Bad Gift Guide: How To Turn Bad Gift Ideas Into Great Ones

Each holiday season it feels like it's back to the drawing board when it comes to finding recommendations for great gifts for our friends, family, and co-workers. We turn to our favorite blogs or influencers, magazines and morning shows, to guide us through some of the best gifts to give this season. Unfortunately their are still some clunkers that pop up each year that - while seemingly convenient and even useful - actually make for awful gifts that no one (even you) really want to unwrap.

They may be good intentioned, but these gifts can often send the wrong signal, not to mention you're essentially gifting someone an inconvenient trip to making a return during the holiday season. Real nice.

Luckily homesick is here to help you navigate through the gifting jungle! We've compiled the below guide to help you steer away from items that are destined for the re-gift, and instead gift presents that will earn you the title of "most thoughtful gift giver 2018.”

1. Dish Towels: Because Doing Dishes is NOT a Gift

Dish towels (or tea towels if you want to get fancy) are pretty low on the gifting totem pole. Sure, it might have adorable roosters wearing chefs hats on it, but it’s still just a device to help you do the dishes. Instead, gift an item that's fun, sleek AND useful in the kitchen like a soup ladle that looks like Nessie the Loch Ness Monster!

2. “Merry Christmas, You’re Out of Shape” - Gifting Workout Gear is NOT OK

From a $10 set of dumbells to a $5,000 Peleton, it doesn’t matter what the gift is, if it’s a tool for working out it’s sending the wrong signal. If you’ve got someone interested in health, wellness, and fitness on your list, instead opt for a trendy and eco-friendly water bottle with a fun print or innovative feature.

 3. Don’t Gift a Scent, Gift a Memory

A satchel of potpourri or traditional candle tells people they’ve either got an unpleasant scent they need to cover up, or they’re getting a re-gift. Since candles do make fantastic pieces of home decor (and the scents can be quite soothing during this hectic season) gifting a Homesick Candle is the perfect way to gift a practical AND personalized, thoughtful gift! Since Homesick Candles are created with scents native to their aptly named locations you can knock out a whole slew of personalized gifts in one stop shopping!

4. Pups as Presents: Better In The Movies

Even though your spouse may follow every cute pup on Instagram, or your BFF may swoon over the dogs up for adoption on those depressing TV advertisements, gifting someone 10-15 years of intense responsibility is never a good idea. Instead, gift the dog lover in your life a stylish canine throw pillow of their favorite breed! These are snuggly pups you can cuddle all night long without needing to walk in the morning, so leave it to the rom-coms to tie a bow around Fido this holiday season.

5. Fruitcakes Are Classic...Classically Horrendous


Sure, a bit of nostalgia is always welcome around the holidays, and so you might be tempted to gift one of the all time classic holiday gifts when attending a holiday party - the fruitcake. Let us stop you there. Don’t do it. Besides the fact they have a questionable year-long shelf life, with today’s typical dietary restrictions giving a lump of gluten is never a welcome present. We do however, love the idea of something tasty, so opt for gifting some artisanal jerky to offer a paleo and keto friendly, locally sourced present to be enjoyed by all.

So this year instead of cringing, get inspired by some of the worst gift ideas and transform them into fantastic presents that will keep you top of the list for "best gift giver 2018."