MIL only buys cheap gifts for kids - Drives me nuts

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Remember your manners and give a gracious thank you to all the generous gift givers!

Remember that some people, such as the PP, think only expensive gifts that meet with PP's approval are worth giving.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There are some incredibly spoiled and mean-spirited gift recipients on this thread, but it seems that they were brought up in homes where kindness and thinking of others weren't taught. Now it's being modeled for another generation.

NP here. There is a HUGE difference between a thoughtful inexpensive gift and a thoughtless one. It’s not the dollar value it’s the sentiment.

And it's not up to the receiver to determine if the sentiment is there or not.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Side note: amazed that so many of us have the same stuff-loving, piles-of-cheap-crap-gifting, borderline-hoarder MILs. Is it generational? Regional? Cultural?

I'm just picturing all the posters here who will be viewed by their daughters-in-law in the same way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d just tell her flat out that she can keep giving those gifts if she wants but they will likely be thrown away.

What? Were you raised in a barn? Show some grace.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I’d just tell her flat out that she can keep giving those gifts if she wants but they will likely be thrown away.

What? Were you raised in a barn? Show some grace.

+1

[Anonymous]

I think the only real true way to stop this kind of behavior is when the gift is received say Thank you very nicely and then right in front of the person drop it in the trash or a bin labeled donation without apologizing. Unless they see that, they just can’t get it. You have to tell them that their reasoning that literally any junk or any old item is good enough for this kid because he is just a kid and he doesn’t need nice things is just as offensive as you throwing out their gift.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Side note: amazed that so many of us have the same stuff-loving, piles-of-cheap-crap-gifting, borderline-hoarder MILs. Is it generational? Regional? Cultural?

I'm just picturing all the posters here who will be viewed by their daughters-in-law in the same way.

Not pp but I doubt most of us will be viewed as hoarders and if my living a life with minimal clutter is viewed as hoarding by my kids I’ll be proud. I don’t see a rampant social problem in our country of people with means not having enough junk.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think the only real true way to stop this kind of behavior is when the gift is received say Thank you very nicely and then right in front of the person drop it in the trash or a bin labeled donation without apologizing. Unless they see that, they just can’t get it. You have to tell them that their reasoning that literally any junk or any old item is good enough for this kid because he is just a kid and he doesn’t need nice things is just as offensive as you throwing out their gift.

You're a terrible person, Mrs. Grinch. Even including "Thank you" doesn't make this horrifically rude behavior acceptable in any way, shape or form.

Just accept it gracefully and throw it away when you get home. You are welcome to judge a gift, but to show complete disdain for someone's generosity even when you don't agree with the gift is just amazingly bad manners.

[Anonymous]

My mil buys Dollar Store gifts too Op.

I pivot it and drop major hints so that mil buys the mon junky stuff at the Dollar Store - coloring books, stickers, character band aids/tissues, socks, nightlight, snow globe, etc Believe or not, there are a few gems in that store that are fine.

Otherwise, it isnt a big deal and just go with it. Your kid will have specific tastes and interests next year when he's no longer an oblivious toddler, but a preschooler with a Christmas list that will be perfect for mil to fullfill.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think the only real true way to stop this kind of behavior is when the gift is received say Thank you very nicely and then right in front of the person drop it in the trash or a bin labeled donation without apologizing. Unless they see that, they just can’t get it. You have to tell them that their reasoning that literally any junk or any old item is good enough for this kid because he is just a kid and he doesn’t need nice things is just as offensive as you throwing out their gift.

You're a terrible person, Mrs. Grinch. Even including "Thank you" doesn't make this horrifically rude behavior acceptable in any way, shape or form.

Just accept it gracefully and throw it away when you get home. You are welcome to judge a gift, but to show complete disdain for someone's generosity even when you don't agree with the gift is just amazingly bad manners.

+1 We get why some of these posters have terrible relationships with their in-laws and other family members. Beyond rude, crass, no class behavior.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Side note: amazed that so many of us have the same stuff-loving, piles-of-cheap-crap-gifting, borderline-hoarder MILs. Is it generational? Regional? Cultural?

I'm just picturing all the posters here who will be viewed by their daughters-in-law in the same way.

Not pp but I doubt most of us will be viewed as hoarders and if my living a life with minimal clutter is viewed as hoarding by my kids I’ll be proud. I don’t see a rampant social problem in our country of people with means not having enough junk.

LOL. Just think of all the MILs who thought the same as you!!

[Anonymous]

Op is rude

[Anonymous]

This thread cracks me up. On a different day, all the responses would have said, “Don’t be a doormat. Draw some boundaries. Communicate how you feel.”

I get it, OP. It’s frustrating, and unlikely to change.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:nobody here cares about the destruction of our environment by too much plastic junk?

That flight you took to go see "Hamilton" in New York last week was probably worse for Mother Earth than eighteen years of a mother-in-law's dollar store trinkets.

[Anonymous]

We created wish lists for your kids with $10-15 items and send them to family before birthdays and holidays. Our families have asked what the kids want, though.