Dp thinks i'm being ungrateful but my history with mil and her shopping habits have at best been random.
I've been with him 16 years now, for our first christmas together I received a CD walkman - a lovely gift you might say, if only for the fact I hadnt been there the week before when it turned up alongside her littlewoods order as a freebie for ordering so much stuff from them. it was boxed when it arrived, when i received it, it had been shoved in a gift bag addressed to somebody else and was open with a cd in it. i faked pleasure and thought nothing more of it.
Following xmas I received a large A3 sized box, inside was a see through babydoll nighty with matching thong. Can you imagine having to open such a present in front of your in laws all gathered around to see what it is. It was either a present shed actually gone and bought specifically for me or something she hadnt wanted so passed it to me.
Moving on to my birthday, it was Sil's birthday a few weeks before, I had bought he vouchers for boots as she requested (this was when they actually gave vouchers rather than gift cards), so for my birthday I received one of the £5 vouchers back - it had been living at the bottom of someone's handbag, crumpled up and covered in pen, along with a bracelet from the local market that was already broke, both of these were shoved inside a card.... and its been like this ever since.
My birthday was last week, she called to say happy birthday and she would call down with my present, she has taken to just buying me a bottle of wine the last couple of years (i don't drink wine and she knows this but i smile politely anyway), this year she arrived with a garden ornament from the poundshop. its a weird little boy metal ornament with the tiniest wheelbarrow, ds is scared of it and wont eat his breakfast in the same room without a blanket being put on it, I darent put it in the garden, its hideous, she laughed whilst giving it to me so i thought it was a joke present, but then she said how much shed loved hers, she could watch it all day and is going back for the little girl to have a matching pair. I cannot stress how hideous it is.
Apart from anything shes now retired and only has her pension to live on, she is wasting her money on these things that I usually pass to the charity shop, I think she knows whatever she buys isnt my kind of thing (and for the record she does this to other family members, she openly admits she hates shopping, but i think feels a duty to hand something over) i think it would be better to say lets leave presents for each other, or if she feels she must put it in a charity box somewhere? Would someone saying this to you offend you in anyway?