Am I wrong to feel hurt about this?

I am 2 months younger than my cousin, and I always said she was the favourite, being an only child while was 1 of 4. On her 18th Gran and Grandpa gave her an 18 carat gold locket....I got an umbrella. On my 21st I got £10, she got a ticket for her gap year.

My SinL gifted me a single Scandinavian pillowcase (which doesn't fit UK pillows)...another year a half used water spray for setting makeup...which I don't wear

The words were directed to me.

I have an older friend who, one birthday, gave me a horrible grey dress (grey gives me the six feet under look - not great) that had been gifted to her with the words ''it was too big for me so l thought it might fit you." She is bigger than me - l am around size 14 - and this dress, which was of a style that could never have been fashionable, was probably size 26-28. The local charity shop actually accepted it much to my amazement.

Nicky7of7 I hope you are ok? You win for the worst gift possible.

Maybe she sniffed!Lol!

My MIL used to buy all her Christmas presents in advance throughout the year. All came from those “bargain bins” filled with oddments marked down for clearance. Various Christmas presents I received from her were: A little packet of cellophane discs complete with tiny elastic bands, (presumably for jam-making?); A plastic disc egg separator; and a plastic spatula, all still with their slightly grubby bright yellow “reduced” price stickers on.

"BridgetPark* If you love the gift then it sounds as though she did think carefully about what she should buy you and that she made a good choice. I don't think the cost is important. Perhaps that's all she could afford, or perhaps when she bought it , it cost a lot more when she bought it. Prices often fall steeply after Christmas.

The Christmas after we married my MIL's gift to me was a white Broderie Anglaise nightie, full length, high frilled neck, long frilled sleeves, very Victorian in style and size 18 - I was size 10! The gift tag said "Happy Christmas. You're a respectable married woman now so you should cover up" How did she even know I slept 'au naturalle'! I smiled sweetly and said the fabric was lovely and I was sure I would find a use for it. She wasn't amused. I dressed a moses basket with it for our first baby, it looked lovely but I remember her peering at it and giving a loud disapproving sniff!

When my MIL & FIL holidayed abroad they brought gifts back. On one occasion my husband's was a very expensive watch and mine was a cheap top and shorts set with the resort name emblazoned across the front. It was enormous and had obviously been worn as there was a wine stain on the top and it smelt of deodorant. It went on the bonfire.

I very rarely regift presents I receive. But I keep a list of what I give everyone each year and what (if anything) I receive from them, mainly so that I don't give them the same type of gift two years running. My DM regifted things a lot and was often caught out.

I’m reminded of John Betjeman’s poem, “ Christmas, “ in which he compares our Christmas presents with the gift of Christ in the Eucharist.
“ ……..those tissue’s fripperies, the sweet and silly Christmas things, bath salts and inexpensive scent and hideous tie so kindly meant……..”

GrowingOldDisgracefully
Hmmmmm, despite the fact you are left in a quandary over your friends gift, the thought struck me on just where on earth she acquired tea bags that were 18 years out of date ( or anything 18 years out of date)

Do you think she knew ( although i cant imagine where the dickens she got them from, unless it was her own pantry !) And THAT was the joke !!

Its really funny.

1 of my friends and myself scan the charity shops and exchange our presents with the full knowledge of where they came from. But i can't say anything has been 18 years old haaaa, but there again !

One Christmas, a close friend sent me a gift parcel which contained two books. One was a crossword book with most of the puzzles half done. The second had been given away free by a daily newspaper, as proclaimed on the cover, and this cover had coffee cup rings all over it. Another year my present was a cut glass decanter stopper. No decanter, just the stopper.

My son went to Aberystwyth University. Although we are English and don’t speak Welsh he decided it would be nice to buy me a Welsh language card for Mothers Day. When he showed it to a Welsh speaking friend he discovered it actually said Happy Birthday Auntie on the front! He sent it anyway and I still have it!

My friend was given what looked like a lovely basket of bath toiletries. So she took it to the bathroom thinking she would have a luxurious soak. When she tried to take the items out of the basket they crumbled to dust. Who knows how old they were, might of come out of King Tut's tomb.

