January 10, 2022 | Eul Basa

These Christmases Were Ruined BIG Time


Christmas is supposed to be the happiest time of the year, but sometimes it doesn't end up that way. Unexpected situations can arise at any point during the holidays, and they can totally ruin your Christmas plans, leaving you with a scarring memory for years to come. Just take it from these people, whose Christmases will never be the same again:


1. Notorious M-O-M

My mom is notorious for bad presents. I have received such delights as toothpaste and vitamin pills wrapped up for me at Christmas. However, there was one that stands out. It was a car crash kit. It had a disposable camera for recording the scene, a form for both parties to fill out, a tape measure for measuring stuff, and some chalk, for what I assume, was for marking out where the bodies landed or something. I’m not sure.

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2. Naughty, Not Nice

It's Christmas morning and I can hear my nephew, who lives in the apartment downstairs, throwing a temper tantrum because he thinks his sister got "larger gifts" from Santa this year. His dad goes, "Are you joking right now? You better be joking. Say just kidding. Oh my god, tell me he's kidding." Seriously, the kid is a spoiled brat.

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3. Kindle Conundrum

When I was 12, I bought myself a Kindle. My sister and I spent an entire summer working for our grandpa and stepdad to save up for them. We each spent about $200. My mom got all three of my brothers Kindles for Christmas, and I got some clothes from Old Navy. I was livid. 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 video games, and it was unfair.

She never apologized or saw anything wrong with what she did. I honestly still haven't forgiven her, almost a decade later.

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4. Money Can’t Buy Class

My wife ruined my Christmas. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to look at her the same. She called the simple ring my daughter received from her boyfriend “a trash ring” because she wasn't wearing the nearly $700 class ring we had just given her. I have never been so disgusted with my wife. It’s a whole new side to her.

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5. Didn’t Get Me My Tamagotchi

When the Tamagotchi 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. So, I asked my dad why I didn't get one and if Santa thought I had done something terrible that year. He told me I was too old for Santa and needed to learn that life isn't fair. I was eight, and my sisters were seven and five. From that point forward, I only ever received clothing.

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6. Bad Boy

I woke up at 4:30am to the sound of my dog throwing up. After cleaning up and snuggling with him, 6:00 am rolls around and he starts having shallow breathing. I’ve now been sitting in the vet ER parking lot since then and waiting for his exam to finish. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and racked up a $900 bill.

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7. 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.

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8. Perfect For You

A few years ago, my aunt gave me a rock for Christmas. She gave presents to me and my two older cousins and said it’s time for the big girls to open their gifts. She made my cousins go first and they got scarves. Then I opened my present…and pulled a rock out of the package. I looked up, waiting for her to laugh, and she said, "Isn't it wonderful??"

So I had to be like “Yeah, I loooove it!!” She then told me that she had dug it out of her garden the previous summer and she knew that I would think it is sooo cool. The following year, she gave me acorn tops 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." She is a tad eccentric. Both were pretty terrible presents.

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9. 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?”

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10. 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 rain storm to my parents’ house. So there’s that. I know it’s going to be okay, but…not a good Christmas.

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11. 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.

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12. Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder

My Granddad, who I’m very close with, has been in the hospital for almost two weeks and unfortunately, he can't be home for Christmas. We've never had a Christmas without him for all the 20 years of my life. We can't visit either. I gave him a call this morning and it put a big lump in my throat. Then he said something that made me burst into tears.

He mentioned that he got a gift from the ward, which got him emotional and made me cry in return. He calmed down and started to tell me about the turkey dinner he's having today, which he's excited about. Good news, though; he should be home before New Year.

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13. 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.

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14. 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.

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15. 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.

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16. 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 and 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.

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17. 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.

Bad Christmas gifts factsPixnio

18. Child’s Play

Well, I got left with building EVERY single toy set for my nephew. And these aren't simple 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.

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19. 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.

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20. 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.

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21. 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.

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22. In The Dog House

I was planning to go spend Christmas with my mom and dad this year after my nine-year relationship and two-year engagement broke off just before Christmas. I just moved out, so I'm alone for the first time in nine years, and it was hitting me pretty hard. I thought it couldn't get worse—but I was wrong. My dog got a really bad stomach bug, and he woke me up three times at night to go outside for a poop.

He usually sleeps through the night with no problem. This morning, I discovered a pile of puke on his dog bed. It's not his fault, but I don't know if I can go anywhere today.

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23. 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.

Bad Christmas gifts factsPixabay

24. It’s All Fun And Games…

My 5-year-old opening his new Nintendo Switch and immediately dropping 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.

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25. 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.

Bad Christmas gifts factsPixnio

26. All Dogs Go To Heaven

My dog suddenly passed earlier this month due to sudden onset aggressive cancer. It’s my first Christmas without him. Honestly, he loved Christmas more than me. He’d wake me up early because he knew what wrapped presents meant. He would lie by them waiting. He was such a good boy, and I miss him so unbearably already.

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27. 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.

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28. The Doctor Is Out

I have Crohn’s disease and I got an abscess right near my sphincter that had to be surgically drained under general anesthesia. That’s not even the worst part. Unbeknownst to them, it was so deep and it went so high up in my right cheek that there were complications in surgery. The operating room looked like somebody threw blood everywhere when I left.

It happens because it shoots out from the pressure, especially if they aren't prepared. Well, then they forgot to give me pain medicine when I went home. At first, I was still numb from surgery so I couldn't feel anything. Cue six hours later, 10:30 pm my time, and I head BACK to the ER. I finally got a pain pill in me in the wee hours of the morning.

Now I have to wait until the fight or flight reaction goes back down, which means I’ll take the pills for a bit and then I will eventually calm down. Worst of all, this isn’t my first Christmas or New Year’s in the ER, not by a long shot.

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29. 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."

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30. 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.

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31. Christmas Computer Crush

I started loving computers at the age of seven. I used to go to our local kid's club, learned to code early, and was addicted to everything related to them. When I was 11, my grandma called me and told me she had sent money to my parents to buy me a PC. I was so excited. All my friends could not wait to see it and play with me.

I could not sleep for days on end. Finally, Christmas Eve came. We did the gifts in the evening, so I rushed under the tree. Surprise! I got a mobile electronic organ player. My Mom told me, “It has buttons, right? Just like a computer.” That’s not even the worst part. She had taken the money my grandma sent for MY computer and bought a new washing machine. I’m still upset with her for that.

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32. 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 distressed 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.

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33. 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.

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34. The Great Forgetting

My mom is old, and her vibrancy is gone. Her bones are brittle. Her hair is gray. Her eyes are glazed over from cataracts. Her skin is patchworked with blood spots. And it is not cliché to say it happened overnight. Just three years ago, she was getting a monthly pedicure and keeping hair appointments to cut and color her once brown hair.

With her five children grown and gone, she never stayed home. From the time she woke until dinnertime, she was outside roaming in her car, visiting friends and shopping. She was alive and loving every minute of her new freedom that was formerly restricted from being a full-time nurse, a housewife, and a mother. Then the accident changed everything.

Three years ago, she stepped off a sidewalk curb and lost her balance. Her right shoulder completely shattered, and it was how she discovered she had osteoporosis. The entire shoulder had to be replaced. The surgeon picked out pieces of splintered bones and put in a round metal ball to give her about 60 percent use of her shoulder again.

She suffered through the yearlong healing process…and fell again, this time breaking a bone in her back and knee. For the last few years, her car has been supplanted with a recliner. The last few Christmas holidays have obviously not been the same. This one will more than likely be the last. A few months ago, I started noticing the memory problems.

