Christmas season is a time for warm drinks, warm pajamas and fun presents! Waking up early on Christmas morning is a very special feeling that people from all over the world share.
However, sometimes, the gifts are so horrible that people can't help but be stunned! You get bad gifts, but then you get absolutely awful gifts. These awful gifts will be discussed in this article so let's get to it!
Larger Than Mine
A user on Reddit, oohkt, shared his horrible Christmas gift story on the platform. He wrote that one Christmas morning he heard his nephew throw a tantrum because he believed his sister got bigger presents from Santa.
His dad was so stunned by his son's behavior he asked, “Are you joking right now? You better be joking. Say just kidding. Oh my god, tell me he’s kidding.” He could not believe how spoiled his nephew acted that day.
Crying For Christmas
xClovis7 posted that his younger cousins received a jumping castle for Christmas. The gift was short-lived because it popped almost instantly! There were numerous children inside the bouncy house as the event occurred and they were all crying and screaming!
The cries of the children were so loud, the neighbors from two houses down could hear it! Not a very merry Christmas.
Better Safe Than Sorry
Reddit user X-cessiveDreamer stated that her mother is known for her horrible gifts. She's received silly gifts such as multi-vitamins and toothpaste! There was one, however, that stood out. She was given a car crash kit.
The package had a disposable camera for documenting the accident, a form for both parties of the accident to fill out, a tape measure, and some chalk for marking out where what she believed, the bodies landed. What strange gifts!
Money Matters
Bluurd's spouse ruined his Christmas. The Reddit user posted that his wife mocked the gift their daughter's boyfriend gave her. She mentioned that he gave their daughter a ring which his wife called trash. The reason his wife acted in that way was because it replaced the $700 class ring she bought their daughter.
He claimed that her behavior disgusted him and he could not believe she would act in such a manner.
Wrong Gift
Totes-muh-gotes had another horrible Christmas gift story to share. He stated that his partner gave him a baseball hat for Christmas. Now, it's not that bad, but he had never expressed any interest in both baseball or wearing hats. He showed the gift to his family and everyone was confused! He thanked her for the gift, but once she realized what the gift was she turned pale. “Oops, that was for someone else, I must have brought it inside by accident", she said embarrassed.
He opened the card and his jaw dropped. In bright red letters the words: “Hey baby, love ya lots. Merry Christmas” were written on the card. It turned out that she had been cheating on the user and he found out in front of his entire family...
Not Fair
When user BlueButterflies139 was twelve years of age, she purchased her first Kindle. She saved all of the money she received from doing odd jobs for her grandfather. On Christmas day, however, the user's brothers all received Kindles as gifts whereas she received clothes from Old Navy. She told her that while she and her sister were playing video games, their brothers had been excluded. Her mother felt like that was not fair towards them.
The user's mother did not see anything wrong with what she did, and she has not yet forgiven her mother for her actions.
Backyard Gifts
Gennieb7 posted that her aunt gave her a rock as a gift. She gave her cousins beautiful scarves and she received a rock! She initially thought it was a joke, but her aunt said, “Isn’t it wonderful??”
The user had to pretend that she loved the gift. It was an awkward situation. Her aunt shared with her that she got the rock from her backyard and that she knew I would like it. If that wasn't a horrible gift, the next year she gave her the tops of acorns because “some people know how to use them to whistle and I don’t know how to show you or explain, but I’m sure you can figure it out.” Her aunt sounds quite strange!
Christmas Miracle
Goofball412a had to work a shift on Christmas Eve. She tried hard to go to her family's house for the holidays, but they lived two hours away. She left for home just in time but she noticed that there was something wrong with her brakes. Luckily, she found a mechanic that was open. She gave him an explanation of her situation. She felt relieved that she found him on a snowy Christmas Eve.
He looked at the car for about half an hour while she was waiting in the reception area. He finally arrived and told her what the problem was and that he fixed it. When she wanted to pay him, he refused to take her money! He wished her a Merry Christmas and that she should enjoy the time with her family. What a kind man!
