People Break Down The Worst Birthday Gifts They've Ever Received

People Break Down The Worst Birthday Gifts They've Ever Received
Image by Harry Strauss from Pixabay

Whoever began the tradition of giving presents to people on their birthdays is a total genius.


Think about it. You did absolutely zero work to be born. That was all your mom's pain and toil.

Nevertheless, you are rewarded with presents and attention every single year for the rest of your life. Frankly, that doesn't add up. But nobody in their right mind would end that tradition and doom themselves to never receiving gifts anymore.

Some of those annual presents are better than others, of course. And some are the absolute worst of all time.

Redditors gathered to share the truly bizarre and disappointing gifts they've received from friends and family over the years.

The key takeaway? STOP GIVING PEOPLE USED CRAP.

YoWhatTheDuck asked, "What is the worst gift you’ve ever received for your birthday?"

Test Run 

"My uncle and aunt gave me a broken toy car when I was like 5. They let my cousin play with it before it was my birthday and he broke it." -- SmokeWineEveryday

"Man if I was ur parent, I would've threw that toy car back at them so hard" -- lycacons

"That's a straight up d**k move" -- piuamaster

All Comes Down to the Expiration Date 

"An anti-aging cream. Would be cool if I wasn't 9 years old. Opened it and it was obvious it was used before, also had hair in it. Mom put it in the trash immediately." -- m3714246

"I would have used it to vanish out of existence if it was a cream that makes you look 10 years younger" -- GodTierAimbotUser69

"You could still be 9 years old if your mom didn't trash it" -- PacoMahogany

Can't Beat the Classics 

"When I was ten my grandma gave me a plain white towel. I wasn't good at hiding my disappointment so my mom made me apologize and pretend that I loved it."

"There was no way that I could tell it apart from all the other plain white towels we had."

-- NerdyFrida

Dude Needs a Calendar or Something 

"One year my uncle got me batteries, with a note that said 'toy not included.' Another year he wrote IOU on a piece of paper." -- saltiestteacher

"Sucks as a birthday present, but a hilarious joke. He could've given something else too."

"An IOU can be extremely valuable, but from the sounds of it not much from your uncle." -- nobodynr15

"See I would do the battery thing as a joke for half an hour, then bring the actual toy out" -- teedo

Local Memorabilia 

"A key chain in the shape of Texas with the name and phone number of a random traffic lawyer. I've never been to Texas or expressed interest in the state, and I didn't know the lawyer." -- Cats_Waffles

"Holy sh**, was it Jim Adler, the Texas Hammer?" -- Mr_Mori

"Oh wow. Sounds like you got a Jim Adler key chain! Those fetch a few thousand dollars nowadays!" -- texasbravo

"This Year, I Got You My Naked Cooties"

"My mother in law gave me her used bathrobe. I don't know how one could possibly say FU you more eloquently without words than that."

"Still stuns me 20+ years later."

-- thepanichand

Kinda Reversed That One 

"Last birthday I lived with my family they all went out to eat without me lol" -- 1836547290

"Could be the best present, just depends" -- 01kicka**ius10

"Did they sing?" -- BtDB

Breaking Even 

"I was buying $5 cd I wanted on my bday, my (now)ex said he hadn't gotten me a gift yet, so he said he'd just buy it for my gift."

"About a week later I was buying groceries, and a $5 bill was in my change and he is it eyeing it. He tells me 'hey... you never paid me back for the cd I got you for your birthday.' So, I gave him the money for it."

-- not-a-real_username

The Perfect Shape for Wrapping 

"my dads side of the family used to give my siblings and me entire costco sized packs of corn muffin mix for our birthdays/christmas. always corn muffin, never any other kind."

"like, we would unwrap the present and it would be 10 boxes of corn muffin mix. i cant offer you more context because there literally isnt any."

"it was always a mystery. my parents used to fight about it lol"

-- Totally_Kyle0420

Couldn't Resist the Temptation 

"Last year for Christmas I got a half eaten meat basket from my In laws! The Summer sausage was cut in half and wrapped with plastic wrap and the cheese spread had been opened" -- jpm1188

"In what world does this seem okay or even occur as a thought" -- BrutalWarPig

"Just looking out for you, and making sure it wasn't poisoned lol" -- not-a-real-username

Birthday day

When I was a kid my dad gave me the money I got for Christmas on my birthday.