I visit her weekly, and since the Breaking of Bones I have been spending every Saturday morning and night with her by sleeping in my old childhood room. The severity of the memory problems became more noticeable every week I returned. For the first time since I was born, my mom forgot my birthday. Birthdays are more important to no one other than a mother—at least, my mother.

Birthdays were an event celebrated in my parents’ home more than Christmas was. My birthday, my brother’s birthday, and my father’s birthday are all in December. My mom forgot all three. No phone calls. No cards. No cake. No celebrations. We did not remind her. We only spoke of it amongst ourselves briefly to mention that we noticed.

Maybe it did not need to be broached. More than likely, though, we were so saddened about the Great Forgetting that none of us could bring ourselves to discuss it. Last week, just four days before Christmas, my mother told me when she was a teenager that she would eat the honeycombs from real bee honey. She said it was her favorite thing to eat as a child.

She and her two sisters would sit on the porch and put the comb on an English muffin or hot biscuits. She said she would not eat oatmeal unless she had honeycomb pieces to put in it. Sometimes, she would just suck on the honeycomb before finally eating it by itself. She and her two sisters felt so rich and luxurious if they had it.

“Honeycomb was not easy to come by back then,” she said to me. “I can’t remember what it tasted like, but it was the best kind of candy. I wish I could taste it again.” It is said that men have trouble listening to women. They hear them, they just do not listen. I had no trouble listening to my mom. I knew what her Christmas gift was going to be this year.

I got mom six separate quarts of honey with combs in them. I had to go to three different bee apiaries in two different states to get them. I spent no fewer than two days tracking down and purchasing honeycomb. Apparently it is not a popular request with bee farmers. The price was costly, but would be worth it. It would be the best gift I have ever given my mom.

I would give her the gift of honey to help atone for my mistakes made when I was younger. Maybe this gift would help her forget the disappointment I caused when I dropped out of college after she paid the tuition. Maybe this gift would help her forget the time I sold the two wingback chairs only six months after she gifted them to me for my new apartment.

I needed the money, and I got it. No money was worth the first and only time I made my mother cry when she learned I sold those chairs—the same chairs she had gotten from my grandmother. I was a bad son, I made mistakes. Maybe this Christmas gift would make all that better. I will call it the Honeycomb Atonement. Naming it so will make it easier for me to remember this current Christmas when I get old later and start having my own memory problems.

This year will be doubly special for me because I know this will be my mom’s last Christmas. Her memory problem is worsening quickly. The differences are noticeable now almost daily. But I had a secret I could not tell her for two more days until Christmas morning. Why can it not be Christmas Day right now so I can give her this gift right now, I thought.

This is going to be her best Christmas. I am certain of it. I am going to drop a hint about her gift like she used to do with me as a child a few days before Christmas. Yesterday, while I was sitting on my mom’s couch with her across from me in her recliner, I asked, “Mom, do you remember when you used to eat honeycombs on the porch with Pat and Dina?”

She turned her head to face me with a blank stare. Her response chilled me to the bone. “Honeycombs?” She asked. “Who told you that? No, I never ate honeycombs. Those things were disgusting.”

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35. Get The Drift People

My extended family used to do this thing where you would put your name on a piece of paper, put it in a hat, then draw someone out, and that's who you would get a gift for. It was supposed to be anonymous. I got two terrible gifts in two consecutive years. The first was a DVD of The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift. I'd literally never watched even a second of those movies, and I'm pretty sure the franchise was up to about number four or five at that point.

The very next year, someone got me a cheap pair of fake leather driving gloves. They were about two sizes too small. I guess not being a 'car guy' at all somehow convinced my uncles and aunts that I was secretly a drag racer or something. Finally, 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 it knowing I got screwed two years running. Thankfully, she got me a Kindle Fire.

Bad Christmas gifts factsPixabay

36. Father Christmas

You decide what ruined my Christmas the most: My dad was hospitalised for drinking recently and now that he's home, I'm the only family member left who will take care of him and help organise 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.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

37. Victoria Should Have Kept This Secret

When I was 10, my grandma came to visit a little before Christmas time and brought my two siblings and me our own gifts. I can't even remember what my older sister got; it was something really good, though, because she went off on her own to play with it. I distinctly recall my little brother getting the most awesome remote control toy car. It was so cool.

I was pretty bummed, as I had been trying to find a better one to replace my old one, but I tried to suck it up and be happy for him. Then we got to my present. It was small, but I didn't mind…that is, until I opened it. It was a thong. I was 10, and my grandma got me a light baby blue thong from Victoria's Secret. I remember it clearly.

It was one of those really little ones with just a small line to go between your cheeks, and it had a pretty small front too. Needless to say, I was pretty upset. I didn't want to yell at her, but I was 10. What on earth was she thinking? I felt like I was going crazy. My parents got mad that I wasn't being grateful. I ended up having to sit in my room for a while.

My grandma was pretty confused and tried to come up and comfort me; I guess she really thought it was a good present. She said I should save it for later. I felt at a complete loss, I barely even knew what that stuff was, and anything I did know about it was solely due to the internet. Years later, I dug the underwear out from the back of my drawer, and she was mortified.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

38. 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 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.

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39. 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.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

40. 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.

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41. I Bought Her Pearls And She Got Me What?

I was working a dead-end job making less than $1,600/mo, and my long-term girlfriend at the time wanted a Tiffany & Co. pearl necklace which cost over a grand. I starved myself for three months to save up for that necklace, and she was beyond ecstatic to receive it. So when it was time for my gift, she handed me a Starbucks holiday mug with a purchase receipt from 10 minutes prior. Well, that disappointment was nothing compared to what she said next.

She told me, "I didn't want to get you a gift because being with me should be enough. But I found it in my heart to get you something small for X-mas."

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

42. 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.

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43. The Furby Fiasco

When I was eight or nine, I really wanted one of those Furbies who were really popular back in the day. Come Christmas, and my aunt was proud to give me my present, hyping me up, saying that it was something I really wanted. Then I opened it. It was a plushy Furby keychain. I don't remember much from that moment, but I was told my face fell when I saw it.

I was raised not to complain about receiving gifts, so when she asked me if I didn’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. Well, the joke was on me. It turned out to be a gag, and she had, in fact, bought me a real Furby that she gifted me after. Still, the immediate disappointment was hard to hide!

Bad Christmas gifts factsPixabay

44. Angels Among Us

My grandma is into spiritualist stuff. Whatever, we thought at first, she's happy and it's not like the money she gives to the interest puts her well-being in jeopardy. We were so, so wrong. We found out that the people to whom she's been giving money for years are scamming her for a very large amount of money and giving nothing back.

In response, my dad and uncles stopped taking her to the place where they sell the stuff. Well, the store called her and convinced her that her family, us, wants to do her harm. This was right before the holidays, so she was very sour and barely spoke to anyone throughout Christmas, even though it was a painfully small gathering.

People were bitter and worried, and it was a very tense meeting.

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45. Boulevard Of Broken Dreams

My brother would get a pile of presents or something pretty expensive like a foosball or air hockey table. One year, I was really into Green Day and the emerging "alternative" music of the mid-90s. And my mom bought me a few CDs. I thought, “Wow! Awesome gift!” Except the CDs were Toni Braxton and Mariah Carey and something else I've completely forgotten. In the aftermath of the gift opening, my mom realized that she spent waaaaay more on my brother than me.

