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In early December ey wife was talking to her Mother regarding Christmas. My MIL was looking for gift items to buy for her 5 children and 3 of her 5 grandchildren. She has decided to buy T-shirts for her two oldest sons from Jos A Banks as that is their preferred brand.
My wife shared this story with me. I have never bought anything from Jos A Banks but my assumption is that their T-shirts are not inexpensive. I told my wife that since her two oldest brothers don't have two nickels between them to run yogether, they should but their T-shirts on sale at JCPenney like I do.
Apparently this comment was shared with my MIL as the Christmas Gift Exchange saw her 5 adult children receive 4 or 5 gifts and I received one. Her oldest sons got their expensive T-shirts and my sole gift contained JCPenney T-shirts!
What is worse is that my MIL is just as much of a deadbeat as her other 4 kids, and all the money she used to buy the gifts came from mine and my wife's checking account!
In early December ey wife was talking to her Mother regarding Christmas. My MIL was looking for gift items to buy for her 5 children and 3 of her 5 grandchildren. She has decided to buy T-shirts for her two oldest sons from Jos A Banks as that is their preferred brand.
My wife shared this story with me. I have never bought anything from Jos A Banks but my assumption is that their T-shirts are not inexpensive. I told my wife that since her two oldest brothers don't have two nickels between them to run yogether, they should but their T-shirts on sale at JCPenney like I do.
Apparently this comment was shared with my MIL as the Christmas Gift Exchange saw her 5 adult children receive 4 or 5 gifts and I received one. Her oldest sons got their expensive T-shirts and my sole gift contained JCPenney T-shirts!
What is worse is that my MIL is just as much of a deadbeat as her other 4 kids, and all the money she used to buy the gifts came from mine and my wife's checking account!
You pretty much have stomped on the entire meaning of Christmas.
Quote:
Originally Posted by PuppiesandKittens
Jos. A. Bank is a pretty inexpensive brand; I put it on the level of "JC Penney for office park dads".
Their T-shirts are $69 regular price. You can get them on sale for $29.99, but they aren't inexpensive.
You pretty much have stomped on the entire meaning of Christmas.
How so?
By giving my MIL $400-$500 so she could buy Christmas presents?
By being appreciative I received a gift that I can use?
By not raising a fuss it was our two sons who received no gift from their Grandmother?
By being able to still laugh at situations such as this after 40 years of being the son-in-law?
As the title says this is Christmas Chagrin, not the Norman Rockwell Hour.
I think you should write off your MIL as a lousy gift-giver. You know, if you'd told your MIL yourself, maybe you could have tactfully shaded the comment so that it might have made a better impression.
Okay, here's what you should try. Thank your MIL, give her a big hug, and laughingly say that you love her sense of humor. But then figure out how to add very good-naturedly that since she seems to have difficulties picking individualized presents, she really doesn't have to give you anything at all. Of course, this will only work if you've given her a very well-chosen personal present yourself.
You could also add that for the same price as a boring t-shirt, she probably could have found some interesting books on sale, which would have been more creative as gifts.
Wow, how many First World Problems will fit on the head of a pin?
I agree with HokieFan and I'll add this:
It's not clear to me whether you gave your MIL money to buy presents for other people supposedly from HER or supposedly from you. If they were supposed to be from her, don't give money to family with strings attached - it's a recipe for disaster. If the gifts were supposed to be from you, why is your MIL tasked with buying them? By the way, did she buy YOUR present with the money from YOU? Because that's weird. And then she didn't buy your kids presents with the money you gave her? That's also weird. STOP THE MADNESS. Just don't give her any money to buy other people presents with next year and keep your mouth shut about what she buys for other people with her own money.
I also noticed you said that your kids didn't receive any presents from their grandfather. Is he married to this particular mother in law or is this some other grandfather? Did this mother in law give your kids presents? How did she buy them? Speaking of marriages, you said you've been putting up with this for 40 years? How old are your kids? Oh, wait, never mind - it's too complicated. Stop giving her money to buy anyone presents and let the chips fall where they may.
By giving my MIL $400-$500 so she could buy Christmas presents?
By being appreciative I received a gift that I can use?
By not raising a fuss it was our two sons who received no gift from their Grandmother?
By being able to still laugh at situations such as this after 40 years of being the son-in-law?
As the title says this is Christmas Chagrin, not the Norman Rockwell Hour.
Quote:
Originally Posted by HokieFan
They got the brand of shirts they prefer, and you received the brand of shirts you prefer. It’s a win-win, no?
Yep. Lose the negativity, Roger. I didn't read any laughter or appreciation in your post.
If your in-laws really are deadbeats, 40 years is long enough to know to stop counting gifts and calling them names and just take the situation for what it is.
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