Cheap & Nasty Birthday Presents - what's the worst you've seen?

paulineb_2

DS4215 wrote: »

It might have been, but it was a choice between a single bottle (~£40-45) of Angel, or a gift pack with a bottle + some other stuff that was slightly cheaper. The actual bottle and contents would have been identical in either case. The problem was I bought the one in the gift pack which is "cheap and nasty" apparently.

Next year she is getting a gift card and can buy her own stuff.

I wear Mugler and I cant always afford the single bottle of angel, Id be happy with anything from the range, its nice, be that EDT or the perfume.

You can pay anything up to £60 or £70 for a bottle of angel.

Cheap and nasty is what I would call £1 perfume from poundworld, I wouldnt complain about a Mugler EDT.

Cottage_Economy

An ex-boyfriend gave me a plastic BIC lighter as a present when he came back from a lad's holiday to Jersey. Not even a picture of Jersey on the front! Just a plain plastic lighter. I don't even smoke.

As a contrast, when hubby went away to France for a lad's weekend to watch some motor racing around two months into our relationship, he brought back a pair of gold and ruby heart-shaped earrings. A couple of months later at a barbecue one of the friend's asked me if I liked the earrings, as hubby had spent more time trawling jewellery shops than watching the racing and as his best friend he was duty bound to follow him as his opinion had been required .

Oh and one more. The cutest present I've received was a packet of garibaldi biscuits. Why? Because after our fourth date, where hubby casually asked what my favourite biscuits were, he wrapped a packet of them up nicely and had them couriered to the office for me to have with my morning tea. All the girls in the office were sighing and saying what a keeper he was.

:D

Orlando_Virgin

One year when I was skint as hell, I bought my Dad a pack of 2 x t-shirts from Matalan, took them out of the packet, wore one and gave him the other.

The same year I got my Mum a VHS boxset consisting of Angela's Ashes, Billy Elliott and Ther Horse Whisperer, which was horrific considering we were well in to the DVD era, I don't think they even had a VHS player. Every year we wrap them back up in disguise and give them to each other as a mickey take. I've never lived that down.

mmmsnow

I once got a car calendar from my father's mum. It was pretty racy, with lots of nude ladies draped across expensive cars. Just the thing for a 10 year old girl!

maman

paulineb wrote: »

I wear Mugler and I cant always afford the single bottle of angel, Id be happy with anything from the range, its nice, be that EDT or the perfume.

You can pay anything up to £60 or £70 for a bottle of angel.

Cheap and nasty is what I would call £1 perfume from poundworld, I wouldnt complain about a Mugler EDT.

Strange I misread this and thought of my favourite



I do have a disgusting looking bottle of 'sweet red wine' that someone gave me as a thank you for 2 x £45 tickets I couldn't use. I didn't want anything but if you're going to buy wine, buy decent stuff or at least a known brand!! Any ideas what I can do with the sweet stuff? I've avoided cooking with it but might it work?

marietje

I haven't really received many stupid presents, but it's a tradition for my in-laws to give the men in the family underwear, socks, deodorant and a jumper or two for Christmas. The underwear and socks are really nasty things that shops seem to stock especially for Christmas. My mother-in-law stopped doing it a few years back but then my sister-in-law decided to keep buying the cr*p and she seems serious about it... My husband is obviously incapable of buying clothes for himself!

There is also endless buying and wrapping of boxes of cheap chocolates for friends and unexpected visitors, which I find hilarious. I call this "the exchange of the roses", because they inevitably get the same boxes from other people.

SingleSue

Youngest son has a real problem understanding gift buying, no idea why as he has been brought up in a household where we love giving presents.

For eldest son's last birthday, he bought him a roll of bubble wrap!

superpennycounter

My in-laws are classics when it comes to naff presents

For Christmas and birthday I get:

cotton embroidered hankies (I HATE hankies - they are germ riddled things!)
really naff thank you notes (perhaps they are trying to tell me someting!)
"value" shower gel (the stuff that brings everyone out in a rash!)

(all the above are being "re-gifted" this year - I wonder who the recipients are going to be....:rotfl:)

For his 40th birthday they gave my hubby (their only son!) a garden chair that they no longer wanted - not two but just the one!

I do sometimes wonder what they are thinking....I would rather just have a £10 book voucher.

Families! :eek:

Alpha58

I thought this thread was dead in the water but thank you all so much for keeping it going. I have just logged on after a couple of weeks away - what a treat!

RazWaz

SingleSue wrote: »

Youngest son has a real problem understanding gift buying, no idea why as he has been brought up in a household where we love giving presents.

For eldest son's last birthday, he bought him a roll of bubble wrap!

That's awesome! Can I have it?

Popping bubble wrap is one of the best things ever to stress relief.