When it comes to finding the right Valentine’s Day gift for your special someone, it’s often the thought that counts. But it turns out that some people have really awful ideas.
Look, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be complicated. A restaurant reservation, a nice bouquet of flowers, a box of chocolates, maybe a heartfelt card — these classics exist for a reason. They work. But every year, countless people decide to get creative or simply phone it in, and the results can be absolutely disastrous.
So with Valentine’s Day right around the corner, we decided to crowdsource some cautionary tales. We recently polled Narcity and MTL Blog Facebook followers with one simple question: “What’s the worst Valentine’s Day gift you ever received?”
The responses did not disappoint. Well, they technically did. But you know what we mean…
From the thoughtless to the downright bizarre, people shared their most memorable Valentine’s Day disasters. Here are a dozen awful gifts that may remind you that your significant other isn’t so bad after all — or at least inspire you to do better this year.
Flowers… from a funeral
One Facebook user kicked things off with what might be the most jaw-dropping story of the bunch.
“I think I win this one. [My] new bf gifted me a huuuuge table arrangement bouquet a few days before V Day. I thought it was romantic. He caught me off guard when I was least expecting it. Then I noticed the edges were already wilting prematurely. Come to realize – his grandma died a few days ago. Those were her funeral table arrangement flowers.”
Look, we understand the impulse to not let beautiful flowers go to waste. But maybe — just maybe — save the funeral arrangements for literally any other occasion.
A 50% off bouquet
Getting flowers the day after Valentine’s Day is rough. But one person’s partner took it to another level.
“Superstore unicorn made of roses, but on Feb 15th, with the 50% off sticker still on it.”
Showing up a day late is bad enough, but handing it over with a clearance sticker still attached is a special kind of thoughtless.
The bargain flower trend was apparently common for some relationships. Another user shared that her “ex-husband would give me my gift (supermarket orchids) whenever he got paid the closest to the 14th. It was so annoying.”
Key word there: ex-husband.
Christmas goodies
If you thought day-old flowers were bad, how about two-month-old cookies? One commenter wrote:
“I received a Santa sleigh with cookies left over from Christmas on discount.”
Nothing says “I love you” quite like stale holiday cookies that have been sitting around since December. At least the sleigh was festive?
Dinner with a catch
One woman thought she was in for a romantic evening when her partner offered to take her out. Then came the surprise twist.
“I’ve been invited to my favourite restaurant (like, I’m taking you out, where you wanna go) and been asked to pay half the bill…”
A divorce
One user got really personal down in the comments, recounting the ironic timing of his legal separation from his former spouse:
“A divorce. My 2002 divorce was finalized on February 14th.”
A six-pack of booze
Romance comes in many forms, but apparently, sometimes it comes in a six-pack.
“A 6-pack of cocktail spritzers. Seriously, WTF,” one user wrote.
Unless you specifically asked for canned cocktails, this feels less like a romantic gesture and more like someone grabbed something from the beer fridge on their way out the door.
A bong
One MTL Blog reader got a gift that was clearly more for her partner than for her.
“A bong from my friend’s shop (got a deal on the cheapest one). I don’t smoke. He used it and broke it right away.”
So, just to recap, he bought her something she doesn’t use, got a deal on it from a buddy, then immediately broke it himself. Cool.
A toaster
One reader simply wrote: “Toaster.”
Pliers
One person claimed to have gotten a gift straight from the hardware store.
“A set of pliers. How sweet.”
Unless you’re both electricians, this is probably not the move.
Expired chocolate
“Expired chocolate bar with a ‘sale/promotion’ sticker still on it,” one user said.
Chocolate is Valentine’s Day 101. But it should probably be edible.
Flour
We can all appreciate a good pun, but this is just cruel.
Nothing
Sometimes, no gift hurts more than a bad one. And we got more comments than we could count from people who came up empty-handed on the day of love.
But hey, there’s always next year!