To want to hide from the inlaws for the rest of Christmas...

[FriedPisces]

Fabulous start to the family festivities today:
Go to visit MIL and her DH. Exchange gifts. DS (6) unwraps a tin for carrying his Hot Wheels cars around. Excellent! Takes off clingfilm and unclips it to find it empty. Cries big blobby tears, quietly says "it's empty." Explain we can put his cars in it when we get home. He then Loudly and angrily declares it the "worst present I have ever received! I HATE IT"
Christ I was mortified. Did explain quietly so as not to make even more of a scene that we can put the cars in later and we mustn't say things like that when we receive gifts because now GM is sad (she wasn't sad, she was fucking furious 😳)
Took him a while to come round but he left hugging it to his chest. Said to MIL that I was sorry, his reactions to things are something we're working on and will get him to send a thank you card but she said "well it annoyed me. Not sure he'll be getting anything for his birthday." Sigh. So yeah. Merry Christmas to me.
Then we discover that DD has bloody headlice! Fucking hell!
WIBU to hide from the DIL and his DW and my perfect BILs and SILs tomorrow?

Maybe she thought it came with some cars?

I've just had a look on Amazon (DN would love this for his birthday incl some cars ) and it does on the photos rather misleadingly show the tin with a few cars inside.

The Hot Wheels tin isn't in itself a shit present. Agree your DS' behaviour was poor - at 6, he should now know what's impolite/polite to say in public re: gift giving.

If it was a gift of given of either be mortified at their disappointment or laugh at their reaction!!

I wouldn't be suggesting no birthday gift - but maybe ask if he'd help me chose the next one!!!

You'll laugh about this next year!

Pity you didn't tape it!!

Hopefully your daughter has shared her GIFT with the MIL??

"Your MIL is a twat for thinking she could give an empty tin to a 6 year old."

:-S

The tin was on his Christmas list.

Do we need to be calling the woman names for buying what she was told to buy?

"Your MIL acted just as ungraciously as your 6yo."

Exactly, except he's 6- what's her excuse?!

If he had to take the clingfilm off, surely that's how MIL bought it?

I don't think that she should have made the comment about no birthday presents, even though she was hurt.

What a horrible reaction from your son.

I doubt it Misery, no physical contact pretty much ever between GM and GK!

Oh dear, I hope she thinks as little of her son as she seems to of you seeing as DS is his child too.

I don't think it's a shit gift but I'm now pleased that I didn't get DD (3) the Tsum Tsum storage box for a fiver from Morrisons

If she doesn't get him a birthday present she is a tremendous twat

It was on his list but with a a box of cars and a note.

His reaction wasnt great, but for her to threaten to not get him a birthday present is spiteful and nasty. I would have been picking nits out of DDs hair and dropping them onto MILs head!

Cherry, she's made "jokey" comments about my DH not being her favourite son (he's middle son of three) but my DS is absolutely her least favourite GC. But I think the feeling is turning out to be mutual unfortunately. It's hard to salvage when she doesn't visit or invite us (and we live 15 minutes away. And when she says hurtful things within his earshot when we do see her. (Another thread at some point I feel.)

"Furious" was she? Sounds like she needs to get over herself a bit. She'd have got a rather terse response to the birthday present crack if it were me.

Sounds to me like she is looking for problems!

I suggest finding a good hiding place tomorrow! Or coming down with norovirus!

Please don't be cross with him. My dcs were scared and cowed very polite but they'd have reacted in exactly the same way. What a ridiculous reaction from her.

A good grandparent would have bought a cheap pack of a couple of cars to go in it. An empty case is going to a massive disappointment to most 6 yr olds however much you try and make it sound good.

Big glass of wine for you tonight I hope.

Sounds like it would be good all round if you just stopped making any effort at all, and you quietly fade out of her life. How would you husband feel about that?

How does he feel about her in general.

I've looked on Amazon - it looks a nice present but it does look as though it --is stuffed with- contains cars, so I'm not surprised he was upset.

She should grow up though - he's not much more than a baby and she's threatening him with no birthday present!

He's 6. If he was 16 she might have a point.

Collect the headlice and pop them under her pillow.

Is this the tin for £35 on Amazon. Not exactly a shit present

That's mean of her, Hotwheels cars are a couple of quid, wou,d it hurt to put a couple in there! I woukd bD angry at your thoughtless Mil, and woukd have told her well he did expdct a couple of cars in there.

coming down with norovirus

Good idea Muncher - has the added advantage of giving an excuse for him bursting into tears - he was incubating a hideous virus, poor sossidge - and also putting a minor blight over their festivities as every time someone feels a bit queasy from overeating and getting ratted they will think they are coming down with it.

Hohohorrible Woman!

It's an odd one how DS feels about her. He defends her sometimes (less often lately I suppose) but today he understood DS's reaction and saw his side more than I did at the time. When we talked about her being cross in the car he said "oh she can fuck off." But her relationship with us is suffering because of her DH as much as her gift giving skills (or lack thereof.) Again, that's another thread at some point. She bought a card game for my eldest DS (which he loved) but complained loudly (again, within his earshot) about how ridiculously expensive it was. Just...why???

Oh my goodness she sounds a piece of work, she bloody deserved that reaction from your ds. Time to distance yourselves I think.