Christmas is a time for reflection, celebration and spending time with your loved ones. For kids, it’s also that time of year when gifts are the focus of the day. But some entitled and selfish adults seem to insist on making gift-giving a sort of competition, which ruins the spirit for everyone.
A netizen wondered if they were wrong to be angry when their MIL started putting her tags on their gifts to their kids. After being confronted, the MIL refused to back down. We reached out to the person who shared the story via private message and will update the article when they get back to us.
It can be very fulfilling to get your loved ones some presents
Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)
But one MIL decided that she wanted to hijack her in-laws gifts using her own tags
Image credits: Getty Images (not the actual photo)
Image source: AtomCadaver
Christmas gifts are not a competition
Image credits: Eugene Zhyvchik (not the actual photo)
Most folks who celebrate Christmas, rightfully, have fond memories of it. The decorations, the delicious meals, the time off, the magical snow falling outside. If you had a more traditional Christmas you would also open gifts and perhaps even give some, both activities that tend to be associated with a healthy dose of joy.
After all, it’s a great time to surprise your loved ones, or, at the very least, spend some time with them. However, as this story demonstrates, there are always a few people out there who can’t help but make it about them. Christmas is not and has never been a competition, but this MIL has gone even further, “cheating” on a “contest” she invented. Unfortunately, this is still how many people perceive what should be the very pure act of giving a gift.
If she really wanted to go head to head with the kid’s parents for gifts, she should have put in the effort herself. It’s nice that she helped wrap them, it can really become a chore in so many cases, but then adding a tag clearly stating who is giving them is a step too far. It also seems like an effort to undermine the person who actually paid for the gifts in the first place.
After all, now the parent has to make a fuss about who actually is providing the gift, which can seem a bit petty. Arguing over costs like that is uncomfortable and sometimes a bad look, which is perhaps what the MIL is planning to use to defend herself. She also brings up the patently ridiculous idea that demanding proper tags is “ruining” Christmas, which is both manipulative and just absurd.
This person deserves a spouse that would actually back them up
Image credits: Ave Calvar (not the actual photo)
Unfortunately, the person’s husband also doesn’t seem to be helping, which is often a hidden but key component when it comes to in-law drama. Most folks understand that they have to put up with some weirdness from big family gatherings, but it’s a lot more bearable if your spouse has your back.
Otherwise, like in this story, you end up at an in-laws house, outnumbered and out of your comfort zone. As many commenters write (examples can be found below) this person doesn’t just have a MIL problem, they have a husband problem as well. It’s honestly surprising that he also isn’t offended that gifts he, presumably, helped provide are just being claimed by someone else.
Unfortunately, this might just be one in a series of weird behavior she inflicts on people. There is no reason to back the mother over one’s spouse in this case, unless you have been thoroughly conditioned to not care. Her using the idea that this might be her last Christmas at the age of 71 is just icing on the cake.
After all, if she was in such bad condition that she might not last another year, how exactly was she carrying and wrapping gifts in the basement? Ironically, behavior like this might actually ensure this is the last Christmas they spend together, because it’s selfish, entitled and just downright bizarre. Some people have a very inflated sense of self, particularly when it comes to family.
Most thought the netizen was not to blame
A few thought they also need to handle their unsupportive partner
Some even saw the MIL’s side of things