Time To Grow Up
A few years ago, every kid wanted a Tamagotchi. This was no different for user dariusz2k. Him and his sisters asked for one but when Christmas morning came around, only his siblings received one. Instead, he got a jacket because his was worn out.
He had to ask his father why he didn't receive one and if Santa was mad at him. His father told him that it was time that he stopped believing in Santa, and that life was not fair. The user was 8-years-old when the event occurred, and he only received clothing for Christmas from that point forward.
One Big Angry Family
I found out that my wife was cheating on me at 11:30 PM Christmas Eve while we were at her parents’ house.
I packed up my stuff, walked right by her family—who, to be fair, didn’t know what was going on—and drove 6 hours in a crazy rainstorm to my parents’ house. So there’s that. I know it’s going to be okay, but…, not a good Christmas. ~ NateGrille
Sudden Tragedy
Last Christmas Eve, my mom passed on at the age of 71. Then, on New Year’s Eve, my dad had a heart attack and lost his life at the age of 78. Needless to say, this completely ruined the entire holiday season for me and my family.
To make matters even worse, our entire family got sick from the catering that the church provided at the funeral service. It seems a bit comical now, but it wasn’t the least bit funny at the time… ~ serouslydoe
This Christmas Ended Up Being Trash
Growing up, when I was a kid, my grandparents always gave us weird gifts. They learned one thing about us and locked on to it so hard that it became a theme. For example, my sister said once she liked giraffes, so every year, they got her something cheesy with a giraffe on it. Despite our best efforts to thank them and be grateful for their presents, they could always tell we didn’t like what they got us. It made them sad every year, and we felt terrible about it. One Thanksgiving, when my sister and I were around ten years old, we were at their house playing. We accidentally found what they had intended to give us for the next Christmas. They were these two beautiful handmade dollhouses. We loved them and were excited to get them eventually. We were also happy we didn’t have to pretend to like the gifts. So, my sister and I concocted the most brilliant plan that a 10-year-old could. When the conversation with family about what we wanted for Christmas came up, we said we really wanted dollhouses. My younger sister even told Santa that was what she wanted, and we were so happy that our grandparents would be able to get us exactly what we wanted! There was no way they saw through our genius scheme.
Christmas arrived, and our grandparents went to another room to get our presents. We prepared ourselves to be elated, even practiced being surprised. We had no idea what we were in for. Instead of the dollhouses, they brought us out two new trash cans. At that point, we didn’t have to pretend to be surprised anymore. Our grandma smiled at us and let us know that they knew we snooped and found the presents. They said the trash cans were a more fitting present for the “garbage granddaughters that you are.” Needless to say, after that, we had very little contact with them. ~ Devornine
Taking It For Granted
My cousin, who bought Chick-fil-A to holiday dinner just so he wouldn’t have to eat our homemade meals, announced upon arriving that, actually, he wasn’t helping with anything. No cleaning, cooking, babysitting, nothing. He then tried to use substances all day on Christmas Eve and was drinking before noon by himself on that same day
When I told him no Christmas shenanigans and to please clean up his dishes, he screamed in my face.~ VoteGeriatric2020
Love Is A Special Medicine
We were hosting a young lady my wife worked with, as well as her boyfriend. Halfway through dinner and somehow the discussion got to how her and her brother “once got super trashed on Robitussin, and next thing you know we… Uh… Yeah, that was really a weird time.”
Everyone just got really quiet as we were trying to decide how to fill that one in and where to go with it. ~ ValleyNerd
MMA Magazine Madness
I was dating a guy for a few months when Christmas rolled around. He had recently started a new job that required him to travel. This was before smartphones and cars had built-in GPS, so I splurged a bit and got him a navigation system to help him find his way. Thoughtful, practical, but not too sentimental; it felt perfect for where the relationship was at the time.
Due to our 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’ll give you your gifts now, and I’ll just get mine later.” Cool. So he went into the other room and came back with two wrapped gifts.
