What is the worst gift YOU have *given*?

[SnuggleBuggles]

I bet if we think back there is a gift that we cringe when thinking about giving or wish we hadn't chosen we'll all come up with something.

Mine was a gift for my then 25yo SIL. Usually I give gifts that she likes. I have a pretty good track record. That year for her b-day I bought her a membership to AAA. Here's my defense...
-she just, a week prior, bought her 1st car
-my car had recently had a flat tire and I was really glad I had a AAA membership.
-My mom has always instilled the value of AAA in me but her family had not. I remember when dh and I were dating and his car broke down at 2am. His parents had towing coverage from their insurance company but you needed to have $50 cash to pay them on the spot. It was 2am and he didn't have it. AAA doesn't require that. I was trying to pass on a good idea.

I still think the idea has merit but she looked at me like I was crazy. The membership was so much (more than I usually spend for a sibling b-day) that that was all we got her.

It didn't help at all that 2 weeks later she accepted a job in a different city and didn't take her car with her! So it was a fail in so many ways.

How about you? Did you give a baby shower gift back in the day before you had kids that you now think was ridiculous? Think back- do you have one?

Beth

[ourbabygirl]

Good question! The only thing I can think of is a baby shower gift for my SIL when my nephew (first grandchild) was born. Instead of looking for her registry (I'm assuming she had one, but don't know for sure), I bought a bunch of baby stuff from the dollar store and wrapped it up really cute. It still probably cost around $20, but for stuff that was probably junky, looking back. I should have just gotten one small nice thing from Target or BRU that she could exchange if she needed to, but at the time I was clueless about kids!

[EllasMum]

Good question! The only thing I can think of is a baby shower gift for my SIL when my nephew (first grandchild) was born. Instead of looking for her registry (I'm assuming she had one, but don't know for sure), I bought a bunch of baby stuff from the dollar store and wrapped it up really cute. It still probably cost around $20, but for stuff that was probably junky, looking back. I should have just gotten one small nice thing from Target or BRU that she could exchange if she needed to, but at the time I was clueless about kids!

:yeahthat:

I sat down to write almost this exact post! I bought a bunch of cheapy mint green baby stuff from a department store and gave it to my BFF. This was before I had DD so was totally clueless. I cringe when I think back on that gift! :bag

[amandabea]

I bought my probably-at-the-time 3yo nephew the Sponge Bob DVD box set -- in my defense, this was pre-kids and I had never seen Sponge Bob. I just knew he was popular with kids...oops.

[frgsnlzrds]

I'm rather proud of the worst gift I've ever given! My sister is really picky and usually returns what I give her, so I got her a book called How To Be A Ventriloquist. The look on her face was priceless. I got her something else, too, but I figured if she was just going to return it, I might as well have fun picking out the wost thing possible.

This year, I asked her if she wanted a boy dummy or a girl dummy.

[AnnieW625]

I made some PJ pants for some friends for Christmas years back, and they turned out to be really big. The large ended up being more unisex than I realized. At least one sister I gave them too was pretty handy with a sewing machine so I think she was able to fix them, though I never asked.

[JElaineB]

What I think is the worst gift I ever gave was a dedicated hot chocolate maker that I gave to my brother one Christmas. I am not even sure he likes hot chocolate! Though he says the worst gift I gave him was the book "A Man, A Can, A Plan (http://www.amazon.com/Man-Can-Plan-Great-Meals/dp/1579546072/ref=pd_cp_b_0)". Somehow he was insulted that I thought he couldn't cook or something. I thought he would appreciate it being a young bachelor, but no.

[lizzywednesday]

Even with a registry it's often hard to shop! I gave my step-sister what ended up being a duplicate gift because her registry hadn't updated before I bought it and I felt kind of embarrassed because I actually LIKE her and didn't want her to be disappointed that I couldn't spend a lot of money.

My husband has been the recipient of some bum-gifts, especially when we were first dating. He has grown up since then, but, OH!, the fits he pitched! (I had never before seen someone so spoiled in my life!!!)

Now, I just make sure he tells his mother and I what he wants for his birthday or Christmas ... with enough time for us to shop!

[hellokitty]

Calphalon baking sets. Yup, sounds crazy, doesn't it? One yr after Christmas, I found Calphalon baking sets (pans) for a really good price. I got myself a set, and a set for each of my SILs (back then they were not married to my brothers yet). Anyway, turns out neither one of them really cooks/bakes and worse yet, I discovered after using the set I bought for myself that these pans were AWFUL, despite the brand name. I've always felt a little bit bad about it, but it was an innocent mistake and quite honestly, I've gotten some weird gifts from them, so it's not like they are perfect gift givers themselves. My one sil in particular has given us a lot of very obnoxious toys (for my kids) as gifts. She just had her first baby this yr and my DH keeps saying we should return the favor, lol.

