayone The year I gave my ex husband a Tag Heuer watch he gave me a $19.99 Walmart blender. We already had 3 blenders.
    via u/tealgrayone
  • 20
    Swarhammer Since my dad isn't on Reddit I will share his story for him. When he was young he was bent on becoming a drummer. He would make full drum kits out of my grandmothers pots and pans and whatever he could find. Very detailed set ups. After months and months of building drum sets and drumming on anything he could find he woke up Christmas morning...to an acoustic guitar and guitar lessons.
    via u/Swarhammer
  • 21
    He told me he took a few lessons and would always end up flipping the guitar over in the class with the other students and just play it like bongos.
    via u/Swarhammer
  • 22
    vodkaenthusiast89 A set of miniature butter knives with ceramic fruit and vegetables as the handles. From an aunt who said that I was "So hard to shop for" I was 7
    via u/vodkaenthusiast89
  • 23
    Cheap Stay2750 A comic book that was laying around the house for several months which I read twice in this period. I didn't know it was supposed to be my surprise present.
    via u/Cheap Stay2750
  • 24
    Sea-Wonder722 A pencil
    via u/Sea-Wonder722
  • 25
    Stickmag A Lamborghini calender. My brother got a guitar and amp. My two sisters got a bike each. i hate Lamborghinis now
    via u/Stickmag
  • 26
    Downtown_Statement87 My mom asked what my 13- year-old daughter wanted for Christmas and I said, "she likes to sew." How this led to our entire extended family buying her nothing but yarn I do not know. That was 2 years ago and there's still so much yarn.
    via u/Downtown_Statement87
  • 27
    SpaceGhost817 I participated in a voluntary office Christmas exchange in 2012 with a $30 limit. My gift was a CD-R of the givers favorite album. I was less than enthused, but nonetheless slid the disc into my car to check it out only to find out that it was blank. The person had written the band name/album title on the disc, but forgot to actually burn a copy. Edit: it was supposed to be the album "Spit" by Kittie.
    via u/SpaceGhost817
  • 28
    + [deleted] My deadbeat dad brought nine year old girl me motel shampoo and an adult mens shirt he got for free. Wish I was joking.
    via u/[deleted]
  • 29
    ✪ [deleted] Titanic DVD, pirated copy, already seen it before twice, didn't have a case, just had Titanic written in marker pen, it didn't belong to the person who gifted it, the DVD was SCRATCHED AND DIDN'T EVEN PLAY!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 30
    funky_grandma One year I got what was actually a super cool present. My parents had worked for months putting together this awesome art kit. It was a big toolbox filled with good scissors, glue, paint, colored pencils, glitter, and every other thing a crafty little kid could want. The problem was, every time they would go upstairs to add to it, they had a running joke where they would say "we're going upstair to feed your present" or "we
    via u/funky_grandma
  • 31
    need to take your present for a walk tee tee tee". So of course on Christmas morning instead of being a little kid who was stoked to get a huge box of art supplies, I was a little kid who was devastated that I didn't get a puppy.
    via u/funky_grandma
  • 32
    psu777 Not one I got, one I didn't get. My mom crocheted my two sisters tablecloths and gave it to them in front of me. I just stood there, trying not to cry.
    via u/psu777
  • 33
    Yippee614 Every year my aunt gives our family "Thrift Santa" gifts, like a bunch, from thrift stores. The thing is, nothing relates to anything. The worst I've gotten are among a Kama Sutra book when I was 13/14 (awkward), and a New York Yankees baby onesie. I don't have kids, I don't watch baseball.
    via u/Yippee614
  • 34
    GerberGoo One time when I was 10 my mum gave me & by brother a packet of plastic rainbow bendy straws each for Christmas. She was mad at our dad for having brought us back 3 days late from his part of the holidays & took it out on us.
    via u/GerberGoo
  • 35
    Being a contrary soul, I happily took my brother's discarded pack & proceeded to make a million rainbow flutes that I would incessantly try to learn to play, for the next two months. I suspect she lived to regret her choice since I also never cleaned any of my discarded flutes up.
