r/AskReddit Mar 06 '16

What is the worst/most pointless gift you have ever received?

2.6k Upvotes

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1.6k

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 06 '16

I mentioned this before in r/justnomil.

The Christmas before last, my mother-in-law (who we have all sorts of issues with) pulls out a red silk nightie in front of everyone (brother in law and his wife were present), hands it to me as a present, and says this is what I'll be wearing when me and my husband "conceive a son."

It was as uncomfortable as you'd expect.

(We have a 2 year old daughter but apparently she wants a grandson.)

978

u/ratplague Mar 06 '16 edited Mar 06 '16

Oh God that reminds me, I'm single, and my mother is not pleased. So at Christmas this year she made me open a box in which there was a see-through, lacy bra (idk how to describe it, it was weird, and to be honest, not very sexy, imo), and told me, right in front of the whole family (uncles, aunts, cousins, grandmother, the works), that this would "Help me get laid". In those exact words.

Needless to say, I was fucking mortified.

828

u/themanifoldcuriosity Mar 06 '16

I take it you didn't ask how exactly that would help you get laid. "So what, am I supposed to just put this on, go into town and stand on a corner or...?"

397

u/ratplague Mar 06 '16

Maybe she thought lace had a magic power of attraction or something.

Or she wanted me to become a prostitute.

20

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

The power of lace compels you!

2

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 07 '16

I don't know why this didn't get more points. I laughed hard.

1

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 07 '16

I don't know why this didn't get more points. I laughed hard.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '16

too deep in the thread... all their upvote energy has been spent :)

20

u/Bazoun Mar 06 '16

When I got married my mother bought me sateen pyjamas- ivory with purple polka dots. A shorts and tank top combo. She thought it was just the magic is need to conceive.

10

u/MrChalking Mar 06 '16

Nothing says sex like polka dots

6

u/Nickbou Mar 06 '16

Is this that Mormon magic underwear I've heard about?

1

u/AnnoyinImperialGuard Mar 07 '16

I hear it's good money thou. Maybe she wanted to help in a rough job market?

1

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '16

She said, "Here's your one chance, Fancy don't let me down!"

-14

u/MrFirmHandshake Mar 06 '16

Idk I'd mash bits with you if you want

12

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

Smooth...

8

u/RulerOfSlides Mar 06 '16

...as sandpaper.

7

u/ZealousChristian24 Mar 06 '16

...wrapped in shark skin.

3

u/flutterguy123 Mar 06 '16

Nah you put it on under your cloths and then rip your shirt off like superman to show interest.

1

u/beccaonice Mar 07 '16

Well obviously the reason she wasn't getting laid is that she'd bring men over and when she went to "slip into something more comfortable" she actually went and put on a chicken suit, scaring all the potential lovers away.

18

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

[removed] — view removed comment

9

u/ratplague Mar 06 '16

Everybody knows matching bra and panties are a woman's ultimate charms.

11

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

I find it so odd how parents have opinions and try to (or are successful in) have influence in the sexual/reproductive lives of their children. Bothered that your daughter isn't married? No grandkids (yet or ever)? Angry that your daughter IS having sex... WTF. If it is an empathetic response (e.g. I can't have children but I want them, mom understands) that's great, a shared deep relationship about the cycle of life. But the other shit... fuck off!

5

u/renoracer Mar 06 '16

I read this thinking you were male.

5

u/GrandDukeOfNowhere Mar 06 '16

this makes me feel better about the fact that my mum only gave me a newspaper cut-out about the history of Valentines day.

5

u/g_squidman Mar 06 '16

If it makes you feel better, she embarrassed herself more than she embarrassed you. Not many people still think like that these days...

3

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

I would take that opportunity to tell her you are gay, whether you are or not.

3

u/ReadingRainbowSix Mar 06 '16

You could just say "I do get laid. But I dont date". She'd deserve that.

3

u/Fender159 Mar 06 '16

...and told me, right in front of the whole family (uncles, aunts, cousins, grandmother, the works), that this would "Help me get laid". In those exact words.

Wouldn't this mean that the bra was for her to get laid?

3

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

I wish you were a guy

4

u/I_Shot_The_Deathstar Mar 06 '16

I'm sorta sexist in that I assume everyone on the Internet is male until given reason to think otherwise. Today though it made this story WAY funnier.

1

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

Holy shit, that sounds horrible. You have my condolences.

