15+ Unexpected gifts that made people laugh: 'When I was 15 years old, I was given a lint brush'

Gift-giving can be a challenge, no matter how close you are with the recipient. Even if you've known someone for decades, when you're tasked with giving them a present for the holidays, it's like you suddenly forget everything you knew about them. Not to mention that some people kind of do have everything already… What do you get for a person who doesn't have any new hobbies and has all the money they need to buy themselves everything they desire? 

You can't go wrong with a hand-written card and a gift card, or something small and generic, like a hat or a some gloves. It's not great — it's just okay — but it's also not a bad present. And trust me, these people below have been given some hilariously bad gifts throughout the years, and they told all in their stories! 

For some gift-givers, taking an old present from years prior and re-gifting it is the easiest solution. However, it's often far too easy to tell when you've been given a regifted item, and it doesn't feel good. Other gifters take it upon themselves to mold the receiver into the person they wish they could be, like giving a football to your nephew who only cares about doing science projects and reading, all in the hopes that he suddenly races to the yard to play catch. These unfortunate presents usually just end up in the "donate" pile a few years later, having never been touched.  

At the end of the day, sometimes that awful present turns into a hilarious story, and you could call that the gift that keeps on giving. Long after your terrible aunt has given you a shirt that's 3 sizes too big, and the shock of it has worn off, you and your cousins will have something to reminisce and laugh about for years afterwards. 