I noticed some of the paper was messed up as if it had been rewrapped, but I didn’t think much of it at the moment. I carefully unwrapped the first package. It was an MMA magazine—that had clearly been read. I was confused. I did 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. It was even more bizarre. From the shape of the package, I could tell it was a DVD. It was a Forrest Gump DVD—with the cellophane wrapper missing. Forrest Gump is a solid choice, except I already owned a Forrest Gump DVD. Now here I was suddenly the proud owner of a second copy that appeared to be used.
I thanked him again 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 got a little quiet, then sheepishly volunteered, “I, uh, got bored, so I watched the movie yesterday.”
I just stared at him. He continued, “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 shortly after that.
The next day, I returned the GPS system for a full refund. 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.” But it wasn’t over yet. 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?” ~ beehaw7
Mother Doesn’t Know Best
My mom’s denial of her bipolar disorder really ruined my Christmas. Right now, she is in full manic mode. I traveled eight hours from another country to be with my parents on Christmas, and I was supposed to stay for almost two weeks, but the atmosphere was so toxic that I had to get out after just three days living around it.
When I told them I was leaving, the situation went from bad to worse. During the talk, I admitted I couldn’t handle her screaming aggressive fights, and overall nasty behavior. I want to help her so badly, but she flat-out screamed to my face that she isn’t ill, this is who she is, and I just have to accept it because it won’t get any better.
I have my own mental health issues and I couldn’t take it anymore because she was pouring verbal toxic waste into me every minute I was with her. I sat on a bus back home and arrived at three am to my apartment, to spend Christmas alone. ~ Efilain
Not Exactly the Ideal Christmas Dinner
What ruined my Christmas this year was when my mother-in-law tried to feed my eldest child a mango, a thing that she has been allergic to for the past 11 years.
My eldest said, “What are you doing??!! Grandma, I’m allergic to those!” Grandma replied “It’ll be okay. After all, it’s Christmas!” Um, no. Last time I checked, food allergies don’t take Christmas off, you idiot… ~ emlovescoffee
Oh, Goodie!
My lovely sister was a multimillionaire. She had bought each of her four children, who were between the ages of two and twenty-one, their own homes for when they grow up. One year, a week before Christmas, she told me to rush over to her company, saying that she had a Christmas surprise for me. So I drove over to meet her during my lunch break.
She met me in the parking lot and handed me her company’s goodie bags. I got T-shirts and notepads with her company logo on them. The only thing of value was a rechargeable USB charger, but it didn’t even work. She then told me to count that as my Christmas and birthday present all in one. Unbelievable. ~ Youve_been_Loganated
Child’s Play
Well, I got left with building EVERY single toy set for my nephew. And these aren’t simply plug-in things, either.
We’re talking booklets with like seven bags of screws and wooden dowels that I have to twist and fit perfectly to build the toys, otherwise, he’s going to have a fit. It’s now 6:00 am and I still have one left. But that will have to wait. ~ da-bidness
When The Worst is Actually the Best
Growing up I used to hate that my uncle would get all of us kids the same $1 pair of cheap one size fits all gloves. I clearly remember thinking how I’d really rather just have the dollar to spend, and yet he never failed to get them for us. It was always the last gift my cousins and I would open…Gee, thanks, Uncle Craig.
Craig was developmentally disabled, and although he was well into his 30s when we were kids he would come out into the street and play baseball with us, he’d ride bikes across town with us, buy us beer and Playboy mags when we were older… And yet every year, these darn gloves even when we were grown adults and his health was fading, and we all moved away.
This will be Christmas number three without Uncle Craig, and as I look back at it now it makes more sense. He was living in a shack that he was renting for $350 a month there were 15 nieces and nephews… We knew he couldn’t afford to get us any toys or anything, but he wanted us to have something more meaningful than a dollar bill, and Christmas was his favorite holiday.
RIP Uncle Craig. I wish there was a poorly wrapped pair of gloves under my tree this year. ~ michaelinpdx
I’d Rather A Side Of Fries Than That!
