Many recalled the birthdays that left them stuck doing an activity that they had absolutely zero interest in.

The Clear Priority

"My fifteenth birthday, was on holiday with my bio-dad and step mum who despised me and my sister. My dad wished me a happy birthday and asked me what I would like to do, before I could answer my step mother insisted she needed a new pair of shoes."

"I spent my fifteenth birthday sitting quietly in the corner of a shoe shop while somebody who hated me and wanted to alienate me from my father tried on endless pairs of shoes, that he would buy for her."

-- ninja_jay

Polite and Quiet

"On my 21st birthday, a family friend who is an old lady invited me and my family to a dinner with her and her family, because by the Lunar calendar her birthday was on the same day as mine."

"Her family and my parents can all speak Cantonese. I cannot. They decided to go to a seafood restaurant. I am allergic to most seafoods."

"I spent my 21st birthday sitting at a table full of people not saying anything and not eating anything, because I couldn't do either."

-- Chroisman

Like Any Other Day

"I was really excited for my 19th birthday. I was going to have lunch with my gf, hang out with my friends after, and end the evening with pizza at my parents' home (as is family tradition; fu** cake)."

"The gf's mum picks me up (no car at the time because I was living with the gf and paying rent) and we go down to her university and she has to pick up some books so we go to the bookstore and she kills 2 hours in lines and shopping for clothing. Not all the books were bought so we went to an off-campus book store. Another hour or so in line. I text my friends and cancel our plans."

"We then go to The Olive Garden and she spends the whole time talking to her mum about something that the mum's most recent bf did. Started chatting up the server and mentioned it was my birthday to her SHE wished me a happy birthday. Gf looked at me puzzled. She had forgotten it."

"It's now 8pm and we are driving home. I'm in the backseat and I call my parents and tell them that I'll be home soon. There's an accident down the road on The highway... My parents call me and ask where I am. I tell them to eat without me. 3 hours later we are out of the traffic jam and I go to my parents home and cry."

"Broke up with her a few weeks later because she was cheating on me (for months now) and I was still salty about her forgetting my birthday and ruining that day. I hope you have a happy birthday! May it be less shitty than my worst."

-- ButterflyGraveyard

Others talked about the times they found themselves forced to feel uncomfortable for someone else who wasn't having a good time.

A Complete About Face

"On my 22nd birthday, my housemates girlfriend insisted we go out. She kept badgering me about it until I named a local place that was semi-expensive, I also said chilis. She kept pushing for the more expensive place insisting it was my special day."

"We got there, she looked at the menus and immediately threw a fit, complaining she couldn't afford anything. When her boyfriend attempted to buy her meal, she declined him multiple times, and refused to share his as a compromise."

"For the rest of the night we ate in silence interrupted by her complaining about hunger pangs and how anyone could afford the place she had insisted we all go to."

-- zz4

The Best 'Actually, You're Speaking To The Boss' Experience | George Takei’s Oh Myyy

Leading With a Guilt Trip

"My wife hates going to the movies so for my birthday one year she relented and took me to one I had been dying to see. This was all her idea and when she told me what we were doing I was super excited. As we are pulling up to the theater she starts guilting me with 'do you REALLY want to go see this?' and guess what, we didn't."

"Two years ago she was going to cook my favorite meal for me but put it off until the last minute and so then made some BS excuse about how she had plans to take me and the kids out for dinner. We get all loaded up in the car and she says, 'where do you want to go?' she had no plans."

"I was pissed but I picked a place but the wait was too long for her so we fought and I ended up eating a bowl of Chex for my birthday dinner. She will make elaborate plans for anyone and everyone else's birthday but when it comes to mine she uses it as an excuse to give me a big Fu** You!"

-- [deleted]

Red Flags Everywhere

"21st birthday. The week leading up to it my (now ex - thank fu**) boyfriend had been ignoring me, typical sh**. So the day comes, we take a boat ride (not my idea but hey, who cares it's only my birthday). Naturally after we end up at the bars, working our way back home and surely enough I'm drunk off my a** by the time we get there."

"So seeing this, he decides that now would be a good time to pick a huge argument with me in the middle of the bar, followed by a dramatic exit so he could smoke a cigarette, or so I assumed. It wasn't until I realized it had been like 20 or so minutes that I walked outside to realize he had left me there."

"Yeah. That one definitely takes the cake for me."

-- Damn_It_Elaine

Others shared the sensationally bad birthdays. These were almost cartoonishly awful.

Two Hits

"10th birthday. my mom got a pinata. my best friend was trying to hit the pinata. on his back swing, he clocked me right in the forehead, but on his forward swing, he broke open the pinata. all of my friends saw the candy and immediately rushed to it while I was laying on the ground bleeding with a huge gash right above my eyebrow."

"I had to go to the hospital and get 5 stitches."

-- deleted

Into the Abyss

"When i was 5 I had a large birthday party at my house with everyone from my neighborhood and kindergarten class. We had a clown and a bounce house and everything. After the clown performed we all got in the pool and the next thing I know my dad is yelling at this kid 'dont let go of the damn cat.' "

"The kid let go of my brand new kitten and it went straight up in the air because he tied all of the balloons to its collar. So, we all watched my kitten get hung and disappear almost 29 years ago. =("

-- BLACKMACH1NE

Yikes

"Everything was going well, until I sat down with an opened Birthday Badge in my trouser pocket."

"The pinner pierced my testicle and I had to go to A & E."

-- johnbarrymore2013

Here's hoping that these people never endure a birthday that tops these bad examples.

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