    via u/GerberGoo
  • 36
    BlackLetterLies An ex gave me an engagement ring for herself, on the idea that I would use it to propose to her. She also gave specific instructions on how and when I should do it, as well as stipulations that she would be the one planning our wedding. We had a terrible relationship and I had been planning on breaking up with her right after the holidays (which I did). I couldn't understand how she
    via u/BlackLetterLies
  • 37
    thought we were even close to being on the same page, and once it was all over I realized the obvious and what everyone was trying to tell me for 3 years--I was in an ab ive relationship. Still, who the buys a ring for someone to give back to them? It's just bad gifting.
    via u/BlackLetterLies
  • 38
    My sisters father. I wanted Pokemon sapphire or ruby so bad for Christmas it was the only thing I asked for. A few days before Christmas he came home with a GBA cartridge wrapped in wrapping paper and set it on one of the Christmas tree branches. He said "you can't open it until Christmas" excitedly so my 3rd grade brain assumed he had gotten what I asked for.
    via r/AskReddit
  • 39
    Christmas day comes and I open it immediately to see Ice Age 2: The Meltdown staring at me. It was the first time I faked liking a present. Edit: Holy thanks guys. For those wondering I did indeed get the game a year later, my moms good friend bought a used version of sapphire for me.
    via r/AskReddit
  • 40
    Eroe 777 Eons ago I worked for a company owned by the richest man in Minnesota. One year, all of us peons (and there were a couple thousand of us) got a copy of his book; it was al about how he became the richest man in Minnesota. Cheap 1.
    via u/Eroe 777
  • 41
    Automatic_Mulberry Cheap cologne (I don't wear cologne) that I suspect was shoplifted.
    via u/Automatic_Mulberry
  • 42
    JarlBum A barrel of Quaker Oats. It was J hilarious though
    via u/JarlBum
  • 43
    TheZ_27 My cousin once gave me an autographed picture of himself. Which was funny as so I didn't mind.
    via u/TheZ_27
  • 44
    Hummussed My grandpa was planning on giving me a tissue box with money in it (still not sure why) Anyway he wrapped the wrong box and I opened a box of tissues on Christmas morning
    via u/Hummussed
  • 45
    Legion_707 Last year my dad promised me a whole bunch of steaks at Christmas whenever i bought a deep freezer to store them in. I bought a deep freezer immediately, then in April of this year he gave me the steaks, which were packaged in March of 2018, the only taste left was freezer burn
    via u/Legion_707
  • 46
    This SorrowfulLife My dad, his first christmas divorced and living alone, first time ever shopping for us clearly Imao because my mom did all the shopping before, got me a nose hair trimmer... I was 12. And definitely did not understand why I got that gift.
    via u/This SorrowfulLife
  • 47
    Louismaxwell23 A really ugly dress shirt. Black with neon green and red vertical stripes.
    via u/Louismaxwell23
  • 48
    Picards-Flute 50 pounds of russet potatoes.
    via u/Picards-Flute
  • 49
    The_Quicktrigger A box of top ramen. Just a standard grocery box of ramen bags. It was wrapped up with a nice bow too, and it was not gifted as a joke. My family knew I was having financial troubles and was only eating one meal a day, they honestly thought they were helping me out.
    via u/The_Quicktrigger
  • 50
    AnneFrank_nstein Last year my mom.bought me a can opener. Wrapped it and gave it to me when everyone was gathered around exchanging gifts too so theyd all see and get to share in her laughter. Unfortunately she was the only one who found it funny, everyone else just 1 up. thought it was
    via u/AnneFrank_nstein
  • 51
    Tiny Little Dragon My extended family used to do this thing where you'd put your name on a piece of paper and put it in a hat, then draw someone out and that's who you'd get a gift for. It was supposed to be anonymous. I got two terrible gifts on consecutive years. The first terrible gift was a DVD of Fast and Furious 3. I'd literally never watched even a second of those movies, and I'm pretty sure the franchise was up to like.. episode 4 or 5 at that point.
