Feel free to scroll on by as it is a Christmas one.
We have a budget for birthday/Christmas presents for family. It's a bit of an unwritten rule that we spend £xx amount on each person but everyone seems to get it and we all spend the same amount on one another.
Despite this, every single year mil contacts me, usually quite early on and says that she's bought her gifts from us and we owe her £xxx or sends me a link to something to buy for her, It's always twice the amount we would spend.
It's awkward because she asks me, rather than dh. I usually say I'll let dh know and then he gently tells her that we are spending £xx so will give her something towards the gift.
Even so, the same thing happens again the following year. It's becoming a bit awkward and embarrassing. I believe that she is quite old fashioned and traditional and historically she probably didn't expect men to do any Christmas shopping. She'd just buy gifts for herself and shop on dhs behalf for everyone and tell dh to give her the money.
But things have moved on, we've been married for 15 years and we sort Christmas together. We have many more people to buy for now as we've our own dc, many nieces and nephews. So of course we've had to spread the budget out.
Wwyd?