Christmas, I got money. Birthday, I was allowed to spend it.

BlackSonder00

Not amused

A day at an amusement park where my father explicitly went out of his way to make it excruciatingly clear that we were not there FOR my birthday.

I was 8.

Imnotfunnybutitried

Sportsmanship


My uncle gave me a Xbox Live points card for my birthday, when I went to redeem it, it said card not activated. This happened 2 years in a row until my mom told him about it.

bob_rob_III

My ex's sister-in-law did this to several of us every Christmas and her dad would always feel bad and mail the equivalent in cash. Year 5 or 6 we checked the balance of a card during presents, found it was unactivated and he asked her to leave the house without the gifts she had already opened.

SaddestClown

Unkindness of strangers


The year my husband invited friends over for my birthday so I got to make my own birthday cake, along with dinner for 8 people...and received no gifts

ljcoon

Partnership

Everyone forgetting that my birthday happened despite the fact that I'm a twin but everyone remembered my twin's birthday instead of mine.

Edit to clarify some things: I'm a fraternal twin. My twin brother is taller and looks older than I am. He was a college football player.

I'm a slightly shorter, skinny person who looks vaguely hispanic while also looking white at the same time despite the fact I'm half Japanese.

My twin is a more outgoing person than I am. I'm a very quiet/introverted personality. IDFK how my parents forgot. They just did.

Cheetodude625

Year after year


I have a few: I was taken to a steakhouse for my birthday one year. They all knew I was a vegetarian, but my family all wanted steak. I had complimentary bread and cole slaw for my birthday that year.

I planned a big party when I was 16, almost everyone I invited said yes, then no one showed up.

An ex-bf and I had planned a weekend getaway for my 30th at a fancy hotel. We were supposed to meet there. He never showed (he claimed he'd been called into work but I think he was cheating on me). I ended up getting sick (food poisoning maybe), had to beg the front desk to bring me some bread in the middle of the night. I checked out at dawn to drive myself 2hrs to home.

I loved celebrating my birthday as a kid, but now I actively ignore it.

SarcasticUnderbelly

Not cool

I had just worked off the baby weight and was finally down to a Small again. My mom, who loves to take digs at my weight, bought me a bunch of tent-like drape-y clothes in Large.

hananobira

What now?


My Grandma told me my gift was that she was going to quit smoking, for my 13th bday.

Had it been true it would have been great but she gave this gift to me many times already.

DrLeePhDMd

Want to "know" more? Never miss another big, odd, funny, or heartbreaking moment again. Sign up for the Knowable newsletter here.

Woman holding up an Oxford English Dictionary
Photo by Houcine Ncib on Unsplash

There is so much to learn in the world, it's impossible for one person to know absolutely everything there is to know.

But there are certain things, like common phrases and idioms, that everyone seems to use that might be a little embarrassing to not understand until later in life.

Keep reading...Show less
Newborn baby crying
Photo by Katie Smith on Unsplash

While starting a family and having children is a goal that many people have, some do not realize that it's not easy, fun, and loving one-hundred percent of the time. Rather, it's expensive, exhausting, and hard, though it might be worth it in the end.

With this in mind, people shared what they felt were the hardest hurdles of their parenting.

Keep reading...Show less
A couple making out in the kitchen
We-Vibe Toys/Unsplash

Positive emotions are high among people in the blossoming phase of relationships.

Everything seems more romanticized for people in love due to the amorous joy in their hearts–which also influences their desire to frequently get it on under the sheets–or any other daring location in the heat of the moment.

But for those who've declared "'til death do us part," devoted couples may find that they are not always on the same wavelength sexually compared to when they first met.

Keep reading...Show less
Cemetary
Photo by John Thomas on Unsplash

There are a number of things people partake in spite of the known possible ramifications they have on their health and safety.

Up to and including smoking, bungee-jumping, recreational drug use, or simply bike riding without a helmet.

Indeed, even though they know that doing any or all of these things could possibly lead to their death, they do it anyway.

Sadly, even though many people go out of their way to avoid doing these things for that very reason, that still doesn't mean they keep themselves completely out of danger.

Sadly, there are a surprisingly large number of things that lead to an even more surprising number of deaths each year.

Frighteningly, these are things that the majority of the world's population does on an almost daily basis.

Keep reading...Show less