Add to Cart with Kulap Vilaysack & SuChin Pak Episode: Worst Gifts (January 12, 2026)

Episode Overview

In this lively and candid episode, hosts Kulap Vilaysack and SuChin Pak kick off the new year by looking back—and laughing—at the very worst gifts they've ever received. True to Add to Cart’s mix of humor and heart, the “Aunties” dive deep into the meaning of giving, family quirks, and the boundaries we sometimes have to draw—even when love (and handmade quilts) are involved. Along the way, they discuss their evolving relationships with consumerism, parenting, and the avalanche of "stuff" that comes with the holidays. Expect personal confessions, family anecdotes, and plenty of real talk about what should—or should not—make it into your cart.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Cleaning, Inventory, and the New Year’s No-Buy Mood

• Annual Reset Rituals: January for SuChin is a time of deep cleaning and honest inventory after the holiday excess. She references the Japanese tradition of a year-end deep clean (03:00), and shows Kulap her “reckoning”—boxes and an unnecessary new air fryer, bought in a “non-toxic” Instagram panic.

  • “Mother Earth cannot take more air fryers... She can’t take overnight shipping. She can’t take two-day express. She can’t take polyester one second, too.” — SuChin (08:02)

• No-Buy Experiment: SuChin expresses a genuine desire to buy less in 2026, noting, “I have not felt it in my ginch the way I feel it now. A shudder.” (03:18)

• ‘Navi’ Philosophy: Inspired by rewatching Avatar, SuChin jokes about being “more blue, less pink” (06:32), referring to conscious, less consumptive living. She gets emotional recalling how her son endured the entire movie while she had a minor spiritual awakening.

Parenting & Holiday Gift Reflections

• Parenting Tip #48: SuChin shares wisdom about holiday magic for her kids—delivering joy but cautioning, “you can’t step back from it,” once the bar is set (11:01).
  • “I encourage you to create magic and wonder, but I also caution that you can’t step back from it with a child.” — SuChin (11:01)
• Gift Glut Realization: Both hosts lament the wild proliferation of stuff around the holidays, with most gifts now being just items requested by the kids via links. No surprise, less magic.
• Desire for Minimalism: Both are aiming for “just one gift from Santa, one from Mom and Dad” next year—but realistically doubt they’ll manage it (16:48).
  • “My desire after this Christmas is one gift from Santa, one gift from Mom and Dad. I know it won’t do it. Maybe it will be three.” — Kulap (16:48)
• Kid Inventory: Kulap shares her daughter Emmy’s tendency to catalogue old toys seen in family photos and ask after their whereabouts (15:28), revealing early child attachment to things.

Podcast & Media Recommendations

• Beth’s Dead: SuChin binge-listens to the podcast Beth’s Dead by Elizabeth Lame, Andy Rosen, and Monica from Armchair Expert, raving about its addictive quality and urging listeners to dive in (21:09).
  • “I can’t remember the last time I was so delighted and hooked in. I didn’t know it was Elizabeth—then I went into the show… The whole thing again was Avatar.” — SuChin (22:21)
• They praise it as “hands down, my favorite podcast” (25:44).

‘Worst Gifts’ Segment [28:48]

Philosophy on Bad Gifts

• Both declare gift-giving is their “love language” (29:37), so even bad gifts are exciting on some level for them.
• SuChin: “The term bad gift, it’s so contradictory, because I love getting and giving gifts so much.” (30:12)

SuChin’s Worst Gift: “No Gift” from Her Husband [30:12]

• Despite being a “gifts” person, her husband’s love language is not gifts—he doesn’t give them, and is genuinely annoyed by the ritual.
  • “Every year, the worst gift I get is no gift—from my husband.” — SuChin (30:12)
• Over the years, he’s sometimes settled on giving her “an envelope of cash.” This is culturally loaded, as she recounts explaining to her white husband the importance of bringing cash to meet her Korean parents (36:55).
  • “Thank you. I mean, do you know how long it’s taken him to finally get to this point?” — SuChin (36:25)
• Cultural advice: For Asian families, cash or fruit is always safe—never alcohol or flowers (37:57).
  • “Fruit. That is what they love.” — SuChin (38:23)

Kulap’s Worst Gift: Handmade Quilts & Table Runners from Her Mother-in-Law [38:58]

• Her mother-in-law is an avid quilter and gifts an endless supply of handmade sewn items—well-intentioned but never matching Kulap’s style.
  • “She’s a quilter… I feel like I’ve gotten one year purses, small quilts, large quilts, table runners, Christmas goods…” — Kulap (39:02)
• The emotional obligation is heavy, especially since her mother-in-law believes gifts must be treasured.
  • “You can feel that there’s this expectation… It’s just heavy with that.” — Kulap (40:01)
• Kulap finds a solution by commissioning more modern, color-directed framed quilt squares—creating a piece she can display proudly.
• She pushes back on “emotional blackmail gifts” and embraces boundaries, recounting her father-in-law’s intervention when she tried to declutter (“Cool up, you’re going too hard. This is a lot for her.” — 45:05)

