MIL has stolen my childhood christmas decorations!

[ExhaustedPigeon37]

Hello all,

Bit of a strange one but I think my MIL has stolen my Christmas Decorations!!

They have been in my family since I was small and although they aren’t expensive, nothing special they are just sentimental to me.

We had these three decorations, saying Joy, Noel and Ho Ho Ho with a Santa head on the top. The letters cascade downwards and the Santa has a loop so that you can hang them up. This year I put our decorations up and only found the Joy one. Asked DH and he said he hadn’t seen them, so I only put the Joy one up thinking I’d come across them in another box, I never did.

Fast forward to yesterday when we went over to theirs and they live about an hour away so we stayed for dinner and catch up after DH finished work. MIL was showing us her new decorations and the tree (which is themed red and white). I happened to glance at the bottom of the tree where I saw THE/MY Noel and Ho Ho Ho decorations hanging off of her tree!!! I’ve never seen these decorations at their house before, so the only conclusion I can come to is that they are mine, which is why I couldn’t find them this year!

Asked DH and he said he didn’t notice, asked if he remembers us giving them to her or anything and he said can’t at all. Last year we moved house in

I’m so shocked. What do I do? Do I ask for them back? Do I just leave it? Do I sneak them out when we next go there? DH wanted to stay at home on Boxing Day but I now want to go there to retrieve my decorations (they have been invited on Christmas Day but declined due to the journey and FIL recently having had a knee replacement).

Don’t jump to conclusions. Communicate.

Steal them back!

Steal them back.

Does she have a habit of stealing things from your house?

I’d take them back. Don’t mention them again, tell your husband you found them and only you and MIL will know the truth.

Ask her where she got them as you have lost identical ones and want to replace them.

They’d have been in my bag already.

No this is the first time 😂

100% ask if they are yours and take them back.

Steal them back, never mention it. Mark them discretely with permanent marker somewhere and take a photo. If they disappear again you can prove it.

How very very odd. Has she behaved like this before? Any other storage behaviour?

Id ask her where she got them from.
But I had an Aunt with sticky fingers - one time she took picture off my bedroom wall when I was a kid, another time Ddad caught her putting a decorative ashtray in her handbag .

Unfortunately I wasn’t able to otherwise I would have done. I think was also in a bit of shock at seeing them!

I'd ask them where they got them from .

So you sneaked them off the tree, took a photo of them and then put them back on?

Are you sure it’s your decoration? MIL could have had the same one stashed in the loft for many years and recently found it/bought it out to match her new colour scheme. Don’t accuse any one of anything until you confirm it’s definitely yours.

Im presuming the picture is of the one she still has at her own house

The photo is of the one remaining one she has

Ooh I like this! We will be going on Boxing Day then! 😂

I would take them back next time you’re round there. If you ask outright if they’re yours and she denies it, what will you do then?

Another vote for stealing them back

I wouldn't say anything more to anyone.

Just nick them back asap.

As p says put some pen mark or sew a little star on them (all 3) and take a pic of it in your hand with your tree in the back ground.

IF by some horrible and unlikely chance they are hers and you find your own smuggle them back 😳

But the chances of that so small - you'd have noticed them by now in her tree in the past and said 'oh i've got some of those from when i was a kid'!'

Have you got any old photos that shows them OP? If you are 100% sure you dont have them in your house and MIL ones are miraculous duplicates, surely you have to just ask her why she stole your decorations? How weird of her to do that though!

There is one for sale on Etsy if you want a replacement………

Boxing day !!!!?

Nooooo - it's got to be this week before that !!

Oooh that’s a good idea!

Not that I’m aware of! it’s just so strange. I’ve never seen these decorations anywhere else before and they just appeared on her tree this year!