This has happened to all of us at least once. And for some of us, it is a yearly occurrence. We receive a gift from our in-laws, whether it’s for a birthday, Christmas or some other occasion, and you instantly paste on a fake smile, say “Thank You SO MUCH” one octave too high and think to yourself “What the Heck?!”
You’ve probably been in this position at least once or twice. Or maybe it’s a regular occurrence for you. You’ve been married for 5, 10, or 15 years and with your spouse for even longer. You are a part of the family and your in-laws know you pretty well. So you think. And since we all know our MILs are doing most of the shopping, it really makes you wonder – do they really know you or are they just blindly grabbing something off of a shelf, panicked during a last-minute shopping trip on Christmas Eve.
In honor of the impending holiday, we’ve compiled a list of the worst gifts ever gifted.
*Names have been retracted to protect the innocent.
- A Brighton purse … which was so not my style.
- A Ziploc bag of gel silica packets and two pieces of candy.
- A [insert name of famous 60’s band] t-shirt … that was one size too small.
- A quote-a-day calendar. As a birthday gift. In November. Quotes for 40 days. Great.
- A book about tidying up.
- A multitude of inspirational books.
- Duck Dynasty swag … for everyone. Welcome Doormat, hats, jumbo camo bed pillows, camo jackets … anything and everything Duck Dynasty.
- A faux crystal paper weight.
- As Seen on TV gifts.
- A sweater with fake rhinestones around the neckline. It was too big and still had the tags on it from when it was bought 3 years prior. It was pulled out of the back of the mother-in-law’s closet that day as she forgot to purchase a gift.
- Re-gifted crystal (We can only hope it was waterford).
- Amway makeup samples … as in the card samples that you only get one use out of.
- Hotel shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and body wash … that was already open and used.
And then there are the random, inappropriate gifts you may or may not have received as a teen from family or friends. Three stuck out that really take the cake …
- Old lingerie. Thanks for cleaning out your drawers and re-gifting.
- Used bottles of lotion. Again, thanks for regifting.
- Madonna’s book titled “Sex” … that was basically porn … given to a 16 YEAR OLD!
So if there are any MILs, moms or random gift givers reading this right now, maybe you should just pick up a Target gift card. To be on the safe side.