I don’t usually complain about any present gifted to me because it’s always the thought that counts; however when I was about 12, I got the worst gift ever. My mother had married someone who came from a very large family. He also had a child that was a year younger than me. Every year my stepdad’s parents had a giant Christmas party.
All seven of their kids and their spouses, along with all of their kids, would come. I was the oldest of all the children; most of them were quite a bit younger than me. We started opening up presents from the grandparents, and I was waiting my turn. I saw that every boy in the group was being gifted a giant dragon statue. This thing was really cool. Every one of the boys got the same one, but with slight variations. I couldn’t wait to get mine!
The time came for me to open up my present, and I was handed a much smaller package. I was really confused, but I was just hoping it would grow once it hit the sunlight. Sadly, I opened it to find a nice action figure type doll…of Ronald McDonald. I was speechless. It was not a mistake at all because once I opened it, the grandmother said that I could start collecting them all. That was the first time I felt like a complete outcast in that family. ~ Lower-Mycologist9133
Parent Of The Year
My mom decided that it’s better for her and for me that she is going to spend the holidays with her much younger boyfriend—there’s like a 15-17 year difference.
But that’s not even the worst part. Her boyfriend lives in another city, while her second husband (my step-dad) is in a different country trying to work for us so he can help us with money. So here I am, barely 18, spending my first Christmas and New Year’s Eve alone. ~ Dakan420
Under-wear the Mistletoe
Every year, my family does a Secret Santa on Christmas. When I was about ten, my aunt had to buy me a gift. So Christmas morning, I open my gift up and find a Christmas sweater along with a pair of poop-stained women’s underwear.
Apparently, my aunt was doing laundry and wrapping gifts at the same time and got the two mixed up. ~ Swirlingmystic
Too Old For Christmas?
We went to my dad’s side of the family for Christmas like we had done every year for the previous 17 years. I had turned 18 a few months prior. For some reason, everyone decided that I shouldn’t get a gift from anyone. So, I got nothing. I still don’t understand why.
Every other one of my cousins older or younger than 18 got something from someone, and I just sat there awkwardly while everyone acted like nothing was wrong. ~ lookalive07
It’s All Fun And Games…
My 5-year-old opened his new Nintendo Switch and immediately dropped one of the controllers into my wife’s coffee. Yep, that ruined my Christmas.
Literally 1.2 seconds from opening to “Oh god NO. No, it wasn’t really his fault—he picked it up out of the box, it was in a plastic sleeve, and it slid out of the sleeve and into the cup. Still, not our finest moment as a family unit. At least we can laugh about it in Christmases to come. ~ FluorideAjax
Cat Got My Tongue
I had been dating this girl for a few months and we were serious enough that I was buying her Christmas presents. I found something that had a connection to a funny event involving her cat and my cat. I made the presentation to be from my cat. I thought I was being cute but instead, she got angry that my cat got her a present and I didn’t.
I thought she was joking. She wasn’t. To make matters worse, her parents backed her up later at a family dinner. It was incredibly awkward. ~ Dopkick
I Got Burned
I participated in a voluntary office Christmas exchange that had a $30 limit. The gift I received was a CD-R of the giver’s 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 and album title on the disc…but forgot to actually burn a copy. ~ SpaceGhost817
Burden Of Care
My mom’s knee surgeon who broke her femur while applying a new prosthesis ruined Christmas. Now I have to stay with her and my ailing father 24/7 because she’s immobilized and can’t care for him. So I don’t get to be with my husband for Christmas—or most of December for that matter. Somehow though, it took a bigger downward turn.
After this all happened, my mom started pitching a fit because she can’t do Christmas the way she wants to, despite the fact that she gets to see literally all of her loved ones and they’ll come to her. I’m not out to get the doctor, but he is responsible for my greatest holiday adversity, even though that complication only happens in like 2% of procedures.
Still, I’m making the most of it and trying not to take it out on my mom. I get to see my sister and niece, but I haven’t seen my husband in a few weeks now and I really would’ve preferred to spend last night with him in person as opposed to on a video call. ~ Werehausen
Up In Flames
My family and several other families in my Church would sometime after Christmas, gather all the Christmas trees and have a Christmas Tree Bonfire on the beach. It was perhaps the best thing ever. Until one year, when disaster struck.