[SASM]

Mine is a toss up between two gifts. One was for my Finnish penpal and her new DH. Finances were tight and I had no idea what to give her DH so, as he was some sort of teacher, I gave him an open deck of French Facts cards from Restoration Hardware. They were mine, I looked through them and figured they looked new enoughm just not warpped in celophane. I felt horrible as I had NO IDEA what to get him anyway...her new DH and I gave him a used gift.

My second was a gift set of Wallace and Grommit VCR tapes from Learningsmith for a then-3 year old. I had no idea what Wallace and Grommit was at the time but it was in my price range for my then-BFF's toddler son. Now, I KNOW that I am not a W&G fan...feel bad.

[Globetrotter]

When we first got into Perler Beads, I was reading up on them and saw that teens also liked them, so I bought a set as a small gift when we visited friends with preteens - it was just a regular dinner, not a special occasion. She gave them back to me when we were leaving, saying that these would be great for my kids (preschool, early elementary) but her kids had outgrown them.

I was so embarrassed. I would never do that to someone, though I guess she was doing me a favor before I went around handing them to other preteens. FTR, my ten year old and her friends still LOVE them! (but I now know never to make that mistake again, and I give preteens/teens "grown up" stuff)

[SammyeGail]

I've probably done some goof ups in the past, but Christmas before last I got my Dad 2 shirts and some pants from Lands End, with the hidden elastic waist. He wanted some more nice ones to wear to church and I thought the 'comfort' would be nice.

I felt really bad when I found out he got tangled/tripped trying to put them on, bounced around on one foot trying not to fall, then fell and hit his head on the bed post :(.

[ChunkyNicksChunkyMom]

i'm rather proud of the worst gift i've ever given! My sister is really picky and usually returns what i give her, so i got her a book called how to be a ventriloquist. The look on her face was priceless. I got her something else, too, but i figured if she was just going to return it, i might as well have fun picking out the wost thing possible.

This year, i asked her if she wanted a boy dummy or a girl dummy.

rotflol!!!!!

[AshleyAnn]

I must have blocked out my memory of the gifts I've given DH's family because I hate buying for them and I know I've given some bad ones. DH's entire family does a HUGE gift exchange and its so hard to know what to buy for some people (DH's stepdad's stepdad!) and we're always on a shoestring budget. It seems like our most common plan is to buy SOMETHING that can have paper wrapped around it that doesn't make our rent check bounce and give up on finding 'just the right' gift. Last year went well but the 2 previous years either DH or I was unemployed and we were really struggling and he, being a man, could careless and I barely knew his family so it 'worked'.

DH's stepgrandmother is the worlds worst gift giver and I always make an attempt to come up with something equally as unperfect for her as her gifts to us. I started it 2 years ago for Christmas and last year I told SIL about it on accident and she found it hilarous and now is doing the same thing. We know she's a serial regifter who shops in her attic from stuff people gave her as gifts - my wedding gift was sheets that were in a package copywrited 1973 - they were 60% polymer blend, 30% cotton, and apparently nothing else. It makes shopping fun.

This year I'm making a better attempt at planning early and shopping sales and not putting it off because its stressful. DH is returning to active duty military and that will improve things considerably once the paperwork is processed.

[Laurel]

One of my closest friends owns a store that sells amazing stuff (very Anthropologie). She gets everything she could want for wholesale. It makes it impossible to find a gift for her, and I usually buy some dumb practical thing. She gives the most incredible presents, and I always give cringe-worthy stuff.

I hate it.

[Fairy]

When I was working at a dry clearners in HS, we had a gift exchange for the employees, and I'd never done anthing like that before. We were told to write what we wanted on a sheet of paper, and then we picked. I wrote down Yaz's "Upstairs at Erics," which I listened to incessantly -- on vinyl -- as it happens. The older woman whom I picked had written down a hat and gloves, and she was one of the most unfriendly women I'd ever known. I was 16yo, and I had no money. I had an allowance, no budgeting skills, and I had no idea we were to buy exactly what was asked for. So, I gave her some stationery that I had but had never used that was hand-made and was, obviously, painstakenly done. Yet pretty ugly. I thoguht that was a nice enough gift, and I mentioned I had never done this before, right? When she opened it, she had a fit. Yelled, screamed, told me I was an idiot, I couldn't follow instructions, she was coutning on the hat and gloves, etc. I was shocked and very sensitive, and I had no idea I'd done anything wrong. I later quit whe they wouldn't let me have Saturdays off to play at the football games -- which was required, as Marching Band was a CLASS and not a luxury.

I think this woman was horrid. But I admit it was a terrible gift.