The worst holiday gifts ever
December 23, 2009 by Sam NarisiPosted in: HR Tech, In this week's e-newsletter - Tech
In lieu of holiday bonuses, some companies give employees small gifts. Hopefully, not one of these.
We’ve scored the Web for examples of the Hall of Shame for holiday gift giving. See if anything you’ve ever received tops this:
- a single packet of cherry Kool-Aid
- 1 out of a five pack of VHS tapes
- an almost-empty box of tea bags (3 left in a box of 12), all expired
- a miniature screwdriver to repair eyeglasses (to someone who doesn’t wear glasses!)
- a rock from someone’s backyard
- a case of pork and beans
- men’s bow-tie g-string
- an empty shoe box
- a spa gift certificate … for a spa 2,000 miles away!
- a giant bottle of Listerine
- the book 365 Ways to Cook Chicken – for a vegetarian
- the volume “P” of an animal encyclopedia
- 50 cents in pennies, wrapped in a plastic sandwich bag
- a bag of clothespins
- a box of hair dye
- a light bulb
- half a pack of tube socks
- a single stick of gum
- a shaving kilt (this is not a typo – it’s a kilt you wear when you shave), and
- jumbo-sized poster of a baby seal.
Gotten (or have heard of) a gift that belongs on this list? Share it here.
December 29th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
i would like the shaving kilt
December 29th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
My son received an empty cereal box with one side cut out and a picture of a car from a magazine taped inside. I guess it was supposed to be a shadow box. He was 10 years old and it was from his step-grandma. My daughter received a used, dirty coffee pot (wrapped in the plastic and styrofoam from a new coffee pot) for her 19th birthday from the same step-grandma. My mother-in-law told me she wanted a new coffee pot, so she gave her old one to my daughter. NICE, HUH?
December 29th, 2009 at 3:00 pm
A friend of mine would receive USED/FULL bags of dirt from a car wash vacuum cleaner. The giver thought these were great gifts because you could find money, jewerly and ummm other things. This was not a one time gift. They saved bags all year and for every holiday, birthday, etc., their lucky friends and family would each get a bag or two if they were really good.
I think I cried when she told me about this. I thought it was a joke. Nope. All 100% true.
December 29th, 2009 at 3:08 pm
my dad got butt cream and book on humility!
December 29th, 2009 at 5:47 pm
I didn’t even know there was such a thing as butt cream! Some (most) of these are really awful. Why bother if that’s the best one can do? We have given small gifts like mugs, lunch bags (nylon with zipper and cold area) and pens with the company name on them. A few years ago we started giving small gift cards ($15) (Starbucks, I-Tunes, movies, book stores) and those have been welcome. This year was so tough we were glad to have a party at all and had no budget for gifts. So, we had everyone who wanted to participate bring a wrapped gift up to $15 in value and did the “Sneaky Santa” thing where you can open a gift or steal one that’s already been opened. Everyone liked that, too, I think.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:01 am
HRae: I’m curious. Did your friend ever go thru the bags of dirt or just throw them away? She/he may have found my earring.
A couple of years ago while traveling, I stopped to vacuum my car. I thought I had seen something shiny go into the vacuum hose but assumed it was a coin or something else of little value. I drove thru the night and when I arrived at my hotel and was getting ready for bed, I noticed that one of my earrings (1/2 carat) that my husband had gotten me for Valentine’s Day was missing. Yeah… I was sick for weeks.
December 30th, 2009 at 9:57 am
A former employer gave out pens, post it notes, notepads and other trinkets. All were stuff that was gathered through the year at various conventions.
January 5th, 2010 at 4:26 pm
I got a monopoly “Get out of jail free” card altered to say “Get out of mairraige free” with a girls name and number on the back. Unfortunately it was addressed to the “family” so my wife opened it. Free fireworks for christmas instead of the forth of July.
January 5th, 2010 at 5:28 pm
I gather lots of those takeaways from conferences and leave them to my wife for distribution to her friends back home in China. They appreciate any and all things received from the US. Some of the items are quite nice in comparison to what is being described above. I get to keep the real good items for me.
January 5th, 2010 at 6:13 pm
Come on Sam – I really can’t believe that people give that bulleted list of “gifts”. Where did that list come from? Some people are bad, but I really can’t believe that people gave some of those things and if so that they weren’t meant as jokes.
January 6th, 2010 at 9:58 am
I want to see my husband use the shaving kilt……
January 6th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
maybe the Listerine was not really a gift but a hint????
January 7th, 2010 at 9:26 am
I can believe that these are real “gifts”. I worked with a guy whose parents gave him coupons that they received in the paper (buy a Big Mac, get one free!). Some people are simply clueless. This year my ex sent my son a BIG box of gifts…clothes that were 2 sizes too big, a cheap 7-in-1 game set, and 2 executive desk games. We called a big box of disappointment as no thought went into the gifts whatsoever.
January 7th, 2010 at 12:05 pm
This is a good Christmas story. I have no idea what gift my Grandfather had bought for my Grandmother, but he couldn’t find the wrapping paper. No way was he going to ask her where she kept it because being the nosey parker she was, he’d have to give the gift up then & there. So he wrapped the box in paper towels! I still remember seeing it under the tree, 40 years ago. The paper towels had a faint green print on them, and was bow-less, because he didn’t know where those were either! But he did a great job wrapping it!
January 7th, 2010 at 12:08 pm
I wear a size 8 in shoes & clothes. Two years ago, my boyfriend bought me six 6 slippers & size 12 pajamas. Now he gives me money & I buy & wrap the gifts. When opened, he sees how happy I am with the gifts HE paid for.
January 27th, 2010 at 10:30 am
Just remember, the less we expect the more we get. Think about it…
Maybe we should all be thankful for what we have and not focus so much on what we “want”. I’m sure the homeless or people who have lived thru a disaster, hurricane, tornando, earthquake, etc. would love to receive most any thing, which may be simple to others.
February 4th, 2010 at 4:12 pm
The problem with those gifts is that they were probably given just to give something. I would much rather have a card or even a sincere word instead of some stupid gift no matter what the cost. I have received gifts from a close friend that were just gifts to give something with no thought as to what I really would appreciate. What do I do with those gifts? Put them away until this friend is going to come over and then drag them out for the visit. Sometimes they are items that we both bought plenty of at the same craft sale, etc. that I have plenty of. I know that you should be grateful for the thought but to me this is just a case of wrapping something up for the sake of giving a present, not a gift that would take some thought. By the way, she spends hours buying and hunting down gifts for others; that’s why I’m sure there is not much thought involved. It reminds me of the great-aunt on National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation who wraps up the jello and the cat just so she can give a present.
February 4th, 2010 at 5:11 pm
I worked for a chiropractor and his wife was creative. I got a painted piece of firewood made into an angel with celophane wings, needless to say I wish I had the $50 from the previous year. That was really an awful gift. I was too embarassed to even recylce that one.
February 10th, 2010 at 6:50 pm
A friend of mine’s wife did various arts and crafts. She painted a bunch of bowling pins to look like Santa Claus and gave them out as gifts. She was very talented and it was nicely painted and decorated but what does one do with a bowling pin Santa?