For most children, Christmas is all about presents. And as some people grow older, the holiday season is still all about presents.
Unless you're playing Secret Santa and present exchanges come from a place of mischief, you would hope that the person you're genuinely giving a gift to would be appreciative.
But because we've been given tacky presents at one time—despite the gift giver's good intentions—we know there's a chance that we too could fail at Christmas.
But hey, it's the thought that counts, right?
For the ones who thought they deserved better, Redditor Jalb101222 asked strangers on the internet:
"What's the worst Christmas present you have received?"
Family members just don't have a clue.
The Thought Didn't Count
"Every year my aunt gives our family 'Thrift Santa' gifts, like a bunch, from thrift stores. The thing is, nothing relates to anything. The worst I've gotten are among a Kama Sutra book when I was 13/14 (awkward), and a New York Yankees baby onesie. I don't have kids, I don't watch baseball."
– Yippee614
Worse For Wear
"When the tomagotchi 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."
"When I asked my dad why I didn't get one and if Santa thought I did something bad that year. He told me I was too old for Santa and needed to learn life isn't fair."
"I was 8. My sisters were 7 and 5."
"From that point forward I only ever received clothing."
– dariusz2k
For A Prospective Forensic Scientist
"My mum is notorious for bad presents, I've had such delights as toothpaste and vitamin pills wrapped up for me at Christmas."
"But one that stands out 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... I dunno stuff and some chalk, for what I assume was for marking out where the dead bodies landed, or something, I dunno."
– X-cessiveDreamer
A Traumatic Experience
"My great grandma gave my cousin a jock strap from goodwill. Her mental health was bad at this time. 1992ish? He started crying. He was 9."
– mistahmarbles
Grandma's Taste In Fashion
"My grandmother was terrible at picking out clothes. When I was around 13, she got me a shirt with a puffy panel on the chest with a zipper to, I guess, store things in."
"She gave it to me Christmas Eve, and I had to make sure I wore it Christmas Day when she came around. Like the bulk of the clothes she bought for holidays or birthdays, it was worn once or twice, then promptly stuck in the back of the closet for a year or two until I outgrew it and had to throw it away."
– wetwater
Budget Gourmet
"A box of top ramen. Just a standard grocery box of ramen bags. It was wrapped up with a nice bow too, and it was not gifted as a joke. My family knew I was having financial troubles and was only eating one meal a day, they honestly thought they were helping me out."
– The_Quicktrigger
You can't always get what you want. Worse, you get what you don't even need.
They Must've Been On The Naughty List
"My husbands step mother gave me, a 36 year old at the time, a kindergarten size back pack and 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 and I saw it and thought you'd like it. None of us did, we all think it's ugly.'"
"That same year they gave my 3 kids gifts totaling all together $15 with the clearance stickers on them while her biological granddaughter opened a $300 unicorn. Which they made sure we knew cost $300, and then they pointed out to everyone our clearance stickers and what great deals they were (they weren't), and then they made my kids leave the room so the grand daughter could take pics alone with her unicorn."
"It was the last Christmas we visited them. lol"
– simplysufficiant
Because Homewares
"A dishtowel.. I was 8 years old."
"Oh, yeah. That was very common in my country until recently. Especially the older members of the family would give household gifts to the children, especially the girls."
"It's based on the tradition of the couple moving into the same household after marriage. Usually the women would bring the household furnishings to the marriage. So from a young age, girls receive gifts like this and gradually build up this equipment so that families don't have to buy it all at once."
"This was especially common among less affluent families."
"An elementary school teacher of mine once told us the story of how she received a set of towels from her grandmother for Christmas when she was about eight (this was in the 1940's). From her grandmother's point of view, it was a generous gift that she had carefully chosen and had to save money for all year."
"But it was a terrible disappointment for an eight-year-old girl, and she didn't hide it. She said she later regretted her reaction, which is obvious because she still remembered it even at seventy. (She told us this story to teach us a lesson about gratitude)."
– NeutralWitch
A Musical Hint
"Since my dad isn't on Reddit I will share his story for him. When he was young he was hell bent on becoming a drummer. He would make full drum kits out of my grandmothers pots and pans and whatever he could find. Very detailed set ups. After months and months of building drum sets and drumming on anything he could find he woke up Christmas morning…to an acoustic guitar and guitar lessons."
"He told me he took a few lessons and would always end up flipping the guitar over in the class with the other students and just play it like bongos."
– Swarhammer
People Explain Activities They've Added To Their Post-Pandemic Bucket List | George Takei’s Oh Myyy
While we've all been cooped up for the better part of two years, many of us have been dreaming up exciting plans for the future. Maybe it's finally time to s...
They Cut So Deep
"A set of miniature butter knives with ceramic fruit and vegetables as the handles. From an aunt who said that I was 'So hard to shop for.'"
"I was 7."
– vodkaenthusiast89
Worst Surprise Ever
"A comic book that was laying around the house for several months which I read twice in this period. I didn't know it was supposed to be my surprise present."
