Cheap chocolate and presents from MIL

[nottheplan]

Mil and dhs family always buy rubbish presents and easter chocolate for our dcs. We're talking rotten own brand chocolate that nobody likes. It just gets chucked in the bin. Also cheap plastic toys from b&m in the 2 for £20 offer for birthdays and Christmas. Always break into pieces and get chucked in the bin. They are most definitely not poor. Wibu to ask them not to buy anymore for our dcs? If I phrase it that they have too much already and were trying to cut down on toys and treats?

But there are plenty of nice little things that you could get for £5 each — half the price of a 2 for £20 deal! Or just give them a £5 note each!

Kids also don’t need presents for Easter anyway. Just a small chocolate item is fine.

Cadburys? Awful stuff and full of palm oil.

Lidl's own brand is far better.

Hotel Chocolat is the minimum standard for my precious little ones too.

A bar of expensive chocolate wouldn't be as attractive to a child as something more visually appealing
Most children aren't aware of the difference between "good" chocolate (which tends to be marketed towards adults anyway) and cheapo stuff. They don't sit and ponder the taste, they just taste chocolate, and are often more interested in the fact it's in the shape of a rabbit or egg, or is decorated with smarties etc.
The same applies to ice cream.

I bought my own DS a couple of the B&M 2 for £20 construction toys a couple of years ago similar to technic lego&maccanno and they were actually really good and he enjoyed building them we thought they were great value for the money. Having known how much my own ds enjoyed them I wouldn't hesitate to buy some for a child. And tbh even expensive toys get cast aside after 5 minutes. yabu

I’m with you that Lidl chocolate is not worth eating, OP, though I also think the same about Cadbury’s! And toys that are just landfill waiting to happen, don’t provide entertainment for the kids because they break as soon as they’re used, etc. are annoying and feel so wasteful.

You could see if your DH suggesting books/voucher/something different makes any difference. But I suspect the answer is to just keep smiling and nodding and chucking the stuff away when they’ve left.

I never liked the actual Easter eggs as a child and couldn’t eat them — even the better brands all used to make the eggs out of a nastier chocolate (same with chocolate advent calendars). I don’t think most adults even noticed as Easter eggs for adults weren’t really a thing then. To be honest, I think many brands still do that with Easter eggs - the chocolate items that come with them eg maltesers, buttons etc. will be their usual chocolate, but the moulded egg itself is less good quality stuff.

Aldi choclate egg with the space dust in is amazing

Yes I’ve had some great toys from that deal every year. £20 isn’t cheap

Especially when your idea of good stuff is Cadbury's. Makes you look like a would-be snob who doesn't actually know what quality is.

So you are talking about Lidl chocolate? There is absolutely nothing wrong with Lidl chocolate you are sounding like a complete snob.

It is absolutely not all the same though and we all know it really. My ds got a hey Duggee egg when he was 3 from some random brand, he had a bit but didn't like it, me and DH tried it and agreed it wasn't very nice. Neither of us are exactly sophisticated with our pallets either, we'll happily eat plenty of standard chocolate that loads on here frequently lament is "inedible" 🤣

With the toys, I think it's a really mixed bag, some are fine but if you've had bad experiences with ones breaking easily or not working properly it's disappointing for the kids and makes the parents reluctant to get more.

@nottheplan I know what you mean. You can get a Cadbury egg for under a fiver and put any amount on a voucher or whatever, it doesn't have to be a big expensive gesture. My mil is loaded and eats out literally every day, but buys awful cheap cakes that genuinely taste like cardboard for when she sees us. I've had to tell her to stop buying DS clothes because he's autistic and really fussy with fabrics, she'd constantly buy him stuff that was rough or had the emblems on that you could feel underneath. She'd mention getting him clothes and I'd say oh thanks, just some Asda joggers or something would be fine and then she'd get him jeans (which he never wears) from Primark or whatever, that I'd have to return so it's just another job!

My DD has been able to tell the difference between different chocolate since she was tiny! She had never liked white chocolate, smarties, mars, etc. Why do you think kids have no taste buds or preferences? Lots of kids like some chocolate items and not others. A Lindt bunny tastes completely different to Cadburys. I don’t know why you’d think children can’t tell the difference!

Shame your children have inherited your toxic trait of ungratefulness.
Sometimes you have to push your own feelings aside so as not to hurt someone’s feelings.

Just thank them and donate to the charity shop, eggs to the food bank. It’s not rocket science.

How does your dh feel about your DC’s lack of respect for gifts?

Donate it to the charity shop. Dont chuck it in the bin.

Totally agree

It really is. Their Fin Carre salted caramel milk chocolate is the stuff of confectionary heaven too.

Anything from Cadburys or Nestle tastes like sweetened muck in comparison.

Donate the chocolate to somewhere where children who get nothing would appreciate it.
And be honest with your MIL that she's wasting her money because you/your kids don't like cheap chocolate.

I’m glad someone else agrees rather than trying to make out I can't actually like chocolate. It wouldn’t surprise me to know some easter eggs are still being made with a lesser chocolate.

Have you even considered that does not have the money to buy better quality stuff?

You sound seriously entitled and there is nothing wrong with supermarket own brand goods.

If you want expensive stuff then buy your own.

Exactly this.

I wasn't talking about the special Mumsnet children who are on super healthy massive salads and no sugar diets.

They, of course, will be able to identify different brands of chocolate from birth. When I said "most" I meant the children in real life that I know, and mine when they were young.

They didn't sit and ponder the taste but hoovered up any kind of chocolate, particularly liked the stuff aimed at kids, for birthdays, Christmas etc because of the packaging or the shape.

You are getting a hard time Op but I do understand you’d rather one nice small thing than a big pile of tat. We had similar when dd young from a relative, it’s about show and turning up with armfuls of stuff where you are thinking where am I going to put this and feeling bad when it’s all wasted or thrown away. Could you encourage an experience gift eg don’t buy them Easter gifts take them to park and buy ice cream or buy a pass for zoo for a birthday.

I like Lidl chocolate. I used to buy the kids the Lidl chocolate hens at Easter when they were younger (and always put one in the basket for myself).

Yuck, I hear you OP, can't stand that cheap advent calendar style choc.