Botox, dead plants and other turkeys

As we look forward to Christmas morning, three quarters of people (73%) confess they have been given an awful gift in the past.

More than one in five say they have received presents they literally wrapped up and gave to the giver the year before. A similar proportion of recipients say they’ve had something the giver clearly got free from work. Apparently we get an average of two unwanted presents every Christmas, according to the survey by Argos.

Out-of-date vouchers, dead plants and self-help books have been named among the most terrible presents we have received. By far the worst thing to give a loved one is an expired voucher, according to a third (28%) of those surveyed who have been unfortunate enough to receive one. Dead plants (28%) and out-of-date chocolates (25%) were rated among the most disappointing in a list of the top 40 worst gifts.

Buying less-than-romantic gifts for the loves of our lives is particularly fraught, as one reader who told the Daily Mail’s agony aunt: ‘Dear Jane, I bought my wife Botox for Christmas because she said she hates the way she looks – she was furious and is now threatening to kick me out of our home’. Ooops!

Maybe be should have heeded one gift expert who revealed the offensive presents you should never give a woman.

Best avoided are cleaning supplies, weighing scales and antiageing skincare products, says Texas-based Leah, who goes by the moniker The Gift Girl online.

Mind you, it works both ways… men aren’t overly chuffed to get gender-biased pressies that remind them of chores they have to do – like the time I got a set of trampoline anchors!

Have you bought loved ones one of the worst pressies ever? If so it’s not too late to peruse our survey of top products to replace them with at the last minute.