My Church was busted for throwing three trees onto the fire at once, causing a huge magnificent 20-foot flame to erupt. The Fire Department was called. Our tradition pretty much ended after that. ~ Over-Analyzed
They Fed Me A Load Of Lies
One year my parents 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. However, the problem was, that every time they would go upstairs to add to it, they had a running joke.
They would constantly say, “We’re going upstairs to feed your present,” or, “We need to take your present for a walk” and then they would chuckle. There was one thing they didn’t realize. 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. ~funky_grandma
The Christmas Choice
So it was a group effort of my parents to ruin my Christmas. Last summer, my mom decided to finally divorce my dad. My dad had been a big drinker for a while, and eight or nine years ago my mom had decided not to divorce him because my oldest sister (who was 14 at the time) would have had to be the sober adult on the days that us three kids were with our dad.
Now that I (the youngest) am almost out of high school, she felt it was safe for us kids to handle the divorce. It’s complicated and I’ve already rambled enough already, so I’ll just say that my mom has had enough trying to make things work, while my dad is in denial, thinking we can still work something out without going to a full divorce.
He also blames himself for everything when, at least partly, it really just didn’t work out. His drinking is just part of the picture. Well, a week or two ago, my dad sent me a text I wished I could unsee. It was a very emotionally distressing message that was basically an ultimatum, telling me to choose between my two parents.
Nonetheless, this gave me an opportunity to stop going to his house every week and stay with my mom indefinitely. Now it’s Christmas, though, and we’re spending Christmas morning at his house so that he’s not alone like he was on Thanksgiving. My dad means well, but he goes crying over every little thing, and being around him makes everyone in the family depressed.
Let’s see how this morning goes. I’m on my way now. My dad is now 7 months sober and counting. It means a lot to him, it just seems like no one cares. ~ Briznar
Love Waits for No One
My mother-in-law passed on one September after [knowing she had] cancer for less than a year. My parents invited her widower husband to have Christmas with us.
He spent much of the time giddily talking about dating apps. My husband was not amused. ~ WillyNilly_oogle
This Gift Gave Me A Meltdown
One year, I wanted Pokémon Sapphire or Ruby so bad for Christmas that it was the only thing I had asked for. A few days before Christmas, my sister’s father 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.” I was so excited. My third-grade brain assumed he had gotten what I asked for.
When Christmas Day came, I opened it immediately. There I saw Ice Age 2: The Meltdown staring at me. It was the first time I faked liking a present. ~ Tardmite
Father Christmas
You decide what ruined my Christmas the most: My dad was hospitalized for drinking recently and now that he’s home, I’m the only family member left who will take care of him and help organize his life, since my brother doesn’t have any capacity to care whatsoever and is off having a happy little Christmas of his own with his family.
I came to spend Christmas with my dad even though he’s in a bad mood and argumentative about things. He has carers who come in four times a day between 7 am and 10 pm, which does not change over the holidays. While I was there, I found that two expensive items were taken from his house last night. There are only carers who come in, so it must have been them.
I also had two hours of sleep last night because my dad has a searing toothache and today I’ve had to call the medical care line to book a dental appointment for Sunday for him, so will have to extend my stay with him to take care of that and get him there, even though I can’t drive. There’s no Christmas dinner, nothing special at all, and I’m very tired. ~ Soundasleepx
Poster Child
When I was younger, I was obsessed with the Spice Girls. One year, my grandma gave me a poster of them for Christmas. My parents are divorced and, as a result, we moved a lot with my mom over the years. No matter how many bedrooms I had or what city we were living in at any given moment, I always had my Spice Girls poster hanging on my door at all times.
One of the last times that we moved, my mom was packing up my room. While she was trying to get my poster down, she accidentally ripped it. Now the rip was not anything terrible, but she pretty much assumed that it was garbage at that point and threw it away without my knowing. When I found out, I just cried and cried for days.
