40+ Christmas Fails That Prove How Hard the Holidays Can Be

Kids have weird reactions when it comes to meeting characters like Santa or Mickey Mouse. Sometimes, they enjoy the encounters — while other times, they get scared and start crying or screaming. But, what would leave Santa screaming, too?

Don’t worry… the kid is a close family friend of Santa, and he just got scared by the costume. He’s okay, but we can’t say the same for Santa’s manly bits, since he had just gotten a vasectomy.

Starting a new job is stressful. Not only do you have to learn the ropes of the job itself, but also adjust to a new work environment and culture. When it comes to holidays, every office is different in how they celebrate.

When her office said to wear “Christmas clothes,” she whipped out this awesome festive cow sweater, while everyone else showed up in fancy outfits. That was the day she discovered that people celebrate holidays very differently.

The end of each year brings a lot of hope and expectations for the start of the following. Everyone makes plans to change their diet, build better habits, or start a new job. But, no one predicted the events of 2020.

This must have seemed like a great gift for a hopeful employee in 2019, but we bet the employer was kicking themselves once lockdown started. It’s not their fault, though. They couldn’t have known that we’d all be stuck at home for several months anyway.

For families who use a real Christmas tree, the act of going out to search for the perfect tree and bringing it home is a great, wholesome tradition. The challenge arrives in how exactly to transport it, as trees aren’t exactly a convenient shape.

This guy thought he had it all figured out by tying it to the roof until he realized that he tied his doors shut in the process. But, with innovation comes problem-solving, and climbing through the trunk is a small price to pay for a happy family.

Part of the reason receiving Christmas gifts is so exciting is that we don’t know what to expect. Sure, some people ask for specific gifts from their partners. But, others prefer surprises, and this wife had ordered her husband a very expensive surprise.

So, imagine how shocked and irritated she was when the gift arrived at her house, only to be in a massive box describing exactly what it was — and left right by her front door for anyone, including her husband, to see.

Memes are one of the greatest things to ever come out of the internet. They inspire creativity, as most memes are an image given a whole new purpose. One example is the reaction meme of Leonardo DiCaprio laughing from the movie Django Unchained.

The meme is always used sarcastically, and this guy ordered this sweater for Christmas, only to receive it on January 9th — so he couldn’t even wear it. It almost makes us wonder if the sender sent it late intentionally.

It’s Christmas season, and your partner asks you to pick up some sweet snacks for the Christmas party. You oblige, and see some good-looking Christmas tree cookies, inspiring you to pick up a tray.

Everyone wonders why they taste a bit weird, until someone finally takes a close look at the packaging and sees the words “Dog Treats” in tiny print. You contact the company and complain, and their packaging designer gets fired, making it the best Christmas ever.

Unfortunately, people in a lot of customer-facing jobs don’t get many holidays off. The businesses stay open and expect employees to be there, and often stop people from even being allowed to request time off, like the “blackout period” this boss mentions.

This person said that this is the third job they’ve had to quit due to their boss refusing to allow them to take time off and visit family for the holidays. Someday they’ll find a more understanding workplace.

We’re all used to the convenience of ordering things online, and we don’t really think about how much those packages go through and how amazing it is that most arrive in great condition. We don’t think about it until one arrives like this.

Their family had sent them baby ornaments for Christmas, which were most definitely smashed to pieces inside that crushed-up box. Sure, delivery employees are overwhelmed and underpaid, but this is inexcusable.

Baking is such a great way to spend time bonding with your children, embrace the joys of sharing food, and teach them skills like mixing ingredients. Baking is also messy, especially if you make the mistake of stepping out for a minute with a bag of flour left on the counter.

Mom was shocked to see what had happened, but instead of getting angry, she decided to embrace the chaos. We think that was a great approach and way to make memories with her kids!

Even though Christmas trees have been chopped down, they aren’t quite dead yet, and they still need water. They need to be cared for before they eventually dry out and shed, as any normal tree would.