She looked at the pile my brother got and the few gifts I got, then made a big show of stomping around the house, claiming she had more for me, claiming she must have misplaced them. Never once did she find these "misplaced" gifts. And, to make it worse, my birthday is shortly after Christmas, so I would never get much for my birthday because the budget was blown on Christmas.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

46. Life’s Not Fair

Lung cancer ruined my Christmas by popping up the week before the holidays. I’ve been an endurance athlete my whole life, I don’t partake in any smoking and I barely drink. Yet I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We just did a CT scan, and the results broke my heart. I got them three days ago: I definitely have lung cancer.

I’m only 29 years old, just finished grad school and landed my dream job three weeks ago.

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47. I Gave Him HIs Fancy Threads, Along With The Boot

I was dating and living with a guy. 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 that it was perfect. I also made us a lovely Christmas dinner with some fun drinks. When Christmas morning rolled around, I gave him his shirt. He tried it on and loved it!

He then proceeded to get a panicked look on his face. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a $100 from his wallet, and said, "Um...here you 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 the new year arrived.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

48. Unhappy Holidays

My long-term girlfriend, who I was going to spend Christmas with, cheated on me. Then when I tried to forgive her and gave her a chance to make it work, she decided she simply wanted to end things there. Now I’m sitting here staring at the huge pile of gifts I’d got her, wondering what the point is anymore. Not a good Christmas.

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49. This Christmas Transformed Me

When I was ten years old, I was crazy into Transformers and He-Man. That’s all I asked for for Christmas. We were spending the holidays that year making an RV trip to Florida. The whole family was packed in the RV along with our cat. My Mom had a little tree set up in the back of the RV with presents underneath. I would stare at them, trying to figure out what each one was.

I was so pumped for Christmas and to finally get to our destination. I spent mile after mile staring at the gifts. Christmas Day finally came, and we were at a small campground in Florida. I eagerly opened presents and came to the one I was hoping to be something awesome to add to my He-man collection. I ripped open the paper, and to my surprise and horror, it wasn’t He-man.

It wasn’t Transformers either. It was SMATH. SMATH is a game, like Scrabble, but instead of words, you make mathematical equations. Just what every 10-year-old boy wants to do in his free time—math equations. I was devastated. I politely feigned excitement, but I was an empty hollow shell inside. After the disappointment with SMATH, we packed up the RV and continued to the next leg of our trip.

But the misery didn’t end there. We headed out and made a big loop out of the campgrounds but saw a small lump of something we left behind at our campsite. My Dad parked the RV and jogged back to the campsite as my brother, and I watched him. He got to the lump, and I saw him hang his head. That lump was our cat, it got out of the RV without us knowing, and we ran it over as we were leaving.

So, on the same Christmas morning that I received SMATH, instead of my He-Man, we also ran over our beloved family cat.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

50. 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 I 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.

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51. Not The Model Christmas I Was Hoping For

When I was six years old, I really, really wanted an electric train set. I was like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, harping on about the BB gun that he wanted. The big day arrived, and there was a large box that looked pretty close to an electric train set in size, but my parents would dictate in which order the presents were opened, and of course, it was saved for last.

I don't remember the other gifts, but I do remember the big electric train set-sized box, but it wasn't an electric train set. It was a box filled with sweaters and socks. Just what a six-year-old boy wants—sweaters and socks. The worst part was that the person who the gift was from wanted to see me model the sweaters, and my parents forced me to.

Just what a six-year-old boy with his heart set on an electric train set really wants—to be disappointed AND have to model sweaters he didn't like in the first place.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

52. Say Uncle

My stupid uncle. The story behind why I hate him is long and involved, but every year I hate him and my awful cousins just a little bit more. This year though? Screw him. My 83-year-old grandma had been caring for my 88-year-old grandpa with dementia, incontinence, and legs so bad he could barely stand, let alone get around.

My grandfather was horrible to her because he was so confused he couldn’t figure things out, and lashed out at her. My mom went up and helped as much as she could, and I did too. My uncle, however, never lifted a single finger. Instead, he made my grandma feel guilty about thinking about putting my grandfather in respite care because he was getting so bad.

She was all alone with no outside help. And yet he whined at her for even thinking about putting my grandpa in respite just so she could get a break from the 24 hour care. She eventually snapped and had a mental breakdown from the stress. She also decided on putting my grandpa in respite in the end—and then the worst happened.

Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke and passed couple of months later. Did my uncle help plan arrangements? No. Did he go to my grandma’s at all the day he passed? No. Then he insulted my mom because she didn’t personally give him the funeral plans even though my aunt was there the whole time and could have told him at any time.

Then, THEN he actually whines about not having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and made my grandma feel so guilty that she prepared dinner for his family by herself, ONE MONTH after my grandfather’s passing. AND he did his usual thing of arriving two hours late, leaving her sitting there trying to keep food warm. Like she has to do every year.

This year I said screw that, I’ll have Christmas here and you do whatever the heck you want, but it will NOT involve guilting my grandma again to make a whole Christmas dinner for your selfish, whiny butt. Well, plans changed, and me and my brother (plus our spouses and children) are going to my grandma’s on Sunday, but he wasn’t going to be there.

But could he leave well enough alone? No, now he’s intruding on my nice relaxed Christmas with my grandma and I have to be forced to be in the same room as him. The saving grace is my terrible cousins will not be there. If he follows the same pattern as every year before, though, he will be two-three hours late and we will already be gone, so it won’t matter.

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53. I Couldn’t Sink My Teeth Into This One

My aunt wasn't in the best financial situation, and she had arthritis and cancer. She was sweet beyond what she should have been but gave me two bad gifts that I’ll never forget. When I was 15 years old, she gave me a floppy black hat with an elastic piece on the back that had pennies glued to the bill with glitter glue. Then the following year, when I was 16, she gave me a vampire makeup kit. I had never mentioned anything about vampires. I was your run-of-the-mill jock worried about sports and friends.

Passive-Aggressive Christmas Gift Stories factsPexels

54. If The Clothes Fit…

So every year we go to our grandma's house (which is next door) and open the majority of our presents, then come back to our house and open the rest. So over at our grandma's, we only get like a couple of presents and half of them were clothes. Rock on for me because I needed some. But, my little brother, who is 11, decided to say and loudly repeat, "Can we go home, all I got was clothes. I want to go home!"

This looked so disrespectful to everyone because all he was thinking about was more presents and he wasn't grateful. I got the same amount of clothes and the two other things I got there I thought were cool. I also made sure to SHOW my appreciation.

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55. Scammed In Second Grade

This happened during the class gift exchange when I was in the second grade. Imagine being a kid, watching everyone else open dolls, cars, and glitter pens while you get office supplies. I was sitting there with a calculator, tape dispenser, and stapler. Apparently, the girl who drew my name was in the hospital a lot, and her parents just grabbed things from the gift shop.

I have no idea why a teddy bear wasn't on the list. I ended up giving everything to my Nana, since she was a teacher.

Worst Co-Workers factsPxHere

56. 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 open 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 in 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. 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.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

57. The Selfish Self-Gifter

My dad would stereotypically buy things for people that he wants. On the surface, it’s understandable, “I like XYZ thing, so it must be a good present!” But no, that’s not what I mean. It was so much worse. When I was five, he bought my siblings and me survival gear—bandaids, flashlights, MREs. The year after, he bought us a kayak, which, at least ostensibly, he could have taken us out on, but he didn’t.

Then, when my siblings and I were 8, 11, and 15, respectively, my dad bought us an electric toothbrush. No, not an electric toothbrush each. AN electric toothbrush. Which he then, promptly, reclaimed and, I believe, still uses. The following year, he bought us an on-faucet water purifier. Suffice to say, my dad and I don’t get along.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

58. I’ll Be Home For Christmas

My boyfriend’s family left him alone on Christmas. He begged me to stay with him, but it’s a tradition that I always stay at my mom’s house. I invited him to stay with me, and instead of being grateful, he came in the house and fought with me about going with him. He ended up locking himself in my room and refusing to leave, even when my parents were trying to make him leave.