    via u/Tiny Little Dragon
  • 52
    The very next year, someone got me a cheap pair of fake leather driving gloves. They were about two sizes too small. So me, not being a 'car guy' at all, has somehow convinced my uncles and aunts that I'm secretly a tokyo drift racer or something. The year after that, my mom got my name. You're supposed to put the name back if it's immediate family, but she kept my name knowing I got screwed two years running. She got me a Kindle Fire. :)
    via u/Tiny Little Dragon
  • 53
    Thinefieldisempty A Starbucks gift card with a $0 balance and a gallon size ziplock bag of coffee straws. The straws are at least useful, the gift card was just mean. I'm glad I had enough money when I tried to use it though. Lol
    via u/Thinefieldisempty
  • 54
    DogtownPD When I was eight or nine, my grandma gave me a Christmas ornament. It was a little stuffed cherub with pink cheeks and yarn hair. I cried because I had saved up my allowance to buy it for her the year before.
    via u/DogtownPD
  • 55
    Idaho PatMan A case of Slim-Fast. Was I overweight? Yes, but my (not so) passive aggressive ex sister-in-law was a 1. She fairly soon after was talking about weight loss items and specifically told my then-wife and I we should never use products like Slim-Fast as they will poison you. I can't decide if she was trying to k I me or was just a stupid
    via u/IdahoPatMan
  • 56
    CozRichards Worst was from my grandparents. Me, my brother and dad all got a used book each from a charity shop. Like the cover was bent and pages yellowed. My brother and dad have barely read any books in their lives and mine was some adult drama romance novel (I was about 12 at the time) that nobody has ever heard of by some author nobody knows.
    via u/CozRichards
  • 57
    To top it off these grandparents were ridiculously wealthy, my granddad was making almost 2 million a year, and their other grandchild got a ps3, which had just came out, and big stack of games to go with it plus other toys and some clothes.
    via u/CozRichards
  • 58
    MissAnthropy612 A $100 bill. I was dating and living with an ex at the time. For Christmas he wanted a very fancy and very specific looking button up shirt. I spent a month making him the shirt and making sure it was perfect. I also made us a nice Christmas dinner with some fun drinks. Christmas morning rolls around and I give him his shirt, he tries it on and loves it! Yay! He then gets a panicked look and his face, reaches in his pocket, pulls a
    via u/MissAnthropy612
  • 59
    $100 out of his wallet, and says "Um....here ya go. My friends are coming over today so...you have somewhere to be, right?" Basically he was paying me to leave. But the bright side was, I knew right then and there how he actually felt about me. He was dumped before for the new year.
    via u/MissAnthropy612
  • 60
    [deleted] I was 8 or 9, I really wanted one of those Furbies who were really popular back in the days. Come Christmas, my aunt is all proud to give me my present, hyping me it's something I really wanted. Then I open it and it's a... plushies furby keychain. I don't remember much but I was told my face fell when I saw it. Though I was raised to not complain about receiving gifts so when she asked me
    via u/[deleted]
  • 61
    "you don't like it?", I forcefully (and badly) smiled, reassuring her that yes, I liked it and I was just surprised. I even put it on my jacket zipper to prove my point. Turned out it was a joke and she did get me a real furby that she gifted me after, but still, the immediate disappointment was something hard to hide!
    via u/[deleted]
  • 62
    AMC_Tendies42069 Instead of received I'll switch to gave. I bought my whole family tickets to see James Brown live. Literally within minutes of them opening their presents it was announced on the news Christmas morning that James Brown d d.
    via u/AMC_Tendies42069
  • 63
    hobbitdude13 "I'm taking $500 off the debt you owe me." - written in a Christmas card from my adopted mother. Edit for context: She kept a running tally of money owed in the time I lived there. Swearing-$10, $15 if I was in the house when I supposed to have waited for them to come home first, stuff like that. IIRC she still had the notebook/ledger 5 years after I moved out.
    via u/hobbitdude13

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