To think these items should be returned to me?

[Cerseirys]

When DS was born DP and I bought a bouncy chair and a musical baby gym. By the time he grew out of both, DP's sister was pregnant so I offered them to her and she accepted, saying she would keep them at her parents' house so that there was something for her to use when she visited.

But she barely used them as she doesn't approve of electronic toys, and her son has now outgrown them too. They've been gathering dust in DP's parents' attic since, so I thought I'd sell them on Gumtree or eBay. However when DP asked his parents to bring the items down next time they visit, his mum said that they'd be keeping them "for any future grandchildren".

AIBU to think that she should give them back to us as a) we paid for them and b) there are currently no "future grandchildren" planned by anyone?

No don't give in man. 20 quid for a baby gym is worth the tight lips.

Tell your mil they've already been promised out and you're getting decent coin for them and you'll collect them (or your bloke will) at whatever day/time.

Send in your DH to tell his mum she is being daft. He can pick up his property and sell it if he wants to!

Imply you are pregnant and will be wanting them for your next child :)

yanbu, however i would take note of never leaving anything there again and just let it go. Its not even hers! What did your dp say?

Let it go and learn the lesson that mil cannot be trusted with your stuff.

I would be tempted to say to MIL that if she would like to keep them for future grandkids then this is the price. And see if she wants to buy them.

My DM does this sort of thing. Then complains her house is full of 'others peoples stuff'.... Nowadays, I don't ask for things back so I CAN sell it, I say I HAVE sold it. That way she can't really argue

Yes, I understand that SIL doesn't care about them, but the point is that she is the one who has given them to MIL, not you. You don't know what she's said to MIL, so SIL needs to be the one who gets them back. She may have said that MIL can keep them - in which case from MIL's perspective you are being U. SIL owes you, not MIL.

Absolutely don't give in!

Go round and get them. Crickey how utterly bloody pointless is her argument?

I agree, don't give in.
The toys will go manky and end up unused andnin landfill.
Tell your MIL that unfortunately you have promised them to a friend and you're taking her grandchild on a lovely day out with the money.

They weren't the SIL's to give to the MIL, do not give in.

Fuck's sake. Who cares if she's upset? It's not her stuff, the cheeky mare.

'MIL, don't be silly. This is my stuff not yours.'

How did the conversation actually go? Because I can easily imagine a conversation in which MIL is entirely innocent.

DP: Hi, Mum - you know the baby stuff - can you bring it down next time?
MIL (thinking DP was trying to be helpful by clearing clutter): Oh, I was planning on keeping it for future GC.
DP (going for the easy life): Oh, that's okay then.

"No, those are actually ours, maybe you didn't realise? Will pick them up tomorrow, thanks!"

Your DP needs to say 'No mum, they aren't yours - they belong to us. If you won't bring them down, we'll come and get them.'

This isn't your battle. You tell your dp to call back and just tell his parents he's getting his stuff. You are not involved and they're hardly going to fall out with their son. That's it really

Well the mystery deepens - turns out the baby gym MIL was referring to was one she bought and not ours so I'm not sure where ours has got to! I distinctly remember SIL saying she'd leave it at her parents' house but perhaps she changed her mind and took it with her, despite not approving of electronic things. DP is going to check with her about it. As for the bouncy chair, MIL still wants to hang onto it for "future potential grandchildren" but I'm not too fussed about that as it wouldn't have fetched much more than a fiver.