Both on Mother-in-Laws & Passive-Aggressive Gifts

• SuChin’s MIL & the “Top Sheet” Email: SuChin’s mother-in-law obsesses over cleanliness and once sent an email titled “Do you know what a top sheet is?” after staying over and not seeing one on the guest bed (52:19).
  • “I got this email. Like, died. Do I know what a top sheet is?” — SuChin (53:33)
• She once received a car wash gift card “to her mother-in-law’s carwash,” not her own local one (55:33).
  • “That’s how it’s aggressive. It’s her car wash place.” — Kulap (55:53)
• Kulap’s MIL’s Guest Bathroom Drama: On Thanksgiving, her own MIL brings Kleenex “for hand drying” (not for the toilet), with a post-it note, as “your towel gets too wet” (56:55).

Most Outrageous Gift Story: “The Live Betta Fish” from a Friend [58:18–65:54]

• Kulap’s friend Rita gifts every household member (including guests) a live betta fish in a container on Christmas.
  • “We were shocked to open it to see a small container with a beta fish in it. What is this?” — Kulap (59:08)
• The gift is a callback to a Thanksgiving board game joke (“how sexy is a betta fish?”), but no one is amused—especially when they realize caring for a fish is more complicated than suggested.
  • “She’s a clinical therapist… but she thinks she’s a comedian.” — SuChin (60:23)
• The group privately scrambles to rehome the fish, with various successes: some to Kulap’s house cleaner, another surrendered to a pet shop, one “reverse shoplifted” onto the Petco shelf (65:44).
  • “We rehomed our fish in less than 24 hours. And we said, Rita… new rule for the Aukerman family Christmas: no living things.” — Kulap (65:54)
• The story becomes a running family joke, with Rita’s head photoshopped onto a betta fish in their group text (66:21).

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the compulsion of holiday gifting:
  “Holiday season is our blackout season and I will probably blackout next year. But this awareness, this 11-month awareness, I’m hoping… somewhere a light bulb goes on.” — SuChin (17:45)

• On awkward gift obligations:
  “If a gift is a gift, I can do whatever the fuck I want with it. I shouldn’t have really… I have a problem with any sort of obligations. The emotional blackmail gift.” — Kulap (43:57)

• On setting boundaries:
  “Gifts are love language. But just like everything in life, there are boundaries.” — SuChin (68:40)

• On culturally safe gifts:
  “For Asians, you know what I mean? Bring the cash… Fruit. Fruit is such a fruit.” — SuChin (38:23)

• On the “worst” gift:
  “I think my gift giving wasn’t up to my usual standard. I had less time. It wasn’t as joyful as past years. Something’s gotta change.” — Kulap (17:29)

Key Timestamps

• 03:00 – January rituals: deep cleaning & inventory
• 06:32 – Avatar-inspired “blue, less pink” mindset
• 11:01 – Parenting tip #48: the magic & trap of holiday traditions
• 16:48 – Aspiring to “only three gifts” per kid next Christmas
• 21:09 – SuChin’s obsession with Beth's Dead podcast
• 28:48 – “Worst Gifts” segment begins
• 30:12 – SuChin’s perpetual “no gift” from her husband
• 38:58 – Kulap’s mother-in-law’s endless quilted gifts
• 52:19 – SuChin’s mother-in-law and the infamous “top sheet” intervention
• 55:33 – The passive-aggressive car wash gift card
• 58:18 – LIVE betta fish gag-gift disaster story
• 65:44 – Sang’s “reverse shoplifting” solution to fish rehoming
• 68:40 – Gifts ≠ boundaries, final reflections

Tone & Style

• Laid-back, humorous, and confessional, with the “Aunties” riffing and gently roasting themselves, their families, and each other.
• Willing to call out “emotional blackmail” while still centering love and understanding.

In Summary

This episode is a hilarious yet empathetic look at how cultural differences, family quirks, and gift-giving can collide in unexpected ways. Kulap and SuChin remind us that boundaries, awareness, and the freedom to say “no” (to both things and expectations) are worth honoring—all while keeping the stories and laughter flowing. Whether you seek catharsis from your own family gift disasters, or just love hearing real-life tales of “presents gone wrong,” this episode will leave you smiling, wincing, and possibly rethinking that next White Elephant swap.

Listener Callout:
The Aunties want to hear the worst gifts you've ever received. "Name names. We did." (69:05)
Share your stories with them on Instagram @addtocartpod or at addtocart.world.