A woman was left dumbfounded when her husband bought her an £11.99 gift for Christmas which she certainly hadn’t asked for – some branded the man’s gift as ‘outstandingly weird’
Many of us can agree Christmas isn’t about the presents we receive – it’s the invaluable time we spend with loved ones and the memories we make together.
But if someone gets you a seriously naff present, there’s no point in denying your disappointment – especially when the person is supposed to know you well and should have a good idea of what to get for you.
One woman described her husband as “c**p at gifting”, but he’d really taken the biscuit last Christmas, because rather than playing it safe and just sticking to chocolates and socks, he bought her a £11.99 fail.
Taking to Mumsnet, the woman vented her frustration and was wondering whether she was being mean for doing so because she was worried about being “ungrateful”.
Referring to it as the “worst Christmas present” that she ever received, on Christmas Day 2023, the woman wrote: “I feel ungrateful but also very disappointed. My husband is c**p at gifting, but this really takes the biscuit. I am a 53-year-old woman, and we have been together for 26 years. He bought me a periscope. Am I being unreasonable to be disappointed and ungrateful?”
Periscopes can be purchased on Amazon for just £11.99, and according to Britannia: “A periscope includes two mirrors or reflecting prisms to change the direction of the light coming from the scene observed: the first deflects it down through a vertical tube, the second diverts it horizontally so that the scene can be viewed conveniently,” so it’s a rather niche Christmas gift.
The woman obviously had no interest in the periscope; otherwise, she wouldn’t have complained about receiving it, so a whopping 87% of people said she wasn’t being unreasonable by feeling gutted about the present she’d received.
In the comments, others revealed awful presents they received for Christmas, with one woman writing: “I have a December birthday, and a couple of years ago, my mother-in-law got me an iron for my birthday and an ironing board for Christmas.”
Another said: “Wow. That is bad and really, really odd. Why on Earth did he think that was a good choice? Is this a case of him wanting a periscope?” The original poster responded: “He thought I might like it to look out of the skylight! I would have preferred one of the books I asked for.”
Some referred to the gift as “outstandingly weird”, asking the original poster whether she’d ever shown “any interest in looking out of the skylight”.
One mum said her son’s grandma bought him a “Barbie car air freshener”, despite the fact he’s as “masculine as they come”, saying some people give “odd” presents.
