Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Christmas

From present ideas to party food, find all your Christmas inspiration here.

Original poster

MIL has stolen my childhood christmas decorations!

1000 replies

ExhaustedPigeon37 · 07/12/2025 10:30

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).

MIL has stolen my childhood christmas decorations!
OP posts:
Thread gallery
20
LemonDrizzleKay · 09/12/2025 23:55

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

where have I been malicious? Please quote.

ohnotthisagain2020 · 10/12/2025 00:11

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

JillyComeLately · 10/12/2025 00:28

I don't agree in stealing anything back. Surely it's best just to ask where the MIL got them in the first place...and take it from there.

Alternatively she could always ask her husband to speak to his mother.

JillyComeLately · 10/12/2025 00:33

WeeAgnes · 09/12/2025 12:47

I've designed some bespoke ones for your MiL.
Take your ones back and replace them with these...

(Sorry, I'm no artist and Santa looks awfully like the Pringles man 😂)

Edited

😅

LemonDrizzleKay · 10/12/2025 00:44

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk Guidelines.

You sound like a bully and I am not afraid of you.

you are encouraging op to play tricks on someone who may be ill? Why not just talk to the woman? She has acted out of character and got confused about her age. Surely you would be concerned if a relative insisted she was 63 when she is 77. That isn’t a minor mistake. Some of us recognise the behaviour because we have been through it with relatives.

Mithral · 10/12/2025 01:09

Have I missed somewhere why you think it's MIL rather than FIL?

PyongyangKipperbang · 10/12/2025 01:57

LemonDrizzleKay · 10/12/2025 00:44

You sound like a bully and I am not afraid of you.

you are encouraging op to play tricks on someone who may be ill? Why not just talk to the woman? She has acted out of character and got confused about her age. Surely you would be concerned if a relative insisted she was 63 when she is 77. That isn’t a minor mistake. Some of us recognise the behaviour because we have been through it with relatives.

Show quote history

I am going through it right now and have been through it before, and I still think that YABU.

Just drop the bone.

ohnotthisagain2020 · 10/12/2025 04:39

LemonDrizzleKay · 10/12/2025 00:44

You sound like a bully and I am not afraid of you.

you are encouraging op to play tricks on someone who may be ill? Why not just talk to the woman? She has acted out of character and got confused about her age. Surely you would be concerned if a relative insisted she was 63 when she is 77. That isn’t a minor mistake. Some of us recognise the behaviour because we have been through it with relatives.

Show quote history

You sound like a bully and I am not afraid of you. You are being malicious to the OP for shits and giggles and pretending you are doing it out of concern.

But some of recognise an online bully when we see one and will just keep calling them out.

LemonDrizzleKay · 10/12/2025 04:49

ohnotthisagain2020 · 10/12/2025 04:39

You sound like a bully and I am not afraid of you. You are being malicious to the OP for shits and giggles and pretending you are doing it out of concern.

But some of recognise an online bully when we see one and will just keep calling them out.

Show quote history

If a couple of you say my tone sounds off I accept that, but it is certainly not my intention. I just don't find it funny if there is an indication that she MAY be showing signs of dementia. It takes a while for that to become clear to families and for a diagnosis to be sought. It certainly isn't shits and giggles for me. It's just bringing up memories of how I came tp realise that someone close to me wasn't being malicious but had a serious condition.

Namechangedconfession · 10/12/2025 06:14

ExhaustedPigeon37 · 09/12/2025 21:40

How am I describing her “other health problems in detail”? She HAS NOT been diagnosed with dementia, MN have diagnosed her on this thread only. I have said we will keep an eye on her confusion that occurred on one day only. IF she had any sort of diagnosis there is absolutely no way I would have made this post.

Do not read into my post as being nasty as it’s far from it. I’m asking what I should do, I do not know how she came to have my decorations. All I know is that I had them last year, they have gone missing and they are now on her tree. DH says he has not given them to her, Kids have not given them to her so please explain how they have now come to being in her house!?

Show quote history

On Mumsnet, every time a MIL has been awful she must have dementia. Your MIL is a thief and you need to get the decorations back before Christmas.

Haveyounotnoticed · 10/12/2025 06:22

How long have you known your MIL @ExhaustedPigeon37 ?

thepariscrimefiles · 10/12/2025 06:25

PeppermintPatty10 · 09/12/2025 12:52

Deeply unpleasant and nasty thread. You talk about an elderly woman possibly having dementia and describe her other health problems in detail. You're enjoying talking about she might have stolen your decorations, which sounds unlikely considering she doesn't have form for this - why would she start stealing now? With lots of laughing emojis and discussing plans to steal them back, or worse, confuse her in other ways. Pretty nasty.

FWIW I think there's a completely in innocent explanation as to how she has these decorations, which you're unlikely to believe when it comes to light, because you're enjoying this thread. If you really wanted to know, you would have asked her in the beginning, in a normal way rather than coming on here.

OP's MIL has been incredibly nasty to OP's child so it's hardly surprising that OP isn't fond of her MIL and willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.