Because so many years had already passed since the poster had first been purchased, I couldn’t even find the same one for sale on eBay, Amazon, or anywhere else. Then, one day, I happened to casually mention the story to my mother-in-law. Two years ago, she somehow managed to find a copy of the poster and surprised me with it as a Christmas gift.
It was the first time in my entire life that I had ever cried over getting a present. I still need to get around to properly framing it someday, but it has been one of my prized possessions ever since. ~ smoltown
My Present Totally Blows
One time when I was ten years old, my mom gave me and my brother a packet of plastic rainbow bendy straws each for Christmas. It was disappointing—but the reason for it was even worse. Apparently, she was mad at our dad for having brought us back three days late from his part of the holidays and took it out on us. Well, I made the best of it.
For the next two months, I happily took my brother’s discarded pack and proceeded to make a million rainbow flutes that I would incessantly try to learn to play. I suspect our mother lived to regret her choice since I also never cleaned any of my discarded flutes up. ~ GerberGoo
Life Comes At You Fast
My girlfriend ruined my Christmas. She has a drinking problem and decided, hey, let me get wasted at my first Christmas with my boyfriend’s family. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a fun drinker…up to a certain point. Once she passes that threshold, though, she’s a clumsy, emotional, angry, awful person and goes the extra mile to make a statement.
Except the statement makes no sense, ever. Then, not “understanding” her infuriates her, and then the arguments begin. But it doesn’t end there. Instead of letting me try to defuse her outburst, she attacks me verbally and says some of the most screwed-up stuff. Because I’m no punching bag, I attack back and we went into a verbal free-for-all.
Now I’m single. Yep, we broke up on Christmas at a family gathering. ~ CaptainCrunchYa
Showing Them All Who’s Boss
What ruined Christmas this year? Me! I was invited to a lovely dinner by my boss with his extended family. Even though I was extremely nervous beforehand, everything went amazingly well—until I messed it all up with one horrific mistake. For a little bit of background, I had just been promoted to manager for my boss’s company within the last month. The business is very small (only five employees).
When he learned that I had been planning to spend Christmas alone, he decided that he wasn’t going to let that happen and graciously invited me over. He even insisted on driving me home at the end of the night. But here’s the thing. Before getting the job, I’d lived in a large city and hadn’t needed to be in a car for a very long time. In fact, this ride home was probably the first time I had ridden in one in about a year. So, as I was in my boss’s beautiful car, I started to feel ill. That intense, nauseating kind of motion sickness.
I tried to open the window to get some air, but it was safety locked, probably because my boss and his wife had just had a baby. I felt trapped and helpless. I tried to keep myself from puking but at a certain point, there was no use. I puked all over the inside of my boss’s car. After it happened, I was extremely embarrassed. I offered to have the car cleaned for him, and his reply shocked me.
He just said, “No worries, I’m more just worried about if you are okay.” I seriously lucked out with best boss ever! ~ KyooTeaPie
My Roommate’s Half-Baked Idea
I had gotten all my three roommates little care packages with goodies I knew they liked for Christmas. It was all small stuff because I was super broke at the time. I never expected a gift back, but they were always so sweet to me, so I wanted to do something nice for them for our first Christmas together. A week before Christmas, I knocked on one of my roommate’s doors and gave this dude his little candy gift basket.
I told him Merry Christmas and that this was just a little thing I wanted to do as a thank you for being my roomie—no need to get me anything. He grumbled, “Oh, thanks, Merry Christmas,” and shuffled back into his room and shut the door. Whatever. I tried. A few hours later, I was chilling in my room, and he came in. I looked up, and he said, “Merry Christmas. I didn’t have time to get you anything, so here you go.” I really wasn’t expecting what he did next.
He dropped a potato on my bed. A big old russet potato. I’m still not even sure if it was his potato, since I had never seen the man shop for groceries during the entire time we lived together. I didn’t even have time to process what on earth had just happened before he quickly exited and went next door to his room, slamming it shut. He didn’t get any of our other roommates any presents. We never discussed the potato after that.
