Gift-giving is supposed to be a joyful way to show appreciation, love, or just a bit of holiday cheer. However, let’s be honest, it can quickly turn awkward when you try to be too clever or give something that mirrors your own quirky tastes.
Today’s Original Poster (OP) had had enough of his sister’s kid-themed gifts, so he decided to play around and mirror her action. Unfortunately, it didn’t sit well with her, and that left him wondering if he was the bad guy.
More info: Reddit
A good rule of thumb when choosing a gift is if you wouldn’t want it for yourself, think twice before wrapping it up for someone else
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The author’s sister has a yearly tradition of gifting him items plastered with her kids’ photos, which he would usually store away quietly
Image credits: Fair-Measurement
Image credits: Kateryna Hliznitsova / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Tired of the recurring theme, he decided to turn the tables and give her a framed photo of his dog in a tie, along with a Starbucks card
Image credits: Fair-Measurement
Image generated by Bored Panda using chatGPT
When his sister received it, her face fell before asking what she was supposed to do with the gift, to which he responded jokingly that she could display it like he does her gifts
Image credits: Fair-Measurement
Most family members found the prank funny and harmless, while some argued that dogs aren’t comparable to humans
The OP was at his parents’ place for Christmas Eve with his family, and they started opening up their Christmas presents. He noted that his sister had a yearly tradition of giving gifts plastered with her children’s faces on them. From magnets to blankets, and while the intention was sweet, the OP admitted he didn’t have a “shrine” for these gifts and usually just stashed them away.
Over the years, the gifts ranged from small trinkets to a massive tapestry that could cover an entire wall, but despite the awkwardness, he never voiced his discomfort. However, that year, he decided to turn the tables, so he took a photo of his dog dressed in a tie and presented it, framed, to his sister, a playful nod to the years of kid-centric gifts he had endured.
He even threw in a $25 Starbucks card to soften the blow and add a practical touch. The gift was meant to be a funny one, but when the sister received it, her face dropped before asking what she was supposed to do with the photo, to which he responded that it would look good on her coffee table in the same way he often just kept her gifts away.
The OP noted that most of their family members were on his side, except for the few who found it funny but still insisted that dogs couldn’t be compared to humans. While that wasn’t the point of the gift, the OP believed it was funny but still needed unbiased opinions from netizens.
To dig deeper into the psychology behind the holiday gift drama, Bored Panda spoke with clinical psychologist Christabell Madondo, who explained that people often give gifts reflecting their own tastes or family traditions because of a quirk called “egocentric bias”.
Image credits: azerbaijan_stockers / Freepik (not the actual photo)
“We naturally view the world through our own experiences and assume others will enjoy the same things we do,” Madondo said, adding that “it’s not about being selfish, it’s just an automatic shortcut the brain takes when choosing gifts.”
She stated that even awkward presents usually come from genuine care, and that people often overestimate how well they can intuit someone else’s preferences, a phenomenon called the empathy gap. When we asked why recipients often seem polite even when a gift doesn’t land, Madondo explained that most people quietly accept gifts to avoid awkwardness or hurting feelings.
“Smiling and saying thank you often outweighs expressing true discomfort,” she said, highlighting that politeness, guilt avoidance, and social anxiety lead to what she calls silent compliance when people internalize unease rather than speak up, making it easier to just navigate the moment with a smile.
Finally, we asked why humor sometimes backfires, especially in close relationships, as in the case of the OP, and Madondo stated that “playful jokes tap into emotional and social sensitivities. That’s exactly why what might be funny to you may not land the same way to another.”
Netizens sided with the OP, seeing the dog photo as a funny and harmless response to years of kid-centric presents. They criticized the sister’s gifts as over-the-top and tacky, and praised the humor in the dog photo and the practicality of the gesture, suggesting they would gladly display a similar gift themselves.
Have you ever received a gift you didn’t know what to do with? How did you handle it? We would love to know your thoughts!
Netizens praised the humor in the dog photo and the practicality of the gesture, suggesting they would gladly display a similar gift themselves
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