Have you ever received a gift so bad that you were rendered speechless? At some point you have probably received a gift that just seemed totally inappropriate, insensitive or just plain thoughtless. And perhaps you’ve even given some ‘stinky’ gifts! Giving is one of the real treasures in life, so everyone should take a little time and use some creativity to find and give the perfect gift!

In the spirit of inspiring you to give your future gift giving more consideration – here (in no particular order) are some of the 15 Worst Gifts of All Time!

From a boyfriend no less! After months of dropping hints for an expensive bottle of perfume one holiday season, an acquaintance received a cactus from her boyfriend! If that wasn’t bad enough, the not so bright guy, wrapped the cactus in paper so that she received cuts on her hands as she unwrapped this stupid gift!

Imagine, opening a card to find out you are the proud recipient of 12 months of a religious magazine that’s not even for your religion and on top of that you’re not even particularly spiritual! Blatantly shows how little the gift giver knew about the recipient!

Most of us have all been guilty of regifting at some point in time but this one takes the cake. In this case, the original gift buyer had written a note in the book to the original recipient. That recipient then crossed out the note with one line and regifted the book to a friend for his birthday! How tacky!

O.k. while a Barbie Doll is a great gift for a six year old girl, it’s totally inappropriate for a 12 year old boy who is into GI Joe’s, Transformers and other such toys. In this instance the gift recipient commented that it was the only time in his childhood that he was happy his dog ate one of his toys!

Here’s another thoughtless gift – a friend received a ‘B’ pin from her mother-in-law when her initials are L.C.! Is Mom getting passive-aggressive with her daughter-in-law? Uh-oh!

Unless you are giving the gift to the child’s grandparent, it’s safe to say that no one wants a huge, framed photograph of your baby or child.. Can you believe that a co-worker I once knew gave her boss an 8x10 framed picture of her newborn baby? The worst part was that her boss didn’t know what to do and felt obligated to display this inappropriate gift!

If you are going to the trouble to bring a bottle of wine to friend’s house as a housewarming or hostess gift, at least buy a decent bottle of wine. No one wants to receive homemade wine that tastes like vinegar – I wish my father-in-law would realize that some things aren’t meant to be shared! Every time we have a family gathering, he feels it’s necessary to bring a huge bottle of his red swill! There’s not a lot of toasting going on when that bottle gets opened up!

A friend of mine told me this story… an ex-boyfriend got her a scale one Christmas. It was a fancy digital scale with all the bells and whistles, but nothing says ‘you should lose a few pounds’ more than a scale! Needless to say, that relationship didn’t last long! Make a mental note men – a bathroom scale is not a good present!

O.k. underwear and socks just shouldn’t be given as presents. First of all, underwear is a personal thing and unless you are buying sexy lingerie for a mate, just don’t buy it for gift giving to anyone else. Every year, my aunt gives my husband a three pack of tube socks and he always feels that this gift says ‘I had no idea what to get you and this was quick, easy and cheap’.

Even if someone is on the stinky side, giving deodorant is rude! I once heard a story about an employee receiving a three pack of deodorant during an office gift exchange! Even if someone is difficult to buy for (or smelly!), please…never buy him or her deodorant!

This might be a good gift for a child, but not for a grown woman. My mom gave me a ceramic bank in the shape of a shoe a couple of years ago under the premise that I was supposed to use it to save for something special. Come on, is throwing my loose change into a piggy bank supposed to make me feel like a professional person capable of handling her own money – I don’t think so!

This one goes without saying, but don’t be so presumptuous as to give anyone an animal as a gift. I’ve heard too many sad stories where people are given pets as gifts that they just can’t keep. Pets take time, money and commitment so be careful not to saddle someone with these responsibilities!

I don’t care if knitting is your passion, no one wants to receive a homemade sweater with a tacky saying like ‘friends are the best presents’. Don’t laugh, an acquaintance recently received a sweater that obviously took much time and effort to create, but with the schmaltzy saying, she just can’t bring herself to wear it in public.

What kind of gift is this? You mean I have to shell out cash to pay for one meal to get the other one for free? This actually happened, my friend’s boss gave her this type of voucher, I think he meant that he’d take her out for the lunch (and presumably get her meal for free) but it just came across as tacky. Come on people; shell out for a gift that is meant to be a gift, not a voucher you took from a fundraising coupon book!

My brother received a leather jacket from his wife for Christmas, it didn’t fit quite right so she returned it to the store for exchange – but she never got him another one!! Maybe he should have held onto it, at least he’d have some token of appreciation.

Hopefully these 15 terrible gifts are a fun way to get you thinking about your own gift giving. So, if you happen to receive a terrible gift – try to remember it is the thought that counts and smile sweetly and say thank you!