Jimmy Kimmel's 'Terrible Christmas Presents' prank: Mean or hilarious?

Parents surprise their kids with early gifts of rotten bananas, half-eaten sandwiches, and staplers. The children's reactions are not festive

Christmas prank
(Image credit: YouTube)

The video: Kids say the darndest things… especially when confronted with bogglingly terrible Christmas gifts. As a prank, late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel encouraged his viewers to tape their children as they opened special early Christmas presents (reprising a Halloween segment for which Kimmel asked parents to film kids' reactions after pretending to eat their candy). The catch? The gifts were intentionally awful: A raw hot dog, a sandwich with a bite taken out of it, and a battery, among others. (Watch the video below.) The children were often left depressed, puzzled, and furious. One boy shouted, "You stinking parents!" Several began weeping. Upon hearing that Kimmel had orchestrated the prank, one incensed young boy screamed, "Well, tell Jimmy Kimmel to suck my balls!"

The reaction: "Jimmy Kimmel is mean," says Babble. "What does he have against children?" Well, children are gullible, says Carmel Lobello at Death and Taxes. That's why playing pranks on them "is one of life's greatest rewards" and why this Kimmel segment is "truly a pleasure to watch." Indeed, each response is hilarious in its own way, says The Huffington Post. But the most priceless is an adorable little girl's sad befuddlement after opening a half-eaten sandwich. "Had it been a Hot Pocket, she might not have been so upset." Check it out:

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up