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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to to be pissed off with my xmas pressie from MIL

126 replies

crazybubbasmummy · 02/12/2009 19:30

for my birthday my MIL asked me if i would like money or a present for my birthday and me knowing how much i hate recieving presents cause i am so fussy with everything asked for the money and explained i would enjoy picking something myself, she decided to get me a present anyway of which she chose a tracksuit, i never wear tracksuits and dont even own trainers, the tracksuit was also 2 sizes to big, she then got the hump when i asked for the reciept to change the size not the gift!!

now we have secret santa in our family and she has got me and has showed me the present she has got me and its a really taky bag (that i doubt she would use herself)which i will never use, this may be the only present i recieve this year as me and my partener are not buying for eachother as money is tight

i might sound very ungrateful but i feel there has been no thought put into either of the presents she has chosen me and she bought her other DIL a very lovely present

OP posts:
nannynobnobs · 03/12/2009 13:32

Wow, I am impressed at the selection here. I've never received anything from my MIL as she lives in another town many miles away and has spent her cash on booze for all of my DH's life.
my step- MIL gets me 'I didn't know what to get' sort of presents such as a manicure set (I had no nails), scented candles, shower gel sets etc. She likes me better than my DH but thats because he has had experience of her control freak ways and now has little time for her, whereas I just nod and smile.

JaynieB · 03/12/2009 22:07

Buda - that made me laugh!

Doodleydoo · 03/12/2009 22:52

My MIL gives you a present then opens it for you- also does this for dd's presents which kind of pisses me off!

Doodleydoo · 03/12/2009 23:03

Also got a tacky clinton's lovely wine glass with the wrong age on it for a significant birthday, when at the same time my bil for his bday (1 week before) got a lovely shirt and jumper. Perhaps I should take the hint.....do you think I might not be the popular one?

ChickensHaveNoTinsel · 03/12/2009 23:17

My aunt recieved a very disturbing gift from her MIL one christmas. Auntie unwrapped a ceramic, powder blue, severed hand, complete with bright red nail varnish, in a 'grasping for your throat' kind of pose. Said hand had a purple ribbon attatched at it's wrist, and small holes at the finger tips. MIL helpfully informed her that it was lavendar filled. Some days later, auntie realised it was the worlds worst pomander.

NancyDrewRocks · 04/12/2009 06:55

A verrucca sock ha ha ha ha ha!

What on earth do you say when you open that?!

Lauriefairyonthetreeeatscake · 04/12/2009 08:31

oh god this thread is hilarious

a severed hand

a fag riddled handbag

who are these women?!?

leothelioness · 04/12/2009 08:50

my FIL gave may then 3 year old DS some size 8 womens hotpants I can only guess he thought they were shorts and picked them off the wrong rack.
MY MIL never gives me anything for christmans or birthdays. The only thing she has bought me are clay cooking pots whihc have rounded bottoms and don't sit on the hob proplerly.

BouncingTurtle · 04/12/2009 08:55

MIL buys me smellies... which get a profuse thanks and then get recycled through DS's nursery raffle!
I suffer badly from eczema so avoid all smellies. Haven't the heart to tell her not to buy them, because she does put a lot of thought in to buying them, and she is lovely.

Some of these gifts made me laugh.... the plastic animals and dinosaurs - guess that person's MIL has a great sense of humour!

Crazybubba - YANBU to resent the fact that MIL wastes her money on a gift into which she is put zero thought, but you have to suck it up and be the better person - and be grateful.

TootaLaFruit · 04/12/2009 09:04

I was given a kid's art-n-crafts card-making kit a few years ago by MIL (this was long before dd or any thought of children so that can't have been her reasoning). It came with feathers, glitter and SAFETY scissors. She gave the same kit to my sil and we just looked at each other, smiled, and have never made a single card between us.