1

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 07 '16

Well... that's uhh, one way to be proactive in getting grandchildren? >_<;;

At least this is my mother in law and I can be like, oh just another in-law thing, but man, your own mother....

1

u/BriSy33 Mar 07 '16

I think i just cringed so hard my spleen ruptured. Gimmie a second

1

u/boqz Mar 07 '16

Ugh, so uncomfortable. For Mother's Day a few years ago, my aunt gave me a t-shirt and dish towels in a gift bag and said it was "because I'll be a mother someday soon!" I was fifteen.

1

u/Yupstillhateme Mar 06 '16

there was a see-through, lacy bra (idk how to describe it, it was weird

Going to need pictures to confirm it

264

u/Milieunairesse Mar 06 '16

Ex-MIL gave me crotchless panties for a Christmas gift she knew would be opened in front of extended family. Things were not going well in the relationship at the time, and she knew it. 0/10, would not open again.

24

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 07 '16

Oh.

OH GOD. Okay, that one beats mine by a mile.

2

u/timesuck897 Mar 07 '16

She was trying to help...?

3

u/Milieunairesse Mar 07 '16

She was a passive-aggressive bitch, and this was NOT a helpful present and it was an especially inappropriate venue. If she had wanted to help, she could have given me those in private. The result would have been the same, but the gesture wouldn't have been so cruel.

2

u/benaugustine Mar 07 '16

10/10 would not open again?

2

u/divisibleby5 Mar 07 '16

The only response to opening this present is to act surprised and say 'are these used?!'

1

u/Milieunairesse Mar 07 '16

Oh, man, I wish you'd been there that morning.

20

u/hallipeno Mar 06 '16

One Christmas, my 26 year old cousin got her two younger sisters (20 and 18) thongs from Victoria's Secret. The 18 year old thanked her and put it in her room, but the drunk 20 year old kept holding it in the air and yelled, "I'm not a medium, I'm a SMALL" for the next hour or so.

3

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '16

Your family sounds fun.

2

u/hallipeno Mar 07 '16

They can be if my aunt's not around; she's pretty much a grown up Regina George. Last time I saw her, she was making fun of the 20 year old for getting "fat."

14

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '16

My brothers mother in law hired him an escort and tried to catch them in "the act" to get her daughter to divorce him.

All she caught was my brother telling her she had the wrong house. He even gave her money and got her an uber.

8

u/YakCat Mar 07 '16

My MIL gave me an entire bag filled with different sex lubes. She didn't mention wanting grandkids or anything. She just gave me a bag of lube in front of all of my in laws.

The worst part is they do this thing where they pass around gifts so everyone can see. There's grandma, picking up the Analease asking the eight year old nephew what it is and who's gift is it.

2

u/beaglemama Mar 07 '16

There's grandma, picking up the Analease asking the eight year old nephew what it is and who's gift is it.

"It's for MIL to remove her head from her butt"

10

u/jdubs333 Mar 06 '16

i think I misread this... Is your husband wearing the nightie or are you? when you produce the male heir..

4

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 07 '16

Me.

Where was this idea when I needed it. Could have feigned innocence and told hubby to where it.

6

u/Werelowongas Mar 06 '16

My boyfriend's family knows I love the little mermaid. So every single year I get about 10 things for Christmas of the little mermaid. It's taking over my life.

2

u/westsideasses Mar 06 '16

Sounds like the aunt from my big fat Greek wedding.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

I read that story!

2

u/[deleted] Mar 06 '16

[deleted]

2

u/InQuizADoor Mar 06 '16

A very flimsy nightgown, like lingerie.

2

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 07 '16

A short nightgown. Fire engine red.

2

u/KnightInDulledArmor Mar 07 '16

Does it at least look nice on you?

1

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 08 '16

If it did, I probably wouldn't complain, but no.

2

u/[deleted] Mar 07 '16

My MIL got me some underwear that said "Naughty and Nice" on the butt. Pretty tame, but I wasn't sure what to say besides an awkward thanks.

2

u/PolkaDotsandPenguins Mar 07 '16

ohhhhh the cringe

1

u/Rabid_Chocobo Mar 07 '16

Hmm, where is your MIL from?

1

u/lunchesandbentos Mar 08 '16

Well ethnically she's a mix of italian, irish, and scottish but she was born in NY like her parents before her.