There is no denying that it can sometimes be hard to pick out the correct gift for someone. Between budgets, taste, and needs, sometimes it’s better to err on the side of safety. But some folks are such horrible gifters that what they spend money on tends to feel more like an insult.
One woman got revenge on her husband after he “gifted” her something that only he wanted and needed. She planned and waited for 52 weeks, the embodiment of “revenge is a dish best served cold,” before teaching him a lesson next winter. We got in touch with Popular-Jaguar-3803 who wrote the story to find out more.
Shopping for gifts doesn’t come naturally to everyone
Image credits: daveoratox (not the actual photo)
But one woman decided to teach her husband a lesson after he got her a particularly selfish gift
Image credits: RDNE Stock project (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Popular-Jaguar-3803
OP, many years later, seems to see the story in a more humorous light now
Image credits: Nicole Michalou (not the actual photo)
Bored Panda got in touch with Popular-Jaguar-3803 who wrote the story and she was kind enough to answer some of our questions. Since the story happened a while ago and it appears that family members still reference it, we were curious to hear if this particular event had become a sort of familial inside joke.
“For some of us, it was a joke. My husband also forgot that I gave him hydraulic jacks as well. All he remembered was the toilet paper,” she shared with Bored Panda. This sounds like a classic case of selective memory, where a person only focuses on particular events that confirm their biases while ignoring others.
However, this particular gift must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back. “He was always terrible at gifts or anything. All he thought about was what he would want. And he wanted that ShopVac. It really wasn’t easy to use in the house. I could have swept the whole house floors twice with time to spare, and then the vacuum would have done the whole house once,” she shared with Bored Panda.
Picking gifts might be hard, but buying things for yourself is just unacceptable
Image credits: Nicole Michalou (not the actual photo)
“We had been married for 18 years by then, and I always made presents about what the other person would want. I think that some people are lousy at giving gifts because they are clueless and/or self-centered. He was actually both. He just never put any thought into what I would enjoy or like.”
This is an important part, as being bad at selecting gifts is forgivable. After all, some people are hard to choose for, there might be logistical issues or a person simply struggles to come up with something unique. However, when the recipient is your wife, not some random third cousin whom you have met twice, these arguments fall away.
It seems that Popular-Jaguar-3803 seems to know this and even took proactive steps to contain any difficulties it could cause otherwise. “I also would buy gifts for our kids and put his name on them. Let them think that he put an effort into it,” she shared. It’s unfortunate that she had to put in all this extra effort, but better to at least allow the children to enjoy Christmas.
It would appear that OP has been suffering from this issue for a long time
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)
She also shared more examples of her husband truly not getting it. “One year, we planned to go Christmas Shopping together for the kids. He demanded that we go to Sears first. We went, and he headed for the tools department and bought a tool set he had been wanting. After that, he demanded to go home as he was done. I hid so much from the kids as I didn’t want them to turn out like him.”
“And by the way, it isn’t about how much was spent, it is the thought. My youngest son buys me heart necklaces with his birthstone on them. I know he spent about $15, and I wear the heck out of them. I love them so much and are my favorite pieces of jewelry, even over my diamond necklaces. He is 16 now,” she added. Readers, take note of what a thoughtful gift actually looks like.
Lastly, seeing as her story got a lot of comments and upvotes, we wanted to hear if she had any final thoughts on the matter. “As for my story being popular, I guess it is nice. But if I can prevent someone from being thoughtless, the story was worth it.” So perhaps do your best to not be like this husband whenever you are buying gifts.