This family obviously did a poor job caring for their tree, as evidenced by the needles in a big pile on the floor. At least they made the most of it and decorated the bare branches. It will definitely be a story for future years.

The song says, “You’re a mean one, Mr. Grinch” for a reason. He’s a nasty guy that no one would touch with a 39-and-a-half foot pole. No one thinks of the Grinch and thinks that meeting him would be a positive experience. No one but this mom, apparently.

Perhaps the Grinch breaking the cookies went too far, but the look on that kid’s face says that they had a fantastic time. The best part is her saying, “Grinch defo came and stole Christmas,” as if that isn’t literally the whole point of the Grinch!

Not all families do stockings or stocking stuffers on Christmas, but for those that do, a lot of different things can go into a stocking. Sometimes, it’s DVDs or small games — and other times, it’s treats like candy.

Apparently, some families even do things like little soaps, which this mom learned the hard way when she popped this slightly creepy-looking soap in her mouth as a treat. Maybe she was just leading by example with that “wash your mouth out with soap” parental threat.

While it doesn’t happen very often, every once in a while someone will be expecting a package only to either not receive it, or to receive an empty box. This often means that someone stole the item they were waiting for.

This mom was so disappointed to see her daughter’s Macbook Air was actually just a box full of air with no Macbook in sight. Her daughter was left with no Christmas present and her mom was out a lot of money.

There’s nothing worse than someone breaking up with you right before Christmas. The holiday season is all about spending time with loved ones, so losing someone important to you at that time can leave you brokenhearted.

In this case, the broken heart wasn’t due to a breakup. Instead, it was due to clumsiness — and although that’s sad, it’s much better, in our opinion. This person put a lot of work into making this ornament, though, so it must have been disappointing.

When it comes to presents, some people gear towards practical gifts, so things that people can use — like kitchen tools or clothing. It means that they don’t have to worry about their gifts immediately going in the trash.

This mom loved her new coat, until her toddler decided to decorate it with her new markers. The person who gave a toddler markers for Christmas better have made sure to buy the washable kind, or else those stains aren’t coming out.

Have you ever gone grocery shopping and bought something made of glass, just to drop it as soon as you got home? It’s happened to the best of us, and it’s infuriating every time.

Now imagine that it happened again, but it was an $80 bottle that you bought for someone as a Christmas gift. It’d be tempting to lay down and lick the pavement for it not to go to waste. We wouldn’t judge anyone who did.

We’re all thankful that the worst of the pandemic is behind us. At this point, most of us have had to self-isolate.

This poor person’s body decided to have really bad timing, testing positive not long before Christmas, meaning that they had to spend Christmas day alone. At least we have great technology, meaning they could join in on the festivities virtually.

Sure — decorating our homes, both indoors and outdoors, for Christmas seems like great fun, but every year we dread the process of dismantling the tree and putting all of the decorations away. Having problems during that process can make matters even worse, like this family.

They went to put the decorations back in the attic, as many families do, when they straight up fell through the ceiling! It seems that this particular part of the attic could only bear the weight of trees and ornaments for so long.

The holiday season is all about traditions for many families. Everyone has a day that they put up decorations, certain clothes they wear for the festivities, and even specific foods that they eat for Christmas breakfast and dinner.

In this family, it’s waffles, but they made the classic mistake of sitting down to eat with the last leftover waffle still on the iron. Instead of the house smelling like cookies or turkey, it smelled like burnt waffle batter. Sounds pleasant.

It’s common for companies to give their employees a Christmas bonus, but some are mildly insulting about it by giving a little cup of candy or something equally useless that no one wants over cold, hard cash.

This company decided to be evil, making their employees think that they were receiving $100. But, it turned out to be a fake. It’s like the bosses were laughing in their faces on their way to cash in all the company’s profits.

When it’s post-Christmas and you’re not really sure what to do with the real tree you bought, you may think to yourself, “Well, it’s a dead tree, so why not use it for firewood?” But, most families don’t just have an ax or chainsaw lying around.

