Grandma Misses Out On $600 Gift After Declining To Give Her 9-Year-Old Granddaughter A Present To Not Spoil Her

Oct 05, 2023

Christmas has always been a season of celebration with a lot of overflowing love, gifts, and attention. It is particularly a special day for children to enjoy being lavished with love; every gift counts to prove how much they are adored. Just as most parents love to lavish their kids with Christmas presents and watch their faces lit up when they unbox their gifts, so do some grandparents.

However, there are a few others who view showering gifts as overboard and might even frown on parents who do. A Reddit user took to Reddit in 2022 to share how his mother-in-law declined to get her 9-year-old granddaughter a Christmas present because she felt she was preventing her from getting spoiled. In retaliation, the Redditor also held back a $600 present he was going to give her, but not everyone approved of this. 

The OP (original poster) started by explaining that he got a new job that paid handsomely. To celebrate his family and show them how much he loves them, he decided to get everyone amazing gifts for Christmas. He added that his 9-year-old daughter got the most gifts because she had been doing well in school and helping around at home even without being asked. She deserved it 1"00%." The Redditor continued that his daughter had "always been the kindest soul you'll ever meet." 

The proud dad further stated that his mother-in-law came around early in the morning and saw the heap of gifts under the Christmas tree, which was unusual