60 People who ruined Christmas with hilariously epic decor fails

Christmas is on its way, albeit a little different from how we’ve ever celebrated it before. If you’re not yet in the holiday spirit, it’s time to get there! And what better way to do that than to look back on Christmases of the past?

But we’re not just looking back on any old Christmas, here – we thought we’d add a comical twist. Get ready for a compilation of the best Christmas design fails from years go by that are guaranteed to make you laugh out loud and wonder: “How did they get away with some of these?!”

1. Awkward Rudolph

Looks like Rudolph’s nose isn’t the only thing that’s red this year… It will forever remain a mystery what those awkwardly-placed balls actually are. Someone’s idea of a joke, or a genuine mistake?

2. When Grandma does Christmas decorations

Grandmas, bless them, sometimes fail to see the innuendo in something that everyone else has noticed. This grandma arranged the Christmas table and artfully arranged the Christmas napkins. Shame they look less like pretty sculptures and more like something else.

3. Christmas or a murder scene?

This mug is about as festive as a Halloween costume. What’s with the red “blood splatters”? And “believe” what? That this is the Christmas your life will turn into something out of a crime novel?

4. Wrapping paper fail

It’s all fun and games with wrapping paper until you use it to wrap something really small. In this person’s case, they used “let it snow” wrapping paper, only to discover that it spelled out a slightly crude demand when they had finished wrapping their gift. Let’s hope this isn’t going to their grandma.

5. Santaur

It seems like every year, designers try and think out of the box when it comes to making original, never-done-before Christmas decorations. The thing is, Christmas is one of those events where it’s best to just stick with the traditional stuff. Santa as a centaur? Makes no sense to us.

6. Christmas underpants

This lazy designer obviously thought they’d get away with a pretty simple, practical lights display. The only problem was, people started to see the lights as underpants – and that’s pretty hard to unsee. Maybe next time they should go for something a little more creative.

7. “Four” Christmas ornaments

As if actual product design fails weren’t bad enough, this packaging might be even worse. Whoever did this design had one job: to accurately display the number of ornaments included in the package. Someone’s getting fired in the new year.

8. Bell-shaped bells

Here’s another example of strange packaging wording. It’s almost like the designer was told they needed a minimum of three words as a description. Why not just “bells?” Suppose we’re going to put these on our “tree-shaped tree”.

9. “Reindeer”

Here’s a note to all the chocolate manufacturers out there: if you’re going to attempt to mold your chocolate into intricate Christmas shapes, you’d better do a good job of it. Otherwise, you’ll end up a laughing stock – like the designer behind these Christmas “reindeer”. Okay Lindt, we’ll take your word for it.

10. Terrifying decoration

There’s something undeniably creepy about this sign. The combination of the wording on the sign itself and the way the snowman is canoodling up to the little girl is too uncomfortable to look at. Who would actually put this at the end of their drive?!

11. Children’s Christmas book

This seek and find Children’s book seems a bit wrong to us. Fair enough, it could pass in a humorous drawing meant for adults, but is this really what we want to teach our kids? That it’s okay – funny, even – to peer in through women’s changing rooms and perv on them? Not for us, thanks.

12. Scary “festive” bears

Because Christmas just screams “terrifying brown bears”. This is the sort of scene that would have children running from the store faster than you could say “nightmare tonight”. It’s the eyes that do it.

13. Christmas plungers

Because even Christmas can be a bit sh*tty… Why not buy yourself a Christmas plunger? Yep, it might be hard to use practically and yep, you might end up with tree bristles in your toilet (and toilet water on your tree bristles), but it’s obviously this year’s must-buy.

14. Jolly jumping

This sign was either made by an oblivious designer who just meant well, or an insensitive asshole. Bridge suicides are no laughing matter, and this sign seems a little too close in its implications. Someone needs to move the Santa to a more innocent location, like a roundabout.

15. Chrsitmas in Bangkok

We’re not sure what was going on in the designer’s mind when they produced this Christmas monstrosity in Bangkok. Even attempting to look at this from a holiday perspective brings up the vague notion that this may be three snowmen with carrots in their mouths. But how it actually looks is far too human centipede-y to make comfortable viewing.

16. Christmas candle holders

Nothing to see here: just two angels singing their hearts out, holding giant candles. Except to the slightly more rude-minded of us, it doesn’t look like that at all. Admit it, you can see it too.

17. Scary candles

On the subject of candles, what in the name of baby Jesus has happened here?! It looks as if the snowman has committed a bloody murder and is joyfully escaping the scene. It was obviously a bad idea to light the red candle, wherever that actually used to be located.

18. “Candle” Christmas cookies

From candles to cookies that are supposed to be candles, this is probably the funniest one yet. When this person’s grandma proudly presented her candle-shaped cookies, she had no idea how phallic they looked. And the dripping candle wax… too awkward for words!

