Family member has bought refrigerated gifts

[ScottyandWestie]

AIBU - Family member arriving on Saturday to stay for the whole of Christmas has just advised me they are bringing gifts which need to be refrigerated. It’s not alcohol but they will not explain what the items are for fear of “spoiling the surprise” and will need “possibly two shelves of the fridge”. I have a large fridge but due to catering to a huge amount of people over the Christmas period it’s full and will be at capacity tomorrow. I explained this but they are adamant. AIBU to suggest they store their gifts in a cool box in our shed?

Outside is best at the moment as it’s a better temperature than the fridge for cheese etc!

The mind boggles.

A Rudolph statue carved in Red Leicester? A hibernating tortoise?

Whatever it is I would just tell them categorically that there is no space in the fridge.

😂😂😂😂

😂

No advice but place marking to find out what they are bringing!

We got told one year to "keep a shelf free" for a badly butchered ox tongue (shudder)

Just say no again and when they arrive with the mystery gift, repeat. When they complain that it will go off and be a waste of their money, say yes, that’s why I told you many times not to bring it. It’s their responsibility, not yours.

Boot of the car?

😂😂😂

shameless place marking for the bulky gift reveal!

It will be something utterly crap like place settings carved out of cheese

30 years ago, I was given a Stilton by a colleague - I gave the parcel a little squeeze and a feel (as you do when you're dying to know) but it was in a little ceramic pot, so I just couldn't guess.
She didn't say anything about keeping it cool - it probably never even occurred to her, so it sat under the tree in the office for a week, then a few days under my tree at home. On Christmas day, I held my nose and poured the by now liquid contents down the sink. The pot, however, I have used ever since. I keep garlic bulbs in it.

Some people really are clueless aren’t they? If you hadn’t said you are fed up with always having to accommodate this person, I’d have said is it worth seeing if you have anything that would be ok in the shed/garage - but as it sounds like they have form for this, it’s their problem to solve. I’d suggest they look on free cycle or Facebook market place and see if anyone is getting rid of an old fridge for free or cheap (people replacing a fridge might want to give it away to save paying for it to be taken away) BUT if you don’t want to keep the fridge, they also need to arrange to get rid after too!

I wouldn’t suggest the neighbours’ fridge. Could you imagine the extra faff if whatever it is leaked all over their fridge and you had to clean it all out. Or if relative took the key and popped over to check the items and left the door open or some sort of chaos happened. It just isn’t worth it. They shouldn’t have bought a gift that takes up so much valuable space.

Where in England are you? The weather is turning colder so it may not need any refrigeration.

please do come back and update us after Xmas, we’re dying to know what it is.

Please not oysters

Keep it outside? Depending on where you live.

Taking up two shelves, more likely Kilimanjaro

I took would like to know what it is. Homemade chocolate truffles maybe?

We actually bought a mini fridge one year to put some things in. Fairly cheap and it eventually went away with one of the kids to uni. But I’d tell this person there’s just no room and if they insist they’ll have to bring something to keep the food in as you. Any magic space out if thin air. That or they’ll be no turkey at Christmas!
Seriously if you know them well enough that they are staying at yours for a week you should be able to tell them this.

Neighbours often lend each other fridge and oven space if they're going to be away at Christmas round here, so that was my first thought

Oh the excitement!

my brother once did this with my mum at Christmas, she said whatever it was had to go in the shed

it was…..

a dried sheep’s head in a bucket (it’s a Norwegian thing, his partner is Norwegian)…. then we had to eat it 😬😬😬😬

I'm going with FollowSpots hibernating tortoise 😆

I would quite like that !

Or put some of your own stuff in the neighbours' fridge (with their permission) and you'll have a lovely excuse to slip away somewhere quiet away from your guests whenever you feel like it.

MIL does this every year. Buys cheese for DH as a gift and then rocks up Xmas day fussing that she needs to put his still wrapped gifts in the fridge. Sigh.