Author image for Remy Millisky Remy Millisky
Add us on Google
Advertisement
  • 01
    Woman covered by white blanket puts hand on face, looking downfallen, behind her are dozens of presents wrapped in brown paper and green ribbon
    via Daiga Ellaby For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Advertisement
  • 02
    Subject-Ad-5249 My Dad gave me earrings several years in a row. I don't have pierced ears.
    via u/
  • 03
    FormalMango Someone gave me a pet turtle when I was 15. Don't do that.
    via u/
  • 04
    S... My little cousin gets screwed almost every Christmas. One year he asked for games for his ps4, he was given equipment for football, his school season was over and the stuff given likely wouldn't fit next year.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 05
    He has also received used (heavily tattered) books for Christmas a few years from my grandma because "he's failing reading, thought this would encourage him to do better or want to read." He was not happy having his grades announced to the whole family and also wasn't happy he wasn't even worth new books.
    via u/
  • 06
    sunbearimon Once I put a Bluetooth speaker as my secret Santa gift. Turns out he didn't have a smart phone or anything to connect with it
    via u/
  • 07
    AdImmediate4149 Do not, I repeat, do not give your wife household appliances/cleaning supplies for a gift, unless she has specifically asked for it.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 08
    President_Calhoun My aunt gave me a subscription to Children's Digest when I was 9 or 10 and kept renewing it every Christmas until I was 20.
    via u/
  • 09
    SereneStatic a color changing mug that turns out to be a giveaway from someone else's birthday
    via u/
  • 10
    Red_Minded Once my wife received a literal soap kit from her aunt and basically you could make your own soap to use or whatever... however when we opened it up it literally was already half used and it was kinda gross so she tossed it out. Like talk about a cheapskate
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 11
    towers_of_ilium My grandma once gave me a red crocheted swan. It was made from that nylon ribbon stuff they used to make everything from in the 1950s. You could lift a wing on each side. Under the wing was a cavity where you could put a mothball. It stunk of mothballs. I was 9.
    via u/
  • 12
    No... Gifts my mother has given me for Xmas: A barbie doll when I was 16. Because I was "difficult to buy for", code for "I spent £500 on your brother," A pile of cheap keyrings so I could start my keyring collection, despite never expressing any interest in collecting keyrings.
    via u/
  • 13
    Clothes in her size, favourite colour and frumpish style. In the hope I'd grow into them. The only way I would, is if I grew sideways. The one time she gave a shit: An aunt had attempted to gift me one of those dolls that pisses itself. I was four years old and my mother had realised I already hated that gendered crap. It was
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 14
    left behind at that aunt's house. My brother was born a few months later. I was once forced to participate in a Secret Santa. We were asked to sign up, I didn't but my name was added anyway. £5 minimum spend was the requirement. I gave a £5 gift card for a clothing store located near the office. I recieved a mug with the £2 price still on.
    via u/
  • 15
    My dad had an allergy to mishrooms. He got a second-hand book on mushroom foraging in a secret santa.
    via u/
  • 16
    lookingatan egg My mother gave me a rice cooker that she got free as a give away at the grocery store. She gave my brother a massive tv and whatever gaming console he wanted at the time. She called me ungrateful for not being over the moon ecstatic about the rice cooker. Flash forward to next Christmas.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 17
    After her making comments about the rice cooker all year, she asked me what I wanted. I had been saving for a camera that I wanted for a while and she had been hinting that she was getting it for me despite me saying just money so I could put it towards the camera. Naive me thought she was trying to redeem herself from last
    via u/
  • 18
    year. On Christmas Day, I'm handed a camera sized box, I open it excitedly to be met with: A large jar wrapped in a towel filled with socks. A few years later, I went no contact from my family.
    via u/
  • 19
    Oh_No_its_Dudder For a secret Santa exchange, I once got a used foot massager, complete with dead flaky skin all over it. I haven't taken part in once since.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 20
    Glitter_research901 A Casio calculator (not when I was at school) and a book on Princess Diana (I really am not a fan).
    via u/
  • 21
    Harakiri_238 Not necessarily the worst, but ironic. I have health problems and can't eat (at all, I'm on TPN). Everyone in my inner life knows I can't eat. And yet somehow I end up getting Mc Donald's gift cards, booster juice gift cards, Tim Hortons gift cards, etc.
    via u/
  • 22
    My one aunt spent 3 months in the hospital with me and got me a Mc Donald's gift card. It's like, out of anyone you should have known at least But I just give them to my family so it doesn't matter lol.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 23
    AnnabananalL My now ex-husband bought me a sewing basket, filled with scissors, thread, and needles. I do not sew as a hobby. However, he always wanted me to repair his clothing, sew on buttons, etc. By the next year we divorced. Found the basket in a closet recently, and burned it in a barrel.
    via u/
  • 24
    Hope1246 My aunt gave me used clothes in her size (x3 bigger than what I wear). I also received other gifts that were clearly regifted to me that she probably received before and didn't want.
    via u/
  • 25
    canuck_11 This was around 2001. I used to beg my parents to never buy me clothes for Christmas. Usually they'd get me XL or XXL shirts even though I was a medium. One Christmas it all came to a head when they got me a leather button up collared shirt. My face said it all. Like I didn't even know such a
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 26
    thing existed. I've never seen one before and never seen one since. My mom said if I didn't like something I should say so and they can return it. For this gift I had to say something.
    via u/
  • 27
    I was then told I was ungrateful and ruined Christmas. They still bring it up and the shirt hangs in their closet.
    via u/
  • 28
    Langstarr I asked for a copy of Foundation by Asimov. I received a published copy of a transcript of a BBC radio broadcast of two people reading it and discussing it.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 29
    I'm still scratching my head on that one. It's one of the most printed books in the world. It's... not hard to find. Like she went out of her way to find something like that.
    via u/
  • 30
    Lifeguard-oil-091... My husband gave me a small wrapped tube one year. It was a burts bees chapstick. The next year I got a single blue and white bowl.
    via u/
  • 31
    Level_Fun1610 My husband once gifted me a bicycle....I was 8 months pregnant and had recently fallen and cracked my tailbone. My mom regularly gifted me Reeses-themed sweets and things with cinnamon like scented candles, etc. While
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 32
    they could be great for the right person, I'm highly allergic to both cinnamon and peanut butter. I'm now divorced and no contact with both parties.
    via u/
  • 33
    Green_Gur_1014 The classic re-gifted items (especially if they still have the original person's initials. written somewhere).. I mean.. If you didn't want it, then what makes you think that I would?
    via u/
  • 34
    Extension_Salary_... My aunt gave me a hood for a jacket...but no jacket. She also is notorious for giving partially used gift cards
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 35
    Suspicious-Rich-... I was about 6 or 7 and my aunt gave me a stocking with coal in it. She thought it'd be funny, I sobbed my little heart out. My mom was not to happy with her sister.
    via u/
  • 36
    milksasquatch A few years ago my mother- in-law bought everyone in the family the same gift: UV phone cleaners. They were the size of a toaster and were supposed to go on your bedside table. They were promptly returned to Bed, Bath, and Beyond...it ended up leading to a bunch of family drama.
    via u/
  • 37
    Dozens of brown and white presents with green ribbons placed beneath tree
    via Valeriia Miller For Unsplash+