19. Santa what?

This is one of those design fails that should have been obvious from the get-go. If you’re going to make the “S” for Santa so much bigger than everything else, don’t put the word “hat” anywhere near the “S”, okay? Too late…

20. Christmas mug design fail

This person had a very simple request: they wanted to change the image on the black cup to a festive Christmas scene. So what did the mug designers do? Print his entire change request onto the mug. Come on, now, this has to be someone’s idea of a joke…

21. Reeses “tree”

When Reeses launched their “tree”-shaped chocolate, they probably should have been a bit more honest with what it actually looked like. “Acorn” probably would have been more accurate. Or “slightly circular lump”.

22. Unintentional perversion

These Christmas decorations were pulled down from the store after a couple of days – any guesses why? The innocent child hugging Santa’s downstairs area looks a bit too much like… well, something incredibly perverted. Coupled with Santa’s wavy smile, it’s pretty much a recipe for disaster.

23. “Don’t open till Christmas”

There are certain kids’ design ideas that are just on the right level of humorous, and then there are designs like this… Of all the places to put the “don’t open till Christmas” wording, this designer chose the worst. What’s even more awkward about this is that someone actually picked it out to feature in a magazine.

24. Phallic Christmas lights

There’s a reason why holly berries and candles don’t go together like this, and we don’t have to spell it out for you. For a start, the candle to holly proportioning is all wrong. Have you ever seen a holly leaf that’s as big as a candle? But really, that’s the least of this designer’s worries…

25. Oh oh oh

What’s “ho ho ho” backwards? Something that sounds a bit sexual, that’s what. Hopefully this person took a mirrored photo of this gift wrapping, and it’s actually a lot more innocent the right way around.

26. “Christmas tree”

Paris is known for its unique architecture, but we think whoever designed this “Christmas tree” was really missing the mark. For a start, aside from the fact that it’s green, nothing about this is tree-like. For seconds, it looks like the sort of bedroom item that children, the biggest Christmas-lovers there are, shouldn’t know about.

27. Terrifying angel

Ah, Christmas angels. A symbol of hope and beauty. These heavenly creatures are portrayed with wings and halos, and tend to be sweet on the eye by nature – where do you think “angelic” comes from? This angel designer looks like they’d accidentally been briefed for the wrong season. This definitely looks more “Halloween” to us.

28. Decorations at daytime

Christmas decorations look great when they’re all lit up at night. On this one, Santa alternates between standing and bending down to pick up a present. Unfortunately, in daylight hours, it looks like there are two Santas… having fun.

29. Baubles and what?

Another “what is this even supposed to be?” design! Here we have a couple of baubles and… a bit of ribbon, maybe? But there’s no getting past what this actually looks like, despite the unusual amount of festivity. Wonder how many customers commented on this?

30. Santa fail

Obviously, chocolate designers fail to learn from the mistakes of others (or perhaps they’re intending for a laugh). This chocolate Santa looks innocent enough on the outside. Whip off the wrapping, however, and it’s a whole other story.

31. The Christmas toy of nightmares

Imagine actually gifting a child this toy! Unless your intention is to give them nightmares for at least 12 months, it’s an obvious no-no. And let’s not get into how weirdly sexual this looks, either. Poor lion.

32. “Flickering” lights

Whoever designed this packaging probably should have thought more carefully about their font choice. “Flickering” becomes something much more humorous when the “L” and the “I” join together in a U shape. Yes, it’s immature, but it’s funny.

33. Awkward Christmas bag

From the front, this bag is the picture of innocence: a happy reindeer waving his hooves. From the side, however, one hoof becomes something slightly phallic. Best only showcase it from the front.

34. McDonald’s Mittens

Bet you didn’t know that drawing hands on the McDonald’s mittens changed its appearance entirely! Admit it, you’re not seeing mittens anymore. Those hands are actually grabbing something really inappropriate.

35. Santa’s eyelashes

It’s like whoever designed this Santa forgot where eyelashes were supposed to go. As far as we knew, they don’t ring your pupils – they ring your eyes themselves. Or maybe they aren’t actually eyelashes, but near-busting veins because Santa’s stress levels are through the roof.

36. Santa’s syrup

How Santa and maple syrup are related in any way is a bit of a mystery in itself, and this crude design doesn’t help things. Why, we ask, does the syrup on these pancakes appear to be coming from Santa himself? And – though this isn’t entirely relevant – why are there so many pancakes? The stack just goes on and on.

37. Shotgun shell lights

Nothing quite says “Christmas” like lights designed to look like shotgun shells. We know the holiday season isn’t for anyone, but why so aggressive? Isn’t the whole point of Christmas to promote peace and love?

38. Christmas tree turd

This Christmas mall tree might just win the award for the crappiest design… quite literally. First off, brown was an obvious poor color choice. And the way the whole thing looks like it’s been dolloped in place… unless they’re trying to promote a sausage store, or, at a push, one that sells chocolate ice cream, it’s a big no from us.

39. Satan…

The person who put up this design had one job: to spell “Santa” correctly. Naturally, they decided instead to spell “Satan”. This is so clearly deliberate, we’re surprised they got away with it for long enough for this photo to be taken.