They bought presents for him and made food and drinks for him, but he didn’t even take them because he wanted his way so bad. I didn’t get to enjoy my Christmas Eve at all...I spent the whole day crying.

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59. She Thought This Gift Was Nothing To Sneeze At

I was in my 20s, and by that point, you're not supposed to care as much anymore, but I had worked dozens of hours of overtime at my factory job to buy my mom a custom-made birthstone ring for Christmas that year. The medication I had been taking had recently gone from prescription to over-the-counter, so my mom thought it would be great to get me a year's supply.

So for Christmas, I got a bottle of allergy medication from Costco, while my sister got beautiful leather boots, and my brother got an Xbox. I cried all the way home.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

60. An Ivy-League Burn

Grandma called my degree useless and a waste of time. Not going to lie, that hurt and ruined Christmas for me. I just graduated this year and wasn’t even able to go to my own graduation. For what it’s worth, I went to a top 10 college.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

61. The Christmas Treasure Hunt

In my family, large and exciting gifts get bespoke riddles and clues leading on a hunt that culminates in the present. One year, I drew a sister of mine in the exchange who HATED frogs. So, I purchased her a pair of well-made, stylish scarves as she was about to move to a colder part of the nation. I also bought her perhaps the most grotesque frog-shaped coffee mug I have ever seen in my life. And then I wrote out a five-step scavenger hunt to the mug.

As I was setting everything up on Christmas Eve, I told my dad about what I was doing. He laughed, but then he got a little somber. He told me about the gift he gave his youngest sister for her fifth Christmas. It was a gigantic box, beautifully wrapped. In it, he carefully layered pastel tissue paper. As she peeled back layer after layer, her excitement became palpable.

The tension was building. WHAT COULD IT BE? It was a single piece of nickel gum. He told me, "She was absolutely crushed. I'll never forget how badly I hurt her. So just keep that in mind." Despite his warning, I didn't feel too bad. After all, I had gotten her a real gift as well.

Christmas morning arrived. As fate would have it, this same sister drew MY name for a gift.

It was a decent-sized box, about 8x10x4 inches. It was heavy but not noisy. There were many things on my list that would have been a good fit for that box. So I opened it. Inside was an Amazon box. I open that, and there is another wrapped box, then within that, a slightly smaller wrapped box. Inside THAT one was several rocks embedded in a tissue nest, and another WRAPPED. BOX.

I opened that one to find a packet of duct tape. At that point, I just looked at my dad. He started laughing and finally choked out, "Forget about that story!" My gift ended up being a gift card, which was plenty and appreciated. And she got a kick out of her frog mug, even if it only gets used by her husband to creep her out.

Bad Christmas gifts factsFlickr, Brandon Cripps

62. Party Pooper

My brother leaned in the corner staring at his phone the entire Christmas Party. He wouldn’t open any gifts, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't even speak to anyone. He was just standing there in a shredded hoodie, neck at a 90° angle, staring at his phone. My step-dad dragged him outside to talk, but it didn’t do anyone any good. He just got worse.

He came inside and was a complete jerk to anyone and everyone. He even yelled at his son for yelling "I love it! I love it!" when he opened his gift.

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63. The Nostalgic Neighbor

My neighbor across the street was an old German woman who survived WWII. She had immigrated to the United States, married a GI, and had a family. When I was young, she dealt with her dementia-riddled husband until he passed. She moved in with her family when I was about eight. One day when I was about 14, she just suddenly popped by the house a week before Christmas.

She wanted to drop off gifts for my middle brother and me. She was shocked when I came out to help her inside. I guess she had forgotten how old I was, and she didn't know that my mom had had my youngest brother, who was then about four or five. She brought us Dollar Store Barbies.

Barbie factsFlickr, Anita Barreto

64. Doesn’t Age Well

My 90-year-old grandfather ruined my Christmas. I've been his caretaker for the last few months, and he pulled a knife on me this week, calling me the "greatest disappointment of his whole life" and a "worthless piece of junk.” All this even though I just got into medical school this year. Took all the joy right out of the holiday.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

65. My Parents Are A Bunch Of Phoneys

My sister got her first phone in her freshman year of high school, so I was fully expecting to get my first phone during my freshman year of high school. I kept talking about how excited I was, especially since I was the only kid in my whole grade without a phone. Christmas day came, and we started opening up the presents under the tree. With every box, I was hoping that it would be my new phone, but I wasn’t finding it.

I was starting to give up hope, but my sister opened up one of her presents, and it was a new phone to replace her old one. That made me even more hopeful that I was going to get a new phone. Well, I was in for some serious heartbreak. So I opened up my last few presents and nothing. No phone. I was trying so hard not to cry and to be grateful for my other gifts, but I was absolutely crushed.

It might have been okay if nobody got a phone; after all, I could've understood if my parents couldn't afford it. But the fact that my sister got a new phone was devastating. To top it off, I asked if I could get her old one, and my parents said no. It turned out that my parents had hidden a final round of presents for us to open later on when we thought we had gotten all our gifts. Mine was a new phone, so I did get one in the end, but those few hours beforehand were still very soul-crushing.

Entitled Parents FactsUnsplash

66. The Opposite Of Puppy Love

My wife and I went to exchange gifts at our in-laws on Christmas Eve, and it ended badly. In May, our family adopted a rescue puppy, and it was a very hyper breed. During the holidays, it was still a puppy. Meanwhile, my father-in-law keeps a four-year-old Labrador they never trained or socialized, and who is an absolute nightmare.

At first, we didn’t plan on bringing our dog around their dog so as to not pick up bad habits, as well as their age difference. But then my father-in-law thought it'd be cute to let them play. Instantly, my puppy goes into play mode. Running in circles and jumping on the Labrador. Normal behavior, mind you, but to the father-in-law this was violent.

Still, the Labrador is clearly uncomfortable and so was the owner, so I call for my dog and she comes. As my dog was prancing back to me, my father-in-law smacks my 5-month-old puppy to the ground, yelling "bad dog!” We left. 0/10.

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67. Picture This

I was getting into photography, and there was a very specific lens that I wanted. This led to the cringiest moment of my life. A close friend of mine mentioned that she knew someone who sold lenses super cheap, and she might be able to get in contact with them. Christmas came, and she got me a gift. It was an exact replica of the lens…but a coffee mug.

The only problem is that nowhere on the box did it say it was a coffee mug. I was thrilled, but I didn’t realize what it was. She had to awkwardly explain that it was not actually the lens.

Passive-Aggressive Christmas Gift Stories factsPxHere

68. A Christmas Surprise

My older brother is an addict, and he and his girlfriend came over to the house for Christmas Eve. They were both messed up and wouldn't shut up or stop arguing at each other. One thing led to another, words were said, and he attacked me, I promptly choked him out, cause he's weak. His girlfriend was attacking me when I did it, so I got up afterward and threw her out of the house.

I threw her boots and jacket out behind her. My brother woke up and left as well, but later that night it all started up again. They got into a domestic, the authorities came, and my brother ended up breaking his arm. So my mother had to drive him to the hospital at 3:00 am. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! My mom is a saint putting up with it.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

69. Just A Double Whammy Christmas

I had been dating my girlfriend for 14 months. Our first Christmas was low-key because we had only been going out for two months at that time. A year later, we were living about 45 minutes apart. I was finishing college while she was just starting her career. It was going to be our first real Christmas as a couple. I had planned to spend the morning with my family.