DramaticEffect · 10/12/2025 07:08

Figgly · 09/12/2025 23:20

This has just unlocked a memory from over 25 years ago. My now ex MIL and FIL had a key to our house and took a cushion from our sofa while we were away on holiday. A very bog standard cushion, we were young and our house was full of cheap, first time buyer things from IKEA. I’ve just remembered this now for the first time in forever 😆 It was a bizarre choice as the in-laws had money and a chintzy looking house. We came home from holiday and actually stopped at their house first, to collect our dog. I saw the cushion at the time but it was late and quick and I didn’t really make the connection. Then the next day in my house, I realised our cushion wasn’t there. The now ex DH was as baffled as me, but didnt see it at their house the night before. Next time we went to their house, we had a good look about on the sly and no cushion was to be seen so I had to just forget about it in the end. So weird. 😆

MIL and FIL weren’t even 50 at the time so no idea what was going on there!

Edited

I reckon a very straightforward answer, most likely they took it for the dog to sleep/lay on. Saved their own.

Cushion probably dirty so they didn't return it.

Haveyounotnoticed · 10/12/2025 07:49

ExhaustedPigeon37 · 07/12/2025 14:47

He thinks it will cause tension and wants an easy life. His family have never really welcomed me or DD into their family and it’s been a long slog to just get them to accept us. MIL even told DD in front of 2xDSD when they were 11 and 8 “don’t call me Nanny, I’m not your Nanny”.

Show quote history

How the hell can you love a man who is such a weak and pathetic lettuce that he allows his family to mistreat his wife and her child like that.

He wouldn’t see me and my child for dust.

what a surprise that the child he’s chilled with being disrespected is not his.

Original poster
ExhaustedPigeon37 · 10/12/2025 09:27

Haveyounotnoticed · 10/12/2025 07:49

How the hell can you love a man who is such a weak and pathetic lettuce that he allows his family to mistreat his wife and her child like that.

He wouldn’t see me and my child for dust.

what a surprise that the child he’s chilled with being disrespected is not his.

Show quote history

He did end up having ago at his mum for the comments she made towards my daughter. He has also made it clear to her that whether she likes it or not we are family and he has made a choice and that choice is me and DD, so they can like it or lump it. He would usually defend me to the hills he just thinks I should leave it about the decorations. However that being said, I’m quite proactive about things whereas he is quite laid back, prefers a moan about things than actually doing anything about the thing that’s annoyed him, so I’d say laid back in the wrong ways, and it’s the one things that drives me insane!

OP posts:
NarnianQueen · 10/12/2025 09:43

I wouldn’t confront her about it, once you’ve brought it out into the open, if she insists they’re her decorations what are you going to do then? You won’t be able to steal them back without it being obvious!

Just sneak them away then make sure they air in plenty of pictures of your tree this year in case she ever does it again!

dh280125 · 10/12/2025 10:39

ExhaustedPigeon37 · 07/12/2025 10:34

No this is the first time 😂

Show quote history

That you've spotted! ; )

rainbowstardrops · 10/12/2025 11:27

You’ve said that your DH has confronted her about things before but this time he’s adamant that you just leave it, so I’ve said it previously and I’ll say it again, I think he’s involved in some way.

Reallyneedsaholiday · 10/12/2025 11:54

For the love of God
Just ASK her
Mumsnet really (hopefully) must be the only place in the world where people advocate en masse to LTH, go NC, and frigin' steal stuff off people, in preference to communicating like the adults we are supposed to be 🤯🤯🤯🤯

Nomoresilly · 10/12/2025 12:39

ExhaustedPigeon37 · 10/12/2025 09:27

He did end up having ago at his mum for the comments she made towards my daughter. He has also made it clear to her that whether she likes it or not we are family and he has made a choice and that choice is me and DD, so they can like it or lump it. He would usually defend me to the hills he just thinks I should leave it about the decorations. However that being said, I’m quite proactive about things whereas he is quite laid back, prefers a moan about things than actually doing anything about the thing that’s annoyed him, so I’d say laid back in the wrong ways, and it’s the one things that drives me insane!

Show quote history

But this has been going on for years

and yet still this horrid woman is in your daughter’s life and disrespecting you and her.

and even now your spineless dh doesn’t want to do anything

Nomoresilly · 10/12/2025 12:53

Reallyneedsaholiday · 10/12/2025 11:54

For the love of God
Just ASK her
Mumsnet really (hopefully) must be the only place in the world where people advocate en masse to LTH, go NC, and frigin' steal stuff off people, in preference to communicating like the adults we are supposed to be 🤯🤯🤯🤯

Apt username there @Reallyneedsaholiday

FlynnD93 · 10/12/2025 14:50

ExhaustedPigeon37 · 09/12/2025 21:43

They are not a set! They were sold separately, I had the three given to me from my parents

Show quote history

What’s with the !
I have a ‘set’ that was bought as a ‘set’ so yeh they are a fucking ‘set’

MrsWhites · 10/12/2025 15:07

I’m late to the party on this one but I sympathise OP because my mother in law prefers my husbands first wife too (break up also nothing to do with me).

What I can’t understand is why she didn’t steal them all - why just two of them? Did she do it on purpose to make it look less obvious?

Original poster
ExhaustedPigeon37 · 10/12/2025 15:09

FlynnD93 · 10/12/2025 14:50

What’s with the !
I have a ‘set’ that was bought as a ‘set’ so yeh they are a fucking ‘set’

Show quote history

Your first post literally said “set!” 🤦‍♀️

OP posts:
WeeAgnes · 10/12/2025 15:13

@ExhaustedPigeon37

When you get your decorations back, make sure you display them... up high, like from the ceiling so anyone would need a step stool to steal them again

Please create an account

To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.

Join Mumsnet Log In
This thread is not accepting new messages.
Swipe left for the next trending thread