40. Baby Jesus toe

When this person delivered their super religious relative for the holidays, they had to question why they’d have severed toes hanging on their tree. It was only after further investigation that they discovered that the severed toes were actually tiny baby Jesuses. Hilarious!

41. Christmas boobs

This Christmas cooking fail gone wrong was too funny not to share. The baker in question used bells instead of kisses on their chocolate creations, and, as a result, things ended up looking a bit breast-like. Merry titmas!

42. Santa sweater

This poor, unknowing mom sent her son to school wearing this number on Christmas sweater day. Little did she know what Santa was up to… until her teacher pointed it out at the end of the day. Just imagine the embarrassment.

43. Christmas bears

We’ve already had scary Christmas bears – but these polar bears are actually Christmas-related and not so scary looking. It’s just a shame they appear to be engaging in some very non-PC activity. Someone drape a cloth over it.

44. Ceramic Santa

This ornament looks totally normal from the front, but the designer didn’t bother to do anything with the back – and that’s where the trouble started. The aunt who owned this didn’t have a clue why everyone found her sculpture so funny, of course. If you can’t figure it out, it’s probably best that you don’t know.

45. Festive treason

Only Fox TV could make treason sound so festive… If you look more closely, you can see that the “T” is actually the religious cross that symbolizes Christmas. They just needed to change the color of the font on “reason” and they would have been fine.

46. Christmas palm tree

First off: palm trees aren’t synonymous with Christmas at all. This palm tree seems to be punishing whoever decided to deck it with holiday lights by creating a very phallic shape. Just get a pine tree next time, guys.

47. No-eyed reindeer

The “what do you call a reindeer with no eyes?” joke is very applicable here. Apparently, whoever designed these reindeer decided that eyes were overrated. It looks like they’re being speared where their antlers are.

48. Snowman fun

There are so many things wrong with this design – not only that snowmen traditionally don’t even have arms and legs. What is supposed to look like innocent fun looks like something far more sinister thanks to their respective poses. Their creepy smiles make the whole thing so much worse.

49. Santa’s favorite ho

Again, childrens’ humorous Christmas clothing can give everyone a chuckle, but this really is a step too far. “Santa’s favorite ho”? Really? This would only be marginally funny on an adult as it is.

50. Strange tree animal

If someone could actually explain what’s supposed to be going on here, it’d be much appreciated. At a guess, we’d say that the animal (a bear, perhaps?) was missing a tail, and the designer improvised by sticking a tree in place. Except the difference in style makes it look like it’s got a tree up its ass.

51. Santa in Rotterdam

If you’ve come this far, you’ve already seen a fair share of unusual Christmas designs across the world. But you haven’t seen this Santa in Rotterdam yet. Boy, Mrs. Claus is in for a surprise when Santa gets home tonight…

52. White Christmas

This really is the true definition of “white Christmas”. For anyone who didn’t know, candle decorations like this aren’t actually intended for us. For one thing, they’re usually really unsafe in design. For another, stuff like this tends to happen as soon as the wax drips.

53. Christmas crotch

We have to admit, this is a bit of a niche one, and it probably depends on how dirty your mind is. But some people can see a women’s crotch instead of Christmas lights here. Looks like she needs better-fitting underwear, too.

54. Santa’s beard

Apparently, this Santa’s beard grows with the souls of children. Who knows what this is actually supposed to represent? Because it totally looks like Santa has managed to capture a whole host of creepy kids in his beard.

55. Tree topper

Tree toppers are a bit controversial anyway, because when you think about it, they’re always going to look like the top of the tree itself is going right into whatever’s placed on top of it. We’ve personally only ever seen stars and angels topping a tree, but hey – there’s always room for interpretation. Apart from in this case, because the squirrel (or whatever it is) got removed a few days later.

56. Santa placement

Is there anything more Christmassy than Santa leggings? Except, the Santa seems to be popping out of unusual places… under the kneecaps, on the ass… and why is there a hand waving out of the crotch area? We sense deliberate Santa placement.

57. The Olaf ornament of nightmares

Everyone loves Olaf, the Disney character who has become synonymous with Christmas in recent years. However, everyone does not love this Olaf. This isn’t tat, either – it’s Hallmark on sale exclusively at Walmart!

58. Christmas sperm

No matter how you see this Santa head decoration, it just looks like a festive sperm. Unless Santa’s new hat actually is this long and thin, and we just didn’t know about it. Either way, we probably wouldn’t hang this on our tree.

59. “Surprise” plush”

Gee, you could only guess what was hidden inside this secret ball. Buying a surprise plush is always a bit of a risk, and even more so with this one. You could end up with anything.

60. More Christmas palms

And finally, this person clearly didn’t get the memo about just what a bad idea it is to dress up a palm tree with Christmas lights. That’s 11 palms just in this shot that look slightly too phallic for comfort. Take them down before the kids see!

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