Not everyone is great when it comes to buying a thoughtful gift, and that’s okay. You can usually plaster a smile on your face, thank them, and move swiftly on. But have you ever opened a gift that was so next level bad that even though you kept your lips firmly clamped together you couldn’t stop your facial expressions from screaming ‘WTF?’ I’m not talking about being handed something to unwrap that is in a colour you don’t particularly like, I’m talking about the kind of thing that has you questioning their sanity!

Personally, I find the whole present-opening in a group setting uncomfortable at best and anxiety inducing at worst…which is probably why a thread on Reddit in which women were discussing the worst baby gifts they received caught my attention. I feel like I’d die of embarrassment being the receiver of some of these truly awful gifts, let alone the gifter!

What Not to Buy as a Baby Shower Gift

These days, many expectant mums set up a gift registry so that family and friends can purchase things that the new mum and baby need and will actually use. However, if you are invited to a baby shower and you are umming and ahhing about what to buy, we’d advise reading through this list and making sure you don’t choose anything even remotely close – unless you want your gift to be remembered for all eternity for all the wrong reasons!

Unfounded Concern for the Unborn Child

First baby… A card from my sister-in-law, pretty much saying I’m not ready to be a parent and that she hopes i “don’t damage the child.” It came with the “What to Expect,” book series for birth through age 5. Lol. Also… She spent the entire party ragging on me to everybody. I had met her once prior to this.  (OkStop248)

A Little Book of Criticism

My own mother gave me a notebook for my baby shower that was supposed to be filled with supportive messages from people who attended. Except that her own message was so scathing and pretty much just repeated in different ways how much I was going to struggle as a mother 😂 I got good mileage out of passing it around and laughing at it with my husband’s family, who are well aware of how insane my parents are. (AmiableOstrich)

Related article: Is It Tacky to Have a Baby Shower for a Second Child?

Snobbery

I was super excited to find a turquoise pottery barn crib on craigslist for $75!! Made a fb post and everything.Well for my shower my BiL and SiL decided to buy me a crib! Not so bad, but when I opened it she goes “this is so that you don’t have to use that street crib, cuz let’s be honest, it’s a street crib”. In front of everyone!! I grew up on second hand items and it was such a slap in the face, I wanted to just cry. (roxicrtoxv)

Oversized Clothing

I got a kids size 10 shirt… like, one that a big kid could wear. We were really confused but said thank you and moved onto the next gift… the friend pulled me aside and apologized because he didn’t know anything about babies. We had a laugh about it and it’s still in my (almost) 4 year old’s closet. We have him put it on around his birthday every year and send a picture of him to our friend who gifted it to us. It’s tradition now lol. (Gwenerfresh)

Expired Pantry Items

My grandma got me a can of beans and canned enchilada sauce… pretty sure they were from her pantry and they were like 10 years old. (turtchel)

Related article: My Mother-in-Law Threw Me a Baby Shower and Then Kept all the Gifts for Herself!

Tacky/Inappropriate Baby Clothing

A onesie that says “every dog needs a baby” and I have two cats. Zero dogs. (sjrji1717)

Off Brand Registry Items

I have a pretty “crunchy” friend who marked a bunch of stuff as purchased on my registry and then gifted “natural” versions of the items…I have to think it was just her being thoughtful (as in, she was thinking she got the “better” version of the thing I registered for) but a lot of the stuff she got is just packed with essential oils. I also put a good amount of research into the items I wanted so it was just kind of annoying and I don’t really believe in herbal tinctures or organic always being better. I just want diaper cream and soaps/lotions/nipple cream that works! Oh and a lot of it wasn’t returnable. (scmydd)

Half-Used Baby Toiletries

Used and open items 😂 came from my SIL’s brother-in-law and his wife. I am all for hand-me-downs, but like..open containers of baby power and butt cream that are half used, as they’re present…lmao. Oh, and it was all packed in a dirty, used diaper backpack. (Saassy11)

Birth Control

My husbands family thought it would be funny to give me a box of condoms, this was a shower for our second son. I was NOT pleased as a 38week pregnant woman. 1 because sex was the last thing on my list, and 2 how tacky and rude can you be. Oddly enough nobody fessed up to who brought the gift when I asked? I know my face indicated I would be murdering whoever it was. (madommouselfefe)

Pasta

A box of uncooked pasta and girl stuff ….FYI I don’t know if its a boy or girl and made that clear to everyone that the gender is a surprise…..and the pasta i can’t even explain. (OkToots)

Related article: Man Reveals to His Wife During Baby Shower That He Knows the Child Isn’t His

A Choking Hazard

A thing to hang on the wall of the baby’s room that was covered in ribbon strung with loose beads. Nothing was knotted or secured in any way. Several beads fell off as I lifted it out of the box. So… they gave me a choking hazard for my baby. (booksandcheesedip)

Judgement on Parenting Choices

My mother-in-law got us an ugly bookshelf after asking us if we had one and after we told her we did (and had it all set up in our small nursery). She also got us a wipe warmer after she knew that we were against using one (don’t need babe getting used to warm wipes when we are on the go so frequently). She then made a loud comment about how this other babe in the fam is probably much more protected from Covid because of all the breastfeeding (and I’m vaxed AND freshly boosted). She knows we’re not breastfeeding and just took it as a chance to give a jab 🙄. I made up for it though – after opening all of the gifts at the shower I proudly announced and thanked my mom for giving us the best gift of all – several weeks of sleep (via a night nurse). Everything she does is deliberate – but two can play the game. (FaveStarsGrateBard)

A Gift That is For Someone Else!

So when my son was born, my brother-in-law gave me a card. When I read the card, he wrote that he bought 2 football game tickets. One for him and one for my husband…… And he got me, the one who had a baby in her belly for roughly 10 months absolutely nothing. 🙂 (MotorVirtual)

Gift That’s Just for Show In Front of Others

My MIL gave me this beautiful “sleeping bag” that was handmade and my SO used it when he was a baby so it actually meant a lot to me cause we dont really have the best relationship. The day after my baby shower she told me she wanted it back and I can borrow it from her if I wanted to use it😑 felt very awkward about it because I told everyone of this lovely present… (Greedy-Dot6333)

Form of Punishment for the Baby

Not me but my SIL received a “time out chair” from a relative when she had her first. It was a children’s rocking chair with a clock imbedded in it and lots of shitty sayings on it like “you have to think about what you did” and creepy stuff like that. Also it was clearly for an older child and not a newborn. We all had a good laugh about it after then donated it. (beccajo22)

Thirdhand Smoke Exposure

A dirty teddy bear that smelled like cigarettes. When we called for the story, thinking maybe it was a childhood toy that had been saved, he said “ohh no, I just found that at the thrift store” (riastiltskin)

Unsolicited Body Fluid

Frozen breastmilk from a friends personal stash. She was genuinely being kind and thought she was being helpful but… ick. (WerkQueen)

Stained and Unwashed Items

My husband’s cousin gave us an old, used (and dirty) breast pump, complete with old bottles and a dirty used diaper backpack to contain everything.

In case that wasn’t enough, she also gave us a couple of ugly stained quilts/blankets, and a card that said she could get us something else if we didn’t like the gift.

I felt too bad to say anything and just accepted the gift (and then proceeded to donate it).

Have you ever received a gift that was beyond awful?