I was then going to drive to her place where I would spend the weekend with her. I called her on Christmas Day to see what time she wanted me to come over that afternoon. Well, I got my present early. She broke up with me on the phone. She told me the holiday had her thinking about spending holidays with her own family and she couldn't picture a future with me in it.

She didn't see me as a husband or father to the kids she wanted. So, I got broken up with and insulted for Christmas.

Petty Revenges factsShutterstock

70. Special Delivery

Last week, FedEx delivered some of the gifts I'd ordered, but instead of placing them on my porch, they left them behind my vehicle in the driveway. I have no idea why they did this. It’s a long, private driveway separated by several hundred feet of woods in each direction from neighbors, and the packages were relatively small.

I also have no pets that could have scared the delivery guy. I can only assume they were in a hurry. I can't imagine the stress of working during a shipping season of unprecedented volume, let alone making it through a year like this, when nearly every tiny bit of normalcy we experience falls on them to deliver.

A lot of these folks are probably seasonal temps just trying to do whatever they can to make ends meet during these trying economic times. HOWEVER. It took me a long time to appreciate this once disaster struck. See I subsequently backed over the packages when I went to get groceries. The packages were small enough to pass beneath the bumper of the truck, and positioned close enough that they could not be seen from the rear and side-view mirrors.

Not the greatest turn of events, if I’m honest.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

71. My Husband Gave Me The Suckiest Gift Ever

The entire family gathered together, and everyone was opening nice gifts. I got my husband a very nice watch, a leather laptop bag, and his favorite cologne, which was expensive. I spent a good amount on him. He handed me my gift, and I opened it. It was a hand-held vacuum cleaner. The entire family went silent. I looked at him with an "Are you kidding me?" look.

Smiling, he said, "So you can vacuum out your car and don't have to spend quarters at a car wash!" I went into the bedroom and bawled. This was the only thing he got me.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

72. This Story Slaps

I have this one aunt. A Bad Aunt. She used to babysit me a lot when I was a kid—I’m grown now—and she displayed some really disturbing tendencies toward me. Eventually when I became an adult, I realized with horror that she was likely into little children. But today she finally got what was coming to her. Our family was all together.

My sister has a little toddler, my niece, and she was strutting around. Suddenly, my aunt said in her creepy voice, “what a cute little butt,” and did a spank/grab of some of the chub. My sister wasted no time: She slapped her so hard it nearly knocked her out. It was great. Next year, I don’t think she’s going to be invited over at all.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

73. A Dramatic Discount

My aunt and uncle are comfortably well off, but get us presents from discount stores. I could tell you about my mother's “glamor poncho” or my brother's airport thriller novel, but their most recent Christmas gift is the one that's caused me the most inconvenience. Last Christmas, they gave me a small anthology of short plays based on Shakespeare, which I actually thought was quite nice since I did my undergrad dissertation on Shakespeare.

However, I learned that their AmDram group had been trying to perform the anthology since before the pandemic. I figured they must have brought the books in bulk for the group and given me a leftover copy. What's worse is that my uncle actually reminded my dad that he had brought me this book. My dad lied, saying that I had read it and loved it so as not to offend him.

Now I've got to read that bloody anthology cover-to-cover and find things I liked about it, or my dad and I are toast.

George Carlin factsShutterstock

74. Sibling Rivalry

Yesterday, my sister falsely accused me of attacking her five years ago. But it’s her reason why that was horrific. I told my parents yesterday that she had been physically harming me for the past few months. I was sick and tired of enduring it just because I was the “big brother.” It made me so infuriated that she makes something else up just to save herself saying, “That was the reason why I did all those things.”

Worst of all, my family believed her, and they already have a messed up image of me. I pleaded with my family to hire a polygraph test for both of us or a detective or something to prove my innocence, but she cried more and says even though it’s hard she will forgive me. Of course, she’s just trying to avoid the polygraph test.

Really ruined Christmas and makes me so depressed that my family sided with her. Eventually, I pleaded to my parents to please try and interrogate my sister again, because her story kept changing with little details as she piled on more misinformation to make me look bad. She eventually broke down and came clean that she lied in order to avoid punishment.

My parents and I cried for almost an hour together, I finally could eat dinner with them, and I got to open presents with them. My sister still went scot-free and acts like nothing happened, but I can’t even look at her face or go near her.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

75. If The Shoe Fits

When I was in first grade, we had a Secret Santa. Parents were asked to buy an inexpensive gift for their child's classmate to be opened during the last class before Christmas. Just before class ended, the gifts were handed out by our teacher. I sat near the back, and as I waited for my teacher to give me mine, I watched most of the class open their presents.

All the boys were getting Matchbox cars and Legos, and I was pumped. I finally got my gift, and the box was huge in comparison to everyone else's. I ripped the wrapping paper off, expecting to find a giant Lego set, but what I found just confused me. It was a shoebox. I was looking around and seeing my friends check out all of their fantastic new toys, and here I was, just sitting with a shoebox on my desk.

I wanted to cry. I wasn't going to let anyone see me cry, so I tried to hold back the tears. My lips were quivering, and my eyes were red, but I wasn’t letting anyone hear my sobs. My teacher noticed me looking into the distance and barely keeping it together and walked over to my desk. She asked, "What's wrong, honey? Why are you upset? Didn't you like your gift?"

I said, "I GOT SHOES!" I was barely keeping it together, and if I said anything else, I was going to break into a full-on sob. She bent down by my desk and said, "Really? Let's open it up and see what it looks like. I'm sure your gift isn't as bad as it seems." I'm thinking, “Yeah, right, there's nothing good about shoes.” But, I opened the box anyway because she asked me to and I looked inside. I don't see any shoes, but there is a smaller box inside. It was a box of Legos.

Strange factsFlickr, Anssi Koskinen

76. The Mother Of All Bad Christmases

My husband hates our Christmas tree, so it’s only half up in the living room. I haven’t had time to finish it because when I’m not working, I’m running errands and battling school with the kids. I was up until 4:00 am putting out Santa stuff. My husband brought the bags inside and went back to sleep while I set it all out.

However, he forgot to get my daughter’s big gift (a trampoline) out of storage, so I don’t know how I’m going to explain that. It was his one task. My three children didn’t even wake me up when they looked at their Santa gifts this morning. They know how much I look forward to it. Then my husband is having an anxiety attack and has just slept all day.

He didn’t even bother to participate during our family gift exchange. Now I’m cooking Christmas dinner alone while the entire house sleeps. The kids did complain that I added onion to the pot roast, though. I wanted to make turkey, but by the time I was able to get to the store, they were all frozen and I had no time to thaw.

I’ve asked the kids to take the trash out that I gathered after Christmas presents and Santa, and no one has. My husband did complain to me about the bags being in his way though, when he ventured downstairs for 10 minutes. After cooking and eating, I will have to do the dishes too while everyone enjoys their presents. That I bought for everyone on my own, with no help.

And wrapped. And set out. And cleaned up afterward. And once again, my husband didn’t even bother to participate or open his. I opened nothing because his gift to me was in a room that had three closed garbage bags full of wrapping paper and plastic propped against the shut door. Not even gross. And my kids, one with a job, don’t ever get me anything.

My husband has never taken them to a store or even online to pick me out a dollar something. So buying a gift for me isn’t something they even think about. Bah. Humbug. When I ranted to my husband about it all, he told me that I was obviously in a bad mood. To be fair, my husband genuinely has anxiety and never really celebrated Christmas even as a kid.

