Team Picks: Worst Gifts

August 22 - 25, 2024

Metro Toronto Convention Centre

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Here at the FAN EXPO HQ, our team is always nerding out over the world of fandom. On Team Picks, we share some of our favorite things we’ve been watching, reading, and playing. This month, we’re being visited by the ghost of Terrible Gifts Past.

Giving the perfect gift is an art. And like all art, sometimes the finished product doesn’t quite turn out as well as you planned. All of us have, at one time or another, received a gift that, for whatever reason, didn’t hit the mark. Perhaps it was a great idea but the execution was bad or maybe it was intentionally designed to make you a little mad for the giver’s entertainment.

Whatever the reason, we all have those stories, and it’s time we shared them in this month’s picks:

Breakable Kittens

Ashley
Customer Service Coordinator

My Mom used to buy me these big, colourful girly sweaters when I was a teenager that I would never wear. And then when I didn't like them, she would keep them for herself. For a wedding gift, my great aunt got us a couple of random items. One of which was a porcelain basket of kittens.

Missing in Action Figures

Jabbari
Copywriter

I've received many bad gifts, but the worst was when I was six or seven years old. I thought, “Wow Santa definitely knows that I want these cool action figures from the movie Small Soldiers and will tell my parents to buy it for me”. Not sure where the message got dropped, but Christmas came and no toys were bought. This was the worst gift because there was no gift. I also learned some very hard lessons about communication and would go on to specifically outline my gift wants to my parents.

Canine Creations

Lizzie
Operations Coordinator

My brother thinks it's funny to gift me terrible paintings of cats and dogs dressed up as celebrities. They eventually find their way back to his house, only for him to hang them on his walls as a point of pride for how much it offends his sister (me) and her art school sensibilities (me, again). Whether or not it's my taste, I can appreciate an objectively good piece of art and these are most certainly not that. I can't accurately express how much seething hatred I have for them. And yet, year after year, there they are.

Skin Care Reaction

Caroline
Social Media Coordinator

My worst gift definitely wasn't a bad gift—it was more of a gift that went wrong. I was given a set of assorted skincare items and I was super excited to try them out. But one of the products ended up giving me a really bad rash for days so I couldn't use it again.

Cursed Painting

Laura
Customer Service Manager

My husband might kill me for this one. I want to start by saying it was such a thoughtful gift; a painted picture of me on our wedding day. However, there were a few problems with it. It was really big, it says, “Merry Christmas” on it, and most importantly, it doesn’t really look like me. It’s so haunting and bad but I can’t throw it out.