Ungrateful behaviour? Yes, probably. But you should buy a present you know/hope the recipient will like, otherwise it's a waste of money. I, for instance, would not buy MIL a subscription to More magazine.....

alypaly · 04/12/2009 09:07

i got some Bronnley from my boyfriends mother.....does this mean i have officially arrived in old age bracket

MamaVoo · 04/12/2009 09:14

Great thread! I get the most bizarre assortment of crap from my MIL. I have to try to compose myself as I unwrap so that I don't laugh, but the fact that we open the presents after dinner when I've had too much wine does tend to work against me.

ChickandDuck · 04/12/2009 09:32

YANBU, sounds bizarre!

Luckily I skip all this with MIL as she is Johovahs Witness

BalloonSlayer · 04/12/2009 12:19

I have no problems with what my MIL gives me - ££££! - she is lovely - but she has reached the age where she doesn't need anything really and doesn't want any more tins of biscuits or talcum powder.

The problem is that we sit opening presents and MIL says:

"Ahhh, thank you X" waving hankies at someone across the room "They're lovely. Thank you so much."

A second later I get a dig in the ribs and she says in a VERY loud stage whisper (is deaf) "I don't want these love, you have them?" and she's trying to shove them on to my lap.

So I say, discreetly: "No, MIL, they're yours, you keep them."

"Pardon?"

"NO MIL THEY'RE YOURS, YOU KEEP THEM"

< Everyone looks round >

MIL: "You don't want them."

Me: "Well they're yours, I don't want to take your present off you."

MIL: "Pardon?"

Meanwhile the generous givers are watching all this with a look no doubt thinking that no one wants their lovingly chosen gift.

Doodleydoo · 04/12/2009 14:12

Still all hilarious antics being told! Loving it!

I have a friend who's mil goes shopping with dil who lives nearby - at xmas the two other dil's get something heinous that has been chosen (prob by other dil) and the nearby dil gets something vvv nice. And they say sucking up doesn't work.....

biggirlsdontcry · 04/12/2009 14:56

balloonslayer i have just sprayed tea all over my keyboard , your mil sounds hilarious lol

muminthemiddle · 04/12/2009 17:11

This thread is fantastic.

MummyAnnabella · 04/12/2009 17:26

nothing for christmas but i do get a nice gift for birthday so cant complain.

one year got loevly set of crystal glasses - no really they were good ones. probably a regift but so nice i didnt care.have also got clarins skincare in the past for birthday.

SIL however bought dh and i a novelty ceramic toilet brush?! she is very nice person so no idea what she was thinking.

NotAnotherNewNappy · 04/12/2009 23:18

YANBU - she sounds like she is trying to call you a chav. Keep hassling her for receipts of everything she buys you until she relents and gives you vouchers.

Haggisfish · 05/12/2009 17:19

Oh my god! I didn't actually think such awful MILs existed! Mine is lovely and pays for me and hubby to have a weekend away together. I am clearly exceptionally lucky! I have actually snorted out loud reading this, though. Thank you all for sharing!

ImSoNotTelling · 05/12/2009 17:36

How about...

2 pens with "foot" holders so that they stand up, with little feathers stuck all over them and little birds heads?

LittleAngelicRose · 05/12/2009 17:59

I could not have guessed at some of the hilarious 'gifts' people are given. Part of me wants to laugh really hard and thank my lucky stars that my MIL is actually quite good at presents, often helped, but the silk underwear of the kind you would never buy yourself but love and a riding jacket are top of the list.

But part of me just feels sad that some people either know their nearest and dearest so poorly that they don't realise / don't care, and that some people probably try really hard and still get it wrong. Only you lot know which category your MILs fall into. Even my worst presents from MIL have been thoughtful.

ImSoNotTelling · 05/12/2009 18:04

Nah, some people just like shite. You should see them on xmas day, all giving each other piles of rubbish. Quantity not quality is the watchword for DHs family xmas celebrations

flockwallpaper · 05/12/2009 18:21

Very funny My DS received a second hand plastic wedding cake decoration (a bride and groom) one Christmas from BIL.

Horton · 05/12/2009 18:32

I got a vest and a truly vile item of clothing for my three year old daughter last year. I do see that my woes are as nothing compared to the rest of you, though!