This family decided to just stick the tip of the tree in the fireplaces and hope for the best, which any normal person would know is a terrible idea. They’re lucky the whole house didn’t burn down.

There’s a reason that everyone says not to trust airlines or the post office with fragile things. Even if the word FRAGILE is plastered all over a box, they won’t care and will throw it around like a rag doll.

Take this mug as evidence. This person received it as a Secret Santa gift, and needless to say, they were disappointed. To be fair, we also blame the person who sent it. Who sends something fragile without packing materials?

Shared hobbies are a great way to keep a relationship alive. There’s nothing better than playing video games or reading books with your partner and talking about them excitedly. When couples love to read together, a book is always a safe Christmas gift.

This may be a fail in the sense that this couple now has two copies of the same book, but it’s a win that they know each other so well and nailed their gifts.

While we may think of Thanksgiving as the holiday for big dinners and turkeys, many people do a similar lunch or dinner for Christmas, especially in other countries. But, some people just aren’t naturally born cooks.

This person left their meat thermometer in the turkey while in the oven, which resulted in it exploding and shattering their oven door. That’s a very expensive mistake just for making sure your turkey is cooked all the way through.

The holiday season can inspire a bit of a love-hate relationship. We love spending time with family, but running around buying gifts and planning for visitors can also be very stressful. It can lead to many scatterbrained moments, like this one.

Well, which is it, mom? Help you carry things in or stay away from the trunk? She clearly simply forgot that the daughter’s gift was in the trunk as well, but she shouldn’t have blamed it on her daughter!

Pinterest may not be as popular as it once was, but there are still plenty of people who use it to organize ideas and search for inspiration. When this person saw this beautiful Christmas tree red velvet cake, they decided to give it their best shot.

Unfortunately, theirs came out literally nothing like the Pinterest photo. The icing’s color is sad, there are no leafy bits, and even the star is different (and slightly too big). If it was tasty, though, then that’s all that matters.

Some single people who are feeling a little lonely during the holiday season will turn to dating apps. Sometimes, you can find a real gem of a person on things like Tinder or Bumble — and other times, you find straight-up liars.

This had to be a joke, because there’s no way that this person was actually trying to convince someone that they wrote “Twas the Night Before Christmas” themselves. Literally everyone, at least who speaks English, knows that poem.

Delivery drivers have it rough, especially during Christmas time when they’ve got everyone and their mother ordering loads of Christmas presents for home delivery. This seasonal madness can lead to some creative delivery methods, or in this case, pure laziness.

It’s understandable that spending tons of time running around an apartment complex to deliver packages is tedious and time-consuming, but leaving every single package by the mailboxes where anyone can take them is horrible. The residents were rightly furious.

Teenagers are really sensitive about what other people think of them, especially their peers. They get really into dressing the “right” way and being into the “cool” things. This can make Christmas gift shopping easier for parents or more difficult, depending on how you look at it.

This parent tried to buy their son stylish shoes for Christmas, just for only the left shoe to actually show up. Someone somewhere has received a box with just the right shoe — and is probably equally disappointed and annoyed.

Shopping malls are on the outs. No one wants to go to a massive building on the outskirts of town and spend ages searching for parking just to wander around a huge building for hours. Shopping online is much easier and you can do it in your pajamas.

Unfortunately, no one gave Santa the memo, so he’s set up in this mall with virtually no stores left, patiently awaiting children who will never come. It makes us pretty sad, actually.

Did you know that there are some people out there who don’t like chocolate? It’s really hard to imagine, but it’s true, and we feel bad for those people. Almost everyone is thrilled to receive a box of chocolates as a gift.

The problem with chocolate, though, is that it melts… and this person’s Christmas gift from their company looked more like pudding than chocolates. But it’s okay, we have a solution — just get a spoon and dig in.