– Cheap_Stay2750
Premature Grooming Delight
"My dad, his first christmas divorced and living alone, first time ever shopping for us clearly lmao because my mom did all the shopping before, got me a nose hair trimmer..."
"I was 12."
"And definitely did not understand why I got that gift."
– ThisSorrowfulLife
That Stinks
"When I was 5, I had gotten a sephora gift card from my grandma. My mom ended up using it."
– Miranda9091
Gift comparisons were made, and these Redditors got the short end of the stick.
Put To Use
"When I was 10 years old my grandparents gave me an unwrapped suitcase for Christmas. In the interests of convenience, they used that suitcase for the wrapped presents for my sisters."
– ragedandobtused
"Misplaced" Gifts
"The time I was really into Green Day and the emerging 'alternative' music of the mid 90s. And my mom bought me a few CDs (back when CDs were something stupid like $20 each). Wow! Awesome gift! Except the CDs were Toni Braxton and Mariah Carey and something else I've completely forgotten."
"Or the Christmases when my brother would get a pile of presents or something pretty expensive (foosball table, air hockey table, etc), and I'd get a couple books and lipgloss. I love those things, so the gifts themselves weren't bad, but I was clearly not the favored child."
"In the aftermath of gift opening, mom would look at the pile my brother got and the few gifts I got, then make a big show of stomping around the house claiming she knows she got more for me, she must have misplaced all the other gifts! Without fail, for several years in a row, she 'misplaced' my gifts. Because she realized in the moment that she spent waaaaay more on my brother than me. Never once did she find these 'misplaced' gifts."
"And to make it worse, my birthday is shortly after Christmas, so I never got much for my birthday because the budget was blown on Christmas. My brother claims he remembers me getting sh**ty birthday gifts and I was always jealous of his. I don't have any memory of that, but it very well could be. (The worst birthday was the year I only got a Bible with my name stamped on the front in gold lettering. That's a birthday I remember quite clearly.)"
– daughtcahm
How One Becomes An Ex
"The year I gave my ex husband a Tag Heuer watch he gave me a $19.99 Walmart blender. We already had 3 blenders."
– tealgrayone
Why Lamborghinis Suck
"A Lamborghini calender. My brother got a guitar and amp. My two sisters got a bike each. F'k i hate Lamborghinis now."
– Stickmag
The Punishment
"When I was 12 I bought myself a kindle. Me and my sister spent an entire summer working for our grandpa and stepdad to save up for them, each of us spending about 200$. My mom got all 3 of my brothers a kindle for Christmas and I got some Clothes from old navy."
"I was livid and 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 videogames and it was unfair. She never apologized or saw anything wrong with what she did, and I honestly still haven't forgiven her almost a decade later."
– BlueButterflies139
Walmart Finds
"On my 10th birthday that my parents kept making a big deal about (double digit age i can legally babysit now) my dad went to walmart the day before and came back with 2 wallets and a ipod that my sister started asking for a week before my bday."
"I get a wallet and my younger brother got the same wallet and he gave my sister the ipod. I felt so depressed after that and my grandparents took me to walmart with $20 to spend for my bday. When we were checking out i saw the wallets by the candy where the cashiers are and they were $1. I got reminded of it and went to look at the ipod my sister got and it was either $250 or $350 bucks...we ate frozen corndogs and ramen everyday so it seriously hurt to see that."
"Edit: there were alot of other f'ked up things my parents did, but my sister was my dads fav (middle child) and younger brother was my moms (youngest)."
"When i turned 16 i wanted to test to see if they would even notice if i stopped talking, eating, and leaving my rooms..a year and a half later they finally said something, if i wasnt at school i just went in my room and slept and didnt eat their food. Met my wife and as soon as i turned 18 her gma let me move in and i havent spoken to my parents in almost a decade."
– AutomaticRisk3464
A Sibling Scores
"I got a bunch of combs and a cheap children's chemistry set that I already had three of. My brother got some DS games and a lego Star destroyer."
– cobalt_phantom
It's funny how our tastes evolve from when we were kids.
My parents' friends typically bought me clothes, which I never appreciated because I always wanted TOYS.
One Christmas–I think I was around 12—I was given black and red Nike high-tops from a family friend, and I scoffed at the reveal after anticipating something more exciting, like, I dunno, the Star Wars Power of the Force Hoth Battle Playset made by Kenner?
I ended up asking to have the sneaks sent back and lying that the shoe size was inaccurate as the reason.
Man, I wish I had those AWESOME high-tops now! Actually, I would appreciate them now. Because I still want the Star Wars playset, TBH.
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Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
cruise ship vacation GIF by Hallmark ChannelGiphyMountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
States Selfie GIF by Ethan BarnowskyGiphyHustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
dolly dearest horror GIF by absurdnoiseGiphySome dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"
Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
Wind Conan Obrien GIF by Team CocoGiphy"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
Staring I See You GIF by QuikTripGiphy"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
Season 5 No GIF by The OfficeGiphy"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
Happy Cat GIF by ChubbiverseGiphy"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
death GIFGiphy"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
animation art GIFGiphy"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
Basketball Wives Ugh GIF by VH1"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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