I ended up eating it later. It wasn’t half bad, all things considered. ~ princess-sauerkraut
A Happy Meal
My wife ruined it. She left the fridge open when we went to bed yesterday, so we needed to throw away all our Christmas food.
I don’t mind really, though. We celebrated by ourselves and our newborn, so there was food for two. Things happen when you are tired. And it’s actually an okay excuse to go to McDonald’s, after all. ~ Aargloo
Christmas Breakfast
My parents got me a bag of cereal for Christmas. That probably sounds sad or somewhat pathetic, but I’ll explain why. My parents aren’t good at giving gifts, in general, and they're usually isn’t much thought put into it. I’ll get generic hoodies from Walmart, basic shirt or boxer packs, movies I’m not interested in, etc.
But! One year, they gave me this giant bag of cereal of a brand that I used to eat every day back home, and that I had trouble finding in Chicago where I had since moved. It brought back a lot of sentimental feelings since I had been missing home. Plus, it was thoughtful since I had been telling my parents it was hard to find. To this day, that’s my favorite Christmas present I’ve gotten. ~ whoadang88
Eccentricity Is No Excuse For This One
I had a well-to-do aunt, had a lovely house, and a pretty high-income job, but she was very eccentric. She would always ask for a Christmas list from me. So, I would send her a list for a few years, only to realize that she would get me something from the Dollar Store, wrapped in re-used wrapping paper from the previous Christmas.
When I was eight or nine, I once got cologne from the Dollar Store. One year I decided to ask for only one thing to see what happens. Boy, did that backfire? I asked for a Seattle Seahawks t-shirt. The package arrived. It was indeed a t-shirt—used Buffalo Bill’s t-shirt with some stains on the logo. ~ MagicJasoni
She Has A Type
My girlfriend’s sister ruined my Christmas. She has three young girls and just terrible taste in men. So of course, she chooses today, via a video call with the kids, to reveal to everybody that she is now dating a well-known addict within our town.
She has a very addictive personality and has struggled to stay clean herself. My girlfriend is now ridiculously stressed out and worried for the kids. ~BlackHammer1312
Traditional Tree Eel
One year there was a TV program on before Christmas, something like “10 Worst Christmas Disasters.” One feature on the program was about a family who bought a Christmas tree that had been imported from Norway, and it had a snake wrapped around the trunk which went unnoticed until Christmas morning, scaring the family, with the mother on the TV screaming about a “Christmas tree eel.”
Now, this terrified my sister (six or seven at the time), so we decided to wrap a toy snake around the bottom of our tree. When she went to get her presents right from the back, she saw this snake and ran out in tears. Hilarious. Now every year we wrap our own Christmas tree eel around our tree and have done so for about 14 years! ~ FierceTom
Grandma’s Got To Learn
My dad’s mom always favored my dad’s sister’s kids over me and my two brothers. She would always get them better gifts than us. One year, in particular, takes the cake. One of my cousins got a brand new PS2, while I got a pre-school toy. My younger brother got a talking dinosaur from the gas station, and my older brother got a used model car.
My dad was so embarrassed—so he came up with a plan. He pulled my grandma aside and said, “Please stop buying my kids Christmas gifts. They see what’s going on here. They’re not stupid. I’ll buy the gifts from now on, and we can just say they’re from you.” The following year, I got a hockey jersey, my younger brother got a PS2 with lots of games, and my older brother got some Xbox games. Thanks, “Grandma.” ~ Mogilny89Leafs
House-Bound
My dad and his wife live in the Midwest, while my wife and I live in California. In September, my dad had asked my wife and me to consider moving to the same Midwest city as him and his wife. My dad said he’d help us with moving expenses, buying a house, or whatever else we needed. By the way, my dad and his wife are millionaires.
My wife and I, however, are not nearly as well off and are just starting our careers. We talked about it, and we liked the city, and the prospect of getting some help buying a house (which we all know is a futile millennial dream) was enough for us to say yes. My dad and his wife had just purchased a new home and told us that as soon as they sold their old home, they’d co-sign and/or help with a down payment on a house in their city.