He doesn’t have traditions or anything that guide him. He participates solely for us. Also, his mother passed on Christmas Eve years ago, and that just made his neutrality of the holiday turn into dread and sadness. So he struggles through it for us but some years are better than others. Conversely, my childhood Christmases were magical and full of traditions and it’s my favorite time of the year.

I ended up breaking down and crying, once dinner was ready, because I sent a group text to my husband and two older teens that dinner was ready and a reminder to take out the garbage bags so we could eat. They literally just...ignored it. All three. Didn’t even reply. So I made my plate. Texted them (about a full half-hour later) thanks and merry Christmas, and cried while I ate.

I NEVER cry. The angry text dragged them out of their rooms to check on me, I guess. I’m probably the reason all this even happened because I’m a very “Never mind, I will just do it myself” kind of person. I think if the kids hadn’t done Christmas without me I probably would have been fine. But that just hurt so much because I picked out each and every thing to see their joy.

I worked overtime to pay for it because it’s been a bad year and I wanted to make the holiday a bit more special. But seeing me in tears put their but in gear and they ate, cleaned, and thanked me for the food and presents. After dinner, I went to my room and took a four-hour nap.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

77. I Wash My Hands Of This

We weren’t speaking to my father-in-law when my kids were born, but we decided to extend the olive branch when they were elementary school age. They had us over for Christmas one year. What a disaster. The kids were really excited to be having Christmas with these newly discovered grandparents. However, they were puzzled when we got there, as there was almost nothing under the tree.

My father-in-law finally told them that they had presents, but they had to take them home unopened and save them for Christmas morning. When he realized that they were, in his words, “pouting,” he let them open them. They each got a tiny bottle of dollar store hand soap, and one of them got a re-gifted change purse.

Passive-Aggressive Christmas Gift Stories factsPexels

78. Santa Isn’t Coming To Town

I worked 18 hours today. My kids, who are toddlers, didn't want to come over because "Santa won't come to my place because I don't have a chimney.” I live 2,500 miles from my relatives, and worst of all, my dog was alone all day.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

79. This Was Touching...But Weird

When growing up, the family would all gather at grandma’s house. Out of the 12 or so cousins, only three of us were boys. When I was about 12, we were all peeking under the Christmas tree. We could see that the two other boy cousins got the same present, but mine was different. Their gifts were long and relatively thin, whereas mine was more of a box shape.

When it came to opening up the gifts, my grandmother gave them their presents at the same time. They got skateboards—totally cool. Later on, I opened mine. I got a touch lamp. It was not just any old lamp. It was the old-fashioned type with frosted glass and flowers on it. It was both the best and worst Christmas present ever. I got that lamp because my family would always go to church with my grandma, so she knew me best. That’s how I wound up in this whole mess.

After church once a month and on my general weekly visits, I would sit in her lounge room and mindlessly play with her touch lamp. Hers was the same model as the one she gave me. It had different brightness you could cycle through when you touched it. It was endearing to me that she thought I would want one. But also, what was a 12-year-old going to do with an old-fashioned touch lamp?

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

80. Ship Wrecked

My kids’ mom and the US Navy ruined my Christmas. When my kid was nine years old, my ex shopped him around to doctors trying to get a diagnosis so she could put him on disability and collect a check. She got a quack to claim he was a schizophrenic and had psychosis with Aspergers. All baloney. She would read up on what she wanted and lead the doctor to the result she was looking for.

After getting custody of him, I had his previous diagnosis thrown out and he was judged to be a normal kid with some emotional trauma. Fast forward to this year, my son joins the Navy. We were up front with his recruiter about everything, and they said don’t worry about it. It won’t show up, and he’ll be fine. He shipped out for basic in November.

Well, they found his records from 12 years ago and disqualified him. Now he’s been separated at boot and sent to ship 5 awaiting discharge with a plane ticket home. He’s devastated and angry. We hoped he would be home for Christmas, but he might get home by New Year’s Eve. So once again our Christmas was ruined by the ghost of witches past. Just the latest of many.

Ruined ChristmasUnsplash

81. This Does Not Deserve A Bra-vo

When I was 15, I was very embarrassed and self-conscious about every part of myself. I didn’t talk about periods, breasts, bras, or anything like that with my mom. It humiliated me. It wasn’t that I couldn’t; it’s just that, even today, I find it embarrassing. My mother knew this and decided that a wonderful Christmas gift for me would be bras. Bras for Christmas.

It was embarrassing, to say the least. I’ve always seen it as a really personal and intimate thing, and she bought me bras. And then, because she was watching one of my sisters open something else, she had the AUDACITY to say to me, “Did you get your bras? I couldn’t remember.” In the end, they didn’t even fit.

Worst Gifts Ever Received factsShutterstock

82. Undercover Santa

Me. I did it. My partner had to stay up late working last night, so I did too. When he finally gets done and goes to bed at 1:00 am, I stay up to stuff his stocking real quick and put the dog to bed. No sooner did he lay down than I knocked his stocking over, which then fell and knocked over the plug-in wax warmer full of hot fresh red wax.

This then SPLASHED all over the wall, hardwood floor, and my boyfriend’s stocking. The stocking he still had from his first Christmas. It's literally 40 years old. Hearing the commotion, he came running out of the bedroom and I yelled at him to stay back there, that I was cleaning up a mess I made but it's fine and I'm taking care of it.

I had to literally beg him to stay back there and not come out to the veritable disaster scene I'd just made of our delightful little chrimmus display. Two hours later, at 3:00 am, the wax is scraped from the floor. It's scraped from the wall as well but has stained it red. Good thing I bought some matching paint last year after we had to get into the wall to find a stud, because those stains are now painted over.

You'd never guess what horror was there just an hour ago. I saved his stocking for last. I was sure it was a lost cause, the thing is almost like felt. By some divine stroke of luck, the wax only spilt on the back, which is also red. I almost left it, but thought, no, I gotta try. So, I grabbed an iron, an old rag, and got to work. 10 minutes later there's not a trace of wax on it.

Then I calmly swept up the bits of dried wax I'd peeled and scraped, put the paint away, rubbed the paint off my hands, put the dog to bed, and put out the champagne and hors d'oeuvres (a silly inside joke tradition we have). So yes, I ruined Christmas but then I saved Christmas. It was a wild ride. And my boyfriend knew nothing.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

83. Add This To The Pile

My grandmother was terrible at picking out clothes. When I was around 13, she got me a shirt with a puffy zippered panel on the chest to, I guess, store things in. I wasn’t sure. She gave it to me on Christmas Eve, and I had to make sure I wore it on Christmas Day when she came around. The bulk of the clothes she bought us were worn once or twice, then promptly stuck in the back of the closet for a year or two until I outgrew them and had to get rid of them.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

84. Monster-In-Law

Five days ago, I moved my life, my four dogs, and one-month-old baby to my mother-in-law's. Her and I have serious issues with each other, but my husband and I had nowhere else to go and she promised we could put the issues aside for the baby. Not two days of being there she was already on her same old routines. With the issues we've had in the past, I told my husband we need to start looking for a different place to stay.

I guess he mentioned to her that after the holidays we would be leaving. Her response was utterly disturbing. I go to the store and come back and she's on a complete rampage (typical of her behavior) telling us to get the heck out immediately. She had to help us move in the first place because not all of our stuff will fit in our car and my husband drives a darn crotch rocket everywhere.

