AIBU to want family photo on display?

[Notsohappyfamily]

AIBU or is DH?

Grandparent's (my side) are coming for Sunday lunch tomorrow. For Christmas, they gifted us an (albeit horrific) picture of us taken on their OAP mobile phone last year at a family event. They’ve had it scaled up to about 30cm, had it printed and put in a ‘nice’ frame.

DH hates it, says it creeps him out (we do look a bit startled, blurry and scary)so, ever since we brought it home we didn’t put it on display.

I just said that as they’re coming for lunch tomorrow we should pop it on display. DH says absolutely not, we are being insincere by pretending to like it, only doing it so they don’t huff at the fact it’s not displayed and thinks I’m too much of a people pleaser!

AIBU to think it is just a nice thing to do? They’re in their late 80s, went to a lot of effort to get us a thoughtful gift and it’s just the ‘right’ thing to do to have it on display for a couple of hours?

DH says absolutely not, we are being insincere by pretending to like it,

Hmm. Does he make a habit of covering up his bad manners by claiming to be "sincere"?

thinks I’m too much of a people pleaser!
And does he generally try to win arguments by putting you down?

Both look like traits that need calling out!

It will make them happy- put it up.
your Dh is being an arse.

These are the things that make a home, a home. You and dc will laugh about photo on display in years to come, promise 😂

I come from a huge family. My GM had 11 children, numerous GC and limited space. She used to swap family around when family visited. I was close GM and saw a lot of her and actually helped her do this when I got older. Others, many of whom lived overseas, in a time when travel was not as easy as it is now, had no idea she actually did this. It did no harm and made those visiting feel good. GM loved her family but didn't want to live in a portrait gallery! Put the offending photo out on display for the afternoon, and tell your husband to get on with it. As they say on MN this is 'not a hill to die o

There are times when being a ‘people pleaser’ is a bad thing, but this isn’t one of them. It’ll take seconds to display it and seconds to put it away when they’ve gone. It requires hardly any effort from you and it’s the kind thing to do. Your husband just sounds like an arse. I could understand if they had gifted him an itchy, ugly jumper to wear and you were trying to make him wear it, but this is a photo that will sit on a shelf. He doesn’t need to even think about it sitting there.

Bloody hell, it's propping it on a ledge for a couple of hours, not blowing it up to life size and glueing it to the wall!

I bet, once it's up, everyone stops noticing it anyway. Put it up and then take it down and put it in a drawer. Displaying it is a nice thing to do and nobody will die from having to look at a less-than-wonderful photo for a while.

I'd put it up in my bedroom for the afternoon & if it's not mentioned great but if they mention it say 'oh it's upstairs out on display where we see it everyday' That way if they ever just pop in unannounced they won't know it's not out all the time where they would if it's displayed in the living area & not there when they call by.

Yes definitely put it up ,it will just make them happy.
We had a similar dilemma where my uncle had an AI pic done of my grandchildren…it’s bloody awful but I just have it up in sitting room tucked away in a corner.

It’s a tricky one. I do think it’s nice to put it up for a few hours then take it down and laugh about it, then everyone is happy.
But then it feels like a lie and your parents have a false view of reality.
but that’s what life is! We are constantly doing that in life, little white lies to make life easier or make people feel good.

I guess that the problem is also that if they think that you love it, you will get a new version every christmas!

Your grandparents, your decision. You're being nice.😎

Exactly this.

its one lunch . It’s not like it’s tv screen sized and you’re putting it up in the bedroom … but of course if you’re stuck for his next birthday gift

A false view of reality might be a bit much here. If the picture was nicer I’m sure they’d keep it up, they just think it’s a rubbish photo. It’s not like they’re pretending they like them when really they don’t

It'd be a kind thing to do... as long as you don't have children of an age to innocently point out the new photograph they've never seen before!

@Ilovelifeverymuch "even her description of the photo says how she feels about it and she doesn't get to force it down the whole family."

Force it down the whole family! It'll be there for a couple of hours on the sideboard and that's it. I'm sure any reasonably normal family could cope with that without being overcome with hysteria. She's not going make them all eat sheeps eyeballs or strip the wallpaper off. Get a grip.