They hooked us up with their realtor right away and informed their realtor of the game plan. We’re looking at homes online the entire time and making a list of houses to view when we return to the Midwest for Christmas. That’s when it all unraveled. After opening presents, in front of the ENTIRE family, my dad tells me that he’s decided he wants to put in a pool and doesn’t want to help us buy a house.
He then avoids me for the next three days, and the night before my wife and I are supposed to fly back out, I’ve had enough. I tell my wife to pack her bags and we’ll stay in a hotel the last night. My dad overhears us talking about it, interjects—after literally not seeing him for three days, despite being in the same house.
I calmly confront him about the entire situation. His wife flies off the handle and bum rushes me from across the room, completely unprovoked. My dad has to restrain her. She tells me to leave and never come back. My dad backs her up and says, “Yeah, if you don’t leave, I’m going to call the authorities.” I scoffed, pointed out that we were already leaving, and called an Uber.
I haven’t talked to him since—we blocked him and his wife. A year later, my wife and I are six months pregnant, I just got my dream job making great money, and my dad has no idea about either. Additionally, my brother and his girlfriend refused to visit my dad for Christmas and have more or less cut contact with my dad and his wife. ~ a30centsolution
You Don’t Even Know The Hoff Of It
When I was 14 or 15, one of my Christmas presents from my parents was a Baywatch duvet cover. I had never watched Baywatch and had no interest in it, so I had no idea why they bought it for me. Not only that, but I was embarrassed to have it on my bed when my friends came around. Although Baywatch might still have been on TV, it wasn’t a cool thing for kids my age to be into.
I politely put it on my bed for a few weeks, then tossed it in the back of the wardrobe and hoped nobody would mention it again. Years later, I found out the disturbing reason why they got it for me. My dad was concerned I might turn out to be gay because I had never put up posters of women in my bedroom or anything. I was also never really interested in “manly” stuff, and all my TV crushes growing up were tomboys like Darlene from Roseanne.
So, here was this duvet cover with a group of women in swimsuits that I had now because, obviously, if I had been gay, the sight of Pamela Lee’s cleavage would sort that stuff out for me. ~ JimmySinner
Not-So Picture Perfect
My mother and I worked hard and waited months, with the help from an Etsy store, to make a poster of a song my father loves. The poster had all the lyrics from “My Man” by Lynn Anderson, as well as a picture of them on their wedding day. My mom wanted to dedicate it to my father and give it to him to show how much she cares.
Anyway, we all opened presents last night and are so excited for my dad to see our gift. The minute he opened it, I knew something was wrong. He smiles but doesn’t say anything. Then, hours later, my mother comes into my room bawling her eyes out. Apparently, my father said, “I hate it. It looks like a kindergartener wrote it. I felt disrespected as soon as I saw it.” I was livid, and confronted him by asking “Why do you hate it?” and he says the same thing.
He then tells me to go screw off and not ask him for anything ever again. The next thing we heard was the poster being ripped from the frame, and I found it ripped to pieces. My mom ripped it up in anger and sadness, and she also ripped up their wedding photo on the poster. So once again, another Christmas down the drain because of my awful dad. ~ SanguineFan
Wrap Yourself In This Grandma!
My grandma used to load my cousins with gifts, while my siblings and I, not so much. Cheap after thoughts would be an understatement. Well, we are all about 17-18 years old and fed up with it. So, we decided to get revenge. We got grandma the cheapest fleece blanket from Walmart that we could find. It was $5 on sale for $3. Christmas rolled around, and we all had one present apiece from grandma. We opened them in unison.
When we realized what it was, we all burst out laughing. It was the SAME bargain fleece blanket that we got her. Everyone was wondering what the joke was. We told grandma, “Open your present!” She opened it and was CLEARLY disappointed, BUT she couldn’t say anything because she got us the same exact blankets for our presents. So we said, “Oh grandma, great minds think alike! We really are family, same wavelength!”
Needless to say, that was the last year we got presents from her. It was totally worth it. ~ jhrogers32