Rubbish But Awesome Gift Ideas

 

 

 

Every year there is an inevitable trepidation before opening Christmas or Birthday gifts in front of family and friends. What if you don’t like what they give you? Will you have to fake a smile?!

Here is a list of a few “rubbish” gifts I’ve had (or others in my family have had), but I’m going to give you my thoughts as to why I think they’re actually awesome.

So next time you get one of these, hopefully your smile will be genuine!

Vouchers/Cash/Premium Bonds

I have spoken to so many people who think that vouchers are a rubbish, unthoughtful gift. Are you kidding me? Getting a voucher means you can buy whatever you want! If you tell people which shops you love, then you’ll never be disappointed.

And cash is great because let’s face it, who doesn’t like cash falling out of their birthday or christmas card.

I also like to gift premium bonds to children rather than loads of toys that go unused after a while. It’s a gift that they can use for something really awesome in the future!

Notebooks and other stationary

Maybe I’ve a massive nerd, but I always love getting stationary. I’ve been given a lovely Swarovski pen as well as a book made up of sticky notes, a notepad and reminder tabs. I always need paper to write down my thoughts or notes when I’m on the phone or studying.

I don’t know about you, but I always lose pens at work. Doctors are notorious for stealing each other’s pens (purely accidentally), so buy me a packet of cheapies and I’m happy.

I think stationary makes great stocking fillers, and have you seen the amazing adult colouring books in the shops now? If you or someone you know loves colouring in for stress purposes you’ll LOVE these books. It’s a great thing to buy someone in hospital as art can help recovery.

My healthy money planner is an awesome gift for someone you care about!

Household goods

One year my husband got a huge box of tea bags made by Barry’s Tea. We didn’t need any tea bags for months which was one less thing to buy on our shopping list! We’ve also been given a bird-feeder, a gas heater and a rotary line for our garden. We had mentioned that we wanted these, so it saves us money when we’re gifted them. What about if you don’t like what has been purchased?

Well hopefully the person has been kind and given you the gift receipt, but if they haven’t, then you could re-gift or if it is truly terrible, fess up and take it back. Swap it for something you really want (like jewellery or something!).

There is no point in holding onto something just because it was gifted. Get that unwanted energy out of there!

Toiletries

In the same vein as household goods, toiletries are actually pretty handy but totally rubbish gifts.

However, it might seem boring, but think about the money you’ll save! Shower gel is always a useful gift and is surprisingly expensive to buy regularly.

Failing that, why not save the items for future gifts (just remember who gave it to you) or give them away to charity. Your local foodbank will love whatever you give them.

Clothes

I think clothes are really hard to get right as a gift. Unless of course the gifter knows you so well that they couldn’t get it wrong, or they picked you out something you already pointed out. Socks instantly springs to mind when I think of clothes being gifted. It seems to be a universal dad present all around the world!!

Now if you get some generic black socks or something you can wear every day, that’s great, but if its something covered in Christmas print, then it might not be so useful. I would store them in the Christmas decorations box to wear next Christmas, or just accept that you’ll only ever wear them around the house. Failing that, give them away to charity, or let your kids use them for hand puppets.

Again, re-gifting would probably work well here, or swapping for something you want if the gift receipt has been included. Failing that, use an app like Shpock or Vinted and get rid of it to earn some cash!

Just pretend it shrunk in the wash or something…

Final Thoughts

So there you have it. My take on rubbish gifts that are actually pretty cool. What else should I add?

Why not use this month to declutter and sell all your unwanted presents to go towards things you do want, or to build up an emergency fund?

Tell me in the comments the weirdest thing you’ve even been bought!

 

 

 

 

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