We tried to rent a U-haul, unsuccessfully, because she had rented one with my name and email and never paid for it when she dropped it off somehow? So they wouldn't rent to me. Plus it was Christmas Eve, so hardly anything was available. We ended up moving all our stuff and dogs and baby into a motel. And that's where my baby is spending her first Christmas.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

85. Ham For The Holidays

I was a bratty five-year-old snooping around the Christmas tree. There was one gift for me that was wrapped in brilliant gold foil and looked like a Christmas ham from the grocer. I asked my grandma if she really got me a ham, and my whole family thought it was cute. A few days later, I was back snooping, and I touched the “ham,” and it barked.

I realized it was a Smoochie Pooch, which was an animatronic dog that would move its head up and down like it was giving kisses. It was a popular toy that year. So, being the moron I was, I loudly announced I knew I had a Smoochie Pooch to the family, who were not pleased with my detective work. Finally, Christmas came, and we went to open our first gifts.

Of course, I picked the pooch. I danced around like a freshly fed girl you see in those dumb videos and declared my knowledge to the world. Well, I was about to get what was coming to me. I ripped open the foil, and it was a ham! My family replaced my beloved poochie with a spiral sliced ham. They gave a five-year-old a ham.

They wound up giving me the pooch later, but I was given the ham too. We took it home and ate it.

Passive-Aggressive Christmas Gift Stories factsPexels

86. Welcome To The Family

My sister, her boyfriend, and their young dog came to me and my mom’s for Christmas. It was the first time we had met her boyfriend. My mom got plastered accidentally before they arrived, so by the time we all sat by the table, she was almost unconscious. Three of us tried to have a normal Christmas, but my mom was constantly mumbling.

She was trying to say something all the time, making everything really uncomfortable, meanwhile the dog was constantly trying to hump my mom. The thing that really ruined everything was when she dropped a glass. She got up, did a 360, and fell on the floor, hitting her head. She got up, lay down on a couch next to us, and after few minutes she kept asking me who are the people in our living room.

The three of us cleaned everything up and hopped in the boyfriend's car. They were going home, but I asked for a ride to the city centre, because I really didn't want to be home. So yeah, ruined Christmas and probably the worst first impression my mom could do.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

87. Secret Santa Drama

When I was 17, I was in a Christmas play with a cast that was between the ages of 10 and 18. We were doing a Secret Santa, but instead of just doing one gift at the cast party, we were required to do one for each day we had a performance. So, the total was 12 gifts. Well, I didn't have any money, so the kid I got received a little gift bag with some candy in it. I received nothing.

I thought that stunk, but it was my first Secret Santa day, so, whatever. On the second day of the Secret Santa, there was still nothing for me. I gave my kid some stickers. The weird thing was that this kid came up to me with some expensive toy, all excited and saying it was from his Secret Santa. This continued a couple more times.

I was getting nothing while this other kid was getting double presents, so I just said, “The heck with this,” and stopped bringing gifts. The kid still kept getting his presents from his "Secret Santa," so it was all good. Then, one night before we closed up, some busy body figured out that this kid was actually getting expensive toys and gadgets from his mom. Apparently, the first gifts I gave him weren't good enough and made him cry.

His mom had a stash of gifts ready in case this might happen to placate her little musical theater angel. The busy body tried to shame me in front of a bunch of our friends about it too. At this point, I still hadn't gotten anything from anyone! Finally, on the last day, I got some homemade dolls with Xs for eyes that had their hands stitched together. They look like dead children clutching each other for safety in their last moments of life. I still have them.

Best Christmas Gift factsShutterstock

88. Last Christmas

The universe ruined it. My wife and I found out yesterday that our unborn baby (our first) has a severe brain defect that is “not compatible with life.” We’re not telling the rest of the family until next week so everyone else can have a happy Christmas. We’d been crying on and off for the last 24 hours, but we had to pull ourselves together for a few family gatherings.

The family calls went okay, but I almost lost it when my younger brother said he was looking forward to meeting the new member of the family next year. We spent the day watching Christmas movies and The Lord of the Rings as I explained a bunch of really nerdy stuff to my child. Our first and last Christmas together wasn’t so bad.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

89. He Learned His Lesson When He Got Schooled

It was the year I had just had my second kid, so I was a ball of emotions. I decided to get my husband something nice. I made him homemade waffles—which were his second favorite thing in the world, got him the new video game he wanted, and gave him a little loving—his first favorite thing in the world. I wasn't expecting a gift, and I didn't want one.

I just wanted to watch my oldest kid enjoy Christmas. To my surprise, I got a gift from my husband. I was touched. Until I opened it, he gave me a roll of toilet paper and two packs of ramen noodles. There was some awkward laughter, and we all moved on. His mom then leaned over to me and said those items were part of his family's inside joke and tradition.

Well, it would have been nice if I had KNOWN about that beforehand! I was crushed and did my best to avoid him the rest of the day. His mom noticed my feelings and asked him, "So where is her actual gift?" When his response was, "What gift?" he got a severe talking to from his mom. Especially after he pulled the line, "Well, I just gave her a cute baby."

A couple of days later, after learning what he said, I considered moving our kids and me in with my parents for a few days. We agreed after that fateful Christmas morning that we wouldn’t buy presents for each other anymore. Instead, we should divide the money we save up and buy what we want.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

90. Looking For These?

When I had gotten home from college one year, I found myself with some excess cash. I decided to invest in some new video games for my self and had them sent to my house. The strange thing was, I had only received half of the games. I emailed the suppliers and told them I hadn't gotten my packages yet and was growing quite sad.

Well, Christmas morning came around and I was opening up my presents. I got to the one from my older brothers. I tore the paper away and opened the box. Inside there were several other packages that had been mailed to our house. With my name on them...My brother had taken half of my games and hid them from me until Christmas…thanks.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

91. A Christmas Creature Classic

My friend sent me this doll creature thing that literally scared the life out of me when I opened it. It was the type of toy that you would see in horror movies. It had an enormous mouth with fang-type teeth made of hard plastic and a soft body with weird colors. It looked like a genuinely horrific gremlin creature, and it terrified me.

I buried that sucker in my closet because I felt guilty at the thought of giving it away. I'm kind of hoping if I keep it buried in the closet long enough, it will just mysteriously vanish, and I won't have to worry about it coming to life and finding me if I throw it out.

Worst Gifts Ever Received factsShutterstock

92. You Get What You Give

I remember my first day working retail on Xmas Eve. The store closed at 6:00 pm and we, the store staff, were only supposed to go home "when the store was spotless and returns were empty." We expected we would work until about 8-10pm, as that's how shifts would normally go in previous years. But store director went home at 5:30 sharp.

We were so ticked off, but it got better in the blink of an eye. At about 6:05, the manager left in charge said that if the big boss man wanted the store perfect, he could’ve stayed himself. She told everyone to go home and have a merry Christmas, and that she would take any flak herself. Well, she got some…but she had the perfect response.

She apparently told him to, and I quote, "Shut your Grinch mouth up and fire me if you want. But you can’t do it, because you know you need me.” Her adamantium balls were apparently fortified because she already had plans to quit. She got a better job early January and the big boss apparently learned his lesson. Never saw him take off early on Christmas again.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

93. Playing Favorites

My husband’s stepmother gave me, a 36-year-old at the time, a kindergarten-size backpack. Then she added insult to injury. When I opened it, she said, “I actually bought that for a child a few years ago, and she hated it. So I threw it in a closet. I saw it and thought you’d like it. None of us did; we all think it’s ugly.” Wow, thanks.

That same year they gave my three children gifts totaling $15 altogether. They had the clearance stickers still on them. Meanwhile, her biological granddaughter opened up a $300 unicorn. They even made sure we knew it cost $300, and then they pointed out to everyone our clearance stickers and what great deals they were. They weren’t.