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Advertisement
  • 38
    BethansBumps I was given a toaster once. Carefully wrapped as well! A. Toaster. It's crazy because I'm very much someone who doesn't expect crazy presents and sees the thought and effort that goes into picking a gift as the most important part. But a toaster? I didn't even need a toaster.
    via u/
  • 39
    Maribythesea90 A bottle of honey from my then bf (now ex) they honey wasn't originally for me! It was for his best friend
    via u/
  • 40
    Old-Marionberry-... My mum last year gifted me some bath stuff...that I got her from 2 years ago.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 41
    NotsoOldFisherman A guy I knew in college wanted to get his girlfriend something he knew she'd use, so he looked in her bathroom, saw what kind of shampoo she used, and bought her 10 bottles of it!
    via u/
  • 42
    He was really sweet and was actually trying to get a good gift, but the execution was poorly done. The gift was not appreciated way he thought it'd be.
    via u/
  • 43
    Andromeda_Colli... Muhammad Ali Monopoly. I'm not into sports, let alone boxing and already had a Monopoly set. This was from my parents in my late 20s.
    via u/
  • Advertisement
  • 44
    Key-Statistician17... A distant aunt once gifted me a plastic luggage tag for "when I went travelling". I was 7. We didn't travel. My 4 yo brother and other cousins all got flash, expensive gifts.
    via u/
  • 45
    targaryenmegan Not on a holiday, I got a sweater from my mom that had "so many books, so little time" on the front when I was about ten years old. Great sweater, loved it. My dad (they were divorced) got me an identical sweater for Christmas "because you like that one so much"
    via u/
  • 46
    DogNamedBear25... When I (M) was 15 years old, I was given a lint brush.
    via u/

Stay up to date by following us on Facebook!

Tags

gifts presents family funny holidays
Scroll Down For The Next Article

Also From FAIL Blog

'It all started when...': Pour a dash of these laughs into your morning coffee to energize you for the work week ahead (December 13, 2025)

'It all started when...': Pour a dash of these laughs into your morning coffee to energize you for the work week ahead (December 13, 2025)

Trending Now

18-year-old high schooler boards flight alone, leaving mom, stepfather, and 3 and 6-year-old half-siblings behind: 'I was basically expected to take over my mom's part of the parenting'

18-year-old high schooler boards flight alone, leaving mom, stepfather, and 3 and 6-year-old half-siblings behind: 'I was basically expected to take over my mom's part of the parenting'

01
Manager faces HR backlash for unfairly "penalizing" a single mother, giving her a lower review and raise than her "flexible" male coworker, as he can work more after-hours and travel on short notice: 'They do equally good work, but he does more of it'

Manager faces HR backlash for unfairly "penalizing" a single mother, giving her a lower review and raise than her "flexible" male coworker, as he can work more after-hours and travel on short notice: 'They do equally good work, but he does more of it'

02
Years after a turbulent firing, former employee’s warning to HR leads company to cut major partnership with nonprofit that let her go: 'I did not spare any details'

Years after a turbulent firing, former employee’s warning to HR leads company to cut major partnership with nonprofit that let her go: 'I did not spare any details'

03
Employee double-checks a grant detail to prove his right, accidentally uncovers widespread legal noncompliance that everyone in the organization ignored for years: ‘This entire situation happened because I wasn’t about to let someone tell me I’m wrong’

Employee double-checks a grant detail to prove his right, accidentally uncovers widespread legal noncompliance that everyone in the organization ignored for years: ‘This entire situation happened because I wasn’t about to let someone tell me I’m wrong’

04
Job applicant walks out of interview before it starts after waiting for 30+ minutes, but not before giving the hiring manager a piece of his mind: 'My time [is] more valuable than this!'

Job applicant walks out of interview before it starts after waiting for 30+ minutes, but not before giving the hiring manager a piece of his mind: 'My time [is] more valuable than this!'

05
Family demands English-speaking daughter to be their translator for younger brother's shoplifting court hearing, but she refuses as her final exam is scheduled for the same day, sparking major family drama: 'I'm done being their 24-7 translator'

Family demands English-speaking daughter to be their translator for younger brother's shoplifting court hearing, but she refuses as her final exam is scheduled for the same day, sparking major family drama: 'I'm done being their 24-7 translator'

06
Advertisement