These are the worst Yankee Swap gifts Boston.com readers have seen “An industrial size can of B&M baked beans and a roll of toilet paper.” ‘Tis the season of the Yankee Swap and we asked readers to share the worst gift they’ve ever received during the popular holiday gift-giving game. According to Boston.com readers, gift givers have wrapped and contributed Yankee Swap gifts that range from expired food to adult toys to size 17 Crocs. Ahead, find out what folks across the region have witnessed during Yankee Swap games over the years. Food and beverage gifts “Brewer’s yeast” — Vincent from Weymouth “My old boss gave me ‘The Big Hot Dog,’ it was an edible hot dog that is 16 inches long, 4 inches in diameter, and weighed in at 7 pounds. I promptly posed for a photograph pretending to throw it like a football.” — David from South Boston “An industrial size can of B&M baked beans and a roll of toilet paper.” — Brian from Braintree “$20 worth of Little Debbie snack boxes.” — Dave from Cumberland, R.I. “Expired food.” — BB from Franklin “One year, the office Yankee Swap was themed ‘beverages.’ Most people opened up gifts of wine, coffee, tea, or related glasses/cups/accouterments. I don’t remember exactly what I opened, but it was lovely. And then someone opened two half-gallon bottles of juice — one carrot juice, one ‘daily greens.’ Guess who had a lower number and ended up taking home two bottles of vegetable juice from the office Yankee Swap?” — Wendee from Brighton “This was a few years ago. Earlier in the year, after much internal debate and discussions with my husband, I had talked to my husband’s family about my issues with drinking as they are a big drinking family. So by Christmas time I was about 6 months sober. One of my SIL’s is known for cheap gifts. This year she obviously hadn’t had the time to shop as she got a gift certificate to the local wine store. Of course I was the one to open her gift. At least they let me pick again but it ruined my night.” — Anonymous reader Squirm-worthy gifts “Not me, but someone I know received a used sex toy.” — Aja from Everett “I worked with a woman who had a side business selling nutritional supplements. I wound up picking the gift she brought for office Yankee swap: vaginal atrophy supplements for menopausal women. I was in my twenties at the time. The room went silent….no one could believe anyone would bring that as a gift!” — Kristin from Amesbury “Wife got a rubber dildo, and traded it in for an Apple gift card.” — Bobby from Charlestown “I got stuck with a summery mumu and slippers, not my taste at all. Another time, I left with the adult sex toys and alcohol nips bottles that I brought because everyone was horrified and wouldn’t admit they wanted them. It was a great gift but I didn’t need the items because I had my own.” — DS from Waltham “Don’t give scratch tickets unless you’re prepared for someone else winning big. Awhile back, my boss picked up $10 worth of tickets, only to have a fellow employee (despised by my boss) win $100. The employee was ecstatic and my boss was inconsolable.” — Larry from Ayer “This is a true story. My uncle wrapped up a freshly dead woodpecker he found in his yard and put it in our annual swap. We have a big family — some were amused, some were horrified. Rules were changed to make it clear that no animals, alive or dead, are to be included.” — Kevin from Cambridge “Anything poop related, especially in a work Yankee Swap. I know some people find poop jokes funny, but please, I don’t want have a calendar of dogs pooping staring at me for 12 months. It’s just disgusting and uncomfortable.” — Sheila from Hingham “Fake lottery tickets. I thought I won and was down and out and didn’t have two nickels to my name. My cousin’s wife thought it was funny to kick me when I was down.” — Jose from Mattapan “A Squatty Potty, need I say more?” — Mike from Stoughton Random gifts “A literal clay ball. It was my work holiday party and we said around $20 to $25 for the gift. People opened alcohol and scratch tickets but I received a ball of clay. Not even an artsy ball. Just a ball of gray clay.” — Mark from Milton “I wound up with a coffee mug with spurious Asian characters on it. When lifted to drinking position and viewed on its side they spelled in English ‘Hey F*#& You!’” — Alan from Lexington “Ped egg (foot scraper). Need I say more?” — Lynn from Norwell “The board game Pandemic. Right before the pandemic.” — Tom from Southie “When I was in college and living in Boston, the internship I was at had a Yankee Swap. I ended up getting a gift card to somebody’s family gift shop in Ipswich. I didn’t have a car and I had no idea where Ipswich was at the time. I gave it to the secretary, who lived in Canton (I think). She said something like ‘I know somebody who can use this.’” — David from Natick “Size 17 Crocs.” — Belle from unknown town “A Clay Aiken CD accompanied by a signed copy of his memoir. It was the hot potato of the last year’s swap.” — Courtney, formerly from the South End “Old, used DVDs with no cover.” — Matt from Holliston “A folded up brown $10 bill in a plain white envelope. The max spend for this Yankee Swap was $15.” — Zack from Newburyport “Back in the mid-90s a team of two dozen software developers at Polaroid had a Yankee swap with a $10 limit. I contributed a calendar with beautiful pictures of tropical frogs. It was the least desired gift, and ended up on the manager’s wall. I told him that I had purchased it, and he gave it to me.” — Anonymous reader “A $5 ‘adult coloring book.’” — David from Salem Responses have been lightly edited for clarity .
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