They then made my kids leave the room so the granddaughter could take pics alone with her unicorn. It was the last Christmas we visited them.

Bad Christmas gifts facts Shutterstock

94. She Knows When You Are Sleeping

My wife’s grandmother passed a few days ago, and they were extremely close. Subsequently, she's been an emotional, angry wreck, and I've been doing everything (including not sleeping) to try to keep this season afloat for her. It's been a monumental challenge in patience and letting her say very angry things, knowing she needs to.

Well, last night was a nightmare. We hung out with her parents, at the end of a basically four-day stretch of not sleeping, and I couldn't take it any further and passed out on the floor of her parents’ place. I told her I just needed a few minutes to keep functioning. We got to our home at about 1:00 am and she basically exploded in anger at me.

She told me I was weak and "not husband material" for being tired, and that I had no idea what she was going through. She threw her engagement ring at me and told me to sleep in the car. We're supposed to see my parents today. Last thing she told me was that she didn't want to waste her time seeing my awkward family today. Grief, y'all.

Ruined ChristmasShutterstock

95. The Nutcracker

I had been with my girlfriend for around two or three years. Her family considered me a part of their family, but my girlfriend’s mom, and aunt, were probably the most hypocritical and kooky insane people you could ever meet. Her aunt believed that if you use a GPS, you don’t deserve to live in that state. Mind you; she proceeded to get everyone lost when she was driving us around on vacation.

She had lived in that state for 27 years by that time. Her mom is a manipulative person. For Christmas one year, I went over to my girlfriend’s home to celebrate with them before celebrating with my girlfriend at my house. I got a present from the aunt who sent something over. It was a single rubber duck that had the bottom torn out. A note was stuffed in the opening, and on that note was the sentence, “If you are reading this, you destroyed the birdie!”

But it got even more confusing from there. I also got a painted rock that was just painted black with the words “best buds” on it. Her mom’s gift was even worse! I got a nutcracker. I didn’t fully understand it at the time. But I finally got it when my girlfriend’s dad took me aside and said in a hushed tone, “I’m sorry for the gift, but my wife has given that to my oldest daughter’s boyfriends too, as a threat.” So, all in all, I got a broken rubber duck that blamed me for destroying it, a painted rock, and a threat that if I did ANYTHING to hurt my girlfriend that her mother would use the NUTCRACKER on me.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

96. There Can Only Be One

My brother's ex-wife made me so angry. She refuses to tell him what gifts she is getting their two kids, who are 12 and 7. Moreover, she had them every Christmas morning, so she knows even if she gets them the same thing as him, she will have given it to them first and it won’t look bad for her. It’s truly spiteful stuff. Well, this holidays…

He has busted his butt working as much overtime during the week and weekend as he can over the past few months, and got the eldest a PS5 and the younger one a PS4. Guess what she got them?

Ruined ChristmasPrexels

97. A Last Ditch Effort

I had been with my boyfriend for a little over two years. Things were going steadily downhill, but, as sort of a final effort, I went all out on his Christmas gift, as much as I could afford to. I found a cozy housecoat he had been eyeing, his favorite chocolates, and a new video game he talked about getting. On Christmas night, we went to his mom's to open gifts.

However, he disappeared halfway through the evening, and I gave up trying to find him. Finally, I sent him a text saying, "We need to talk. I'm going home now. We can exchange gifts tomorrow. If you want to continue this relationship, I'm open to discussion." I walked the 10 minutes home all by myself, alone, and went to bed. When I woke up, my heart sank.

He never came home that night. He didn't answer my texts either. He did eventually come home TWO DAYS LATER. He handed me my "gift" without a word. It was an unwrapped, beige sweater that had a stain on the front and was at least two sizes too small. I stupidly still gave him his gift and broke up with him right that moment.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

98. Fight Together For The Kids

My ex and I had decided our kids would spend Christmas Eve with me, and that he would pick them up on Christmas Day. Last night, he texted me saying that he would be at my house in 15 minutes to pick them up because technically this was his day to have them. Which is true, our stipulation says they are to go with him every other Thursday.

Unfortunately, we never put anything in about holidays—I thought we could be civil and work them out as needed, and now I’m kicking myself for being so naïve. I had to hand over my sobbing, confused, daughters to him in their Christmas pajamas. Prior to this, he hadn’t had them over to his house in over a month. This was purely to hurt me, and it worked.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

99. I Had To Log Off Of This Game

My brother and I only wanted one gift, and we were willing to share it. So, we begged and begged our whole family to chip in for a PlayStation 1, to which they obliged. We were well-mannered kids with good grades, and it was only one gift, so why not? Christmas Day came, and there was one big box under the tree with both of our names on it. We literally couldn’t wait to open it.

Our ex-step-father instructed us to open it first. The excitement was palpable as we ripped all the paper off in a Tasmanian devil-like flurry. There it was—the trademark black Sony box with a picture of the PlayStation on the outside. In my nine-year-old mind, I could already picture how amazing the Ridge Racer graphics were going to be!

We quickly cut the tape and opened the box lid. It was a log!?! A piece of firewood. Oh, but it gets worse. It turns out our ex-stepfather thought that it would be really funny to take all of the money our family gave him for the PlayStation and spend it on himself. He then opened the expensive gifts he bought for himself, with the funds intended for the PlayStation, while we watched. My mother spent the rest of the day crying.

Bad Christmas gifts factsShutterstock

100. Shots Fired

Last year at Christmas my older sister, who I’ve never really gotten along with, was being a total witch and talking down to me. "Seriously,” she said with a snarl, “When was the last time I even talked to you?" My comeback made her face go pale. My reply: "Huh, I'm not sure, maybe it was at your wedding a few months ago?"

See, she got married in May, divorced by July, and was now sitting next to her new boyfriend who she's introducing to us for the first time. They left. My parents were so mad. I had a great time.

Ruined ChristmasPexels

Sources: Reddit, , ,


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Regretful People Share The Most Expensive Mistake They've Ever Made

Often the biggest mistakes we make are the ones that end up teaching us the most. We ask the Internet, “What's the most expensive mistake you've ever made?”
September 16, 2018 Eul Basa
easymoney

The Biggest Money Mistakes People Are Making, As Told By Successful Savers

Whether we step in or not, watching other people make silly money mistakes can be frustrating, especially if you've made those same mistakes. 
August 25, 2018 Eul Basa



Dear reader,


It’s true what they say: money makes the world go round. In order to succeed in this life, you need to have a good grasp of key financial concepts. That’s where Moneymade comes in. Our mission is to provide you with the best financial advice and information to help you navigate this ever-changing world. Sometimes, generating wealth just requires common sense. Don’t max out your credit card if you can’t afford the interest payments. Don’t overspend on Christmas shopping. When ordering gifts on Amazon, make sure you factor in taxes and shipping costs. If you need a new car, consider a model that’s easy to repair instead of an expensive BMW or Mercedes. Sometimes you dream vacation to Hawaii or the Bahamas just isn’t in the budget, but there may be more affordable all-inclusive hotels if you know where to look.


Looking for a new home? Make sure you get a mortgage rate that works for you. That means understanding the difference between fixed and variable interest rates. Whether you’re looking to learn how to make money, save money, or invest your money, our well-researched and insightful content will set you on the path to financial success. Passionate about mortgage rates, real estate, investing, saving, or anything money-related? Looking to learn how to generate wealth? Improve your life today with Moneymade. If you have any feedback for the MoneyMade team, please reach out to [email protected]. Thanks for your help!


Warmest regards,

The Moneymade team