Remember how we talked about companies giving their employees pathetic things as a “Christmas bonus,” like a movie ticket or a cup of candy? It happens more often than you think, and it’s disappointing every time.

Here’s a prime example — a pouch of hot chocolate, a candy cane, and a weird little Santa stick that’s perhaps meant to be a stirrer for the hot chocolate. We all have jobs because we need money, and that would be a better gift than this nonsense.

Some people just don’t see the point of Christmas gifts, which means they put very little effort into them. It can be really disappointing for the person on the receiving end of said gift.

This person’s brother gave them a painted rock for Christmas. It would be cute if it were from a little kid, but their brother is an adult. It almost makes us think that it would have been better to just not give a gift at all.

One of the benefits of fake Christmas trees is the fact that they’re fake. They won’t shed their needles as they die (because they can’t) and they’ve never been out in nature, which means no pests. We can’t say the same for real trees, as this person found out.

Imagine the horror that this person must have felt when they realized that their Christmas tree was infested by what appears to be spiders. Christmas trees are supposed to bring joy, not creepy crawlies.

Wiis by Nintendo were all the rage when they were first released. They were one of the first consoles to use tracking and really make you feel like you were completely immersed in the game. But, they always warned you to use controller wrist straps for a reason.

Accidents like this, along with hitting other people, were the reason. Less than a day with a Wii and the TV was destroyed. It’s not exactly a joyous Christmas memory.

Dogs play many roles. They’re a family member, a companion — and more often than we would like to admit, a pest. They chew on shoes, they tear apart their beds, and they get into things they shouldn’t, like the trash or food someone shouldn’t have left out.

This family turned their backs for only a few minutes to come back and find their Christmas cookies annihilated by their furry friend. Hopefully, they learn their lesson and don’t leave food within reach anymore.

Kids love stickers. We don’t know what it is about stickers that are so amazing, but giving a kid a sticker is one of the best things you could ever do, and a whole pack is like Christmas morning! Well, literally Christmas morning in this case.

This aunt ordered her niece Animal Crossing stickers but clearly didn’t pay attention to the content of the stickers themselves. We’re pretty certain that this character does not say anything close to that in the game.

Parents often use the Christmas season as a chance to get nice pictures of their family. The house is all decorated, the kids have cute matching clothes, and all seems great — until the kids decide to throw a tantrum.

The look on those dogs’ faces say that they’ve seen scenes like this many times, and they’re over it. If the parents crop the kids out, this would at least be a nice picture of their pups!

For some people, Christmas means flying to visit family that lives far away and that you haven’t seen in ages. But, anyone with a car who’s been to an airport knows what a nightmare airport parking can be.

This person stupidly parked in the daily parking lot without checking the prices or seeing if there was a long-term parking lot, and came back after a week to collect their car and pay the fee, only to get a number much higher than they bargained for.

There are two categories of people: people who are completely obsessed with candles and have them all over their home, constantly burning, and those who have one cheap candle they bought and used twice, only to never touch again.

The person who gifted this expensive candle clearly falls into the first category, because there’s no wick, which means that the only way to actually use it is to use a candle warmer. And only candle lovers actually own a candle warmer.

Personalized Christmas gifts can be so much more meaningful than something randomly picked up from a store, because they show that the giver put thought into making the gift really special. But, they also leave more room for error.

These specially ordered gifts were supposed to say “We Wish You a Meowy Christmas” and “My True Love Has Four Paws,” so the seller clearly wasn’t paying any attention. At least “We Meowy You a Merry Christmas” is memorable.

Cats are menaces when it comes to Christmas decorations. There’s nothing more tempting for our furry friends than a tree that looks easy to climb, and has lots of dangling ornaments and tinsel. So, some people look for ways to deter their feline destruction.

This owner sprayed down their tree with what they thought was a deterrent spray, only to realize they had grabbed the wrong bottle. One branch, the star, and several ornaments down, they really wished they hadn’t grabbed the catnip spray by accident!