I bought an elderly friend a shawl which I thought she’d find useful, sitting in bed. She gave it back to me. “You’ll use it”. I gave another friend a bag of toiletries when she was admitted to hospital in an emergency. I rushed to the pharmacy and bought a well known brand of shower gel, shampoo and other products. All middle price ranged and what I used. (Not wanting to advertise but let’s say a white winged bird). I also bought a rather nice wash bag along with face flannel, toothpaste and brush etc. It cost all told, a fair bit. She gave it back to me when she got home. “Here, you can take this crap back!” Then changing her mind, she tipped the wash bag and emptied out the contents. “I’ll keep this!” While pushing the toiletries at me. I never knew she only used high end products. I unfriended her. Why was I struck dumb at the time!

My best ! Laughable pressie was this year. I spend a lot of time with a friend who lost her husband 6 months ago…. she’s not coping. One of the things we were talking about , just two weeks before Xmas , was my missing my bath, which I had to have removed cause my husband needed a walk-in shower! She gave me bath salts for Xmas!!! I’ve said nothing!

My Mil and Sil gave me a box of very cheap biscuits for my Jan
6th Birthday, which the previous week she had shown me as a present from her sister saying "Aunt Lil gave us these for Christmas but they are cheap and nasty so we won't eat them"
The Sil also gave my Dd1 a box of expensive toiletries which I had given her 2years before and which were now in broken containers.

My MIL was a past master at re gifting as well as clearing out cupboards in October, ( read Christmas shopping). Every year our adult children would bet on who would receive the most outrageous gift! SIL, one year received an ashtray, (he doesn't smoke) DD1 received an apron, (had been used) DD2 having moved into her own flat received a pillowcase(?) Mr P got toiletries( packaging torn and grubby) I received a heated brush complete with hairs attached, HOWEVER, every year since DS was eighteenth he received a cheque for £3000!!! We just laughed, but fair to say his sisters were a bit miffed. Must say that MIL was as sharp as a tack to her dying day.

My Sister always sent my daughter when she was small a birthday and Christmas card with the message. I will send you a gift when I have got some money which never materialised. My Sister had 5 children for me to buy for so I was really miffed.

Oh, and by the way, the shop tried to fob you off with out-of-date tea... unless you bought it deliberately for me so I can use the box... If not, I will return both tea and [object] so you can get your money back fdor the tea, and pass on the [object] to its rightful recipient.

I had gifts from a friend to give to my elderly parents. My friend had known my parents for a very long time. She said she had bought them both a nice dressing gown each from M&S. she asked me to wrap them as she didn’t have much time. I could really tell they wasn’t new as my Mothers had an old handkerchief in hers and my dads pockets in his were full of biscuit crumbs. Yes I was very miffed but didn’t say anything to my friend.

Way back in the 1974 I put a few bits in the local church jumble sale, including a lurex wrap around top.
Our great aunt loved rummaging through jumble sales, our Xmas presents always came from one of them.
But 1974 Christmas was the funniest yet…….my sister unwrapped her present to find it was the lurex top I had put in the jumble a few weeks before ?

This Christmas practically everyone has given me a tin of shortbread biscuits. I rarely eat biscuits and am certainly not fond of shortbread.
Some time ago a friend and I decided that instead of buying presents we would give the money to charity.

My late mother in law was always re gifting gifts, on numerous occasions I received a gift that I had previously given her but I think the worst one was when she gave our eldest daughter an easter egg that was so old that when she unwrapped it, it just turned to dust in her hand

Every year I get a card from my brother and he always leaves the price sticker on the back, this year my card cost £2.99 from Sainsbury. He really pushed the boat out and bought me a scented candle from their Habitat range, they must have been beside the cards.

Some very funny gifts/stories

When I turned 21 my in-laws gave me a set of huge soup spoons - used in their guest house for years!

Same in-laws once bought our sons a pair of motor cycle gloves each - they were about 6 and 9 at the time. The youngest looked at them and said they were Wally Batty gloves

MiL was a great knitter but didn't usually bother with patterns or sizes - she once gave husband an arran sweater he couldn't get over his head. We have had a good laugh about their gifts over the years - sadly gone now and still missed.

I think we finally realised how far downhill my mum had gone towards the end when she gave me a box of Christmas cards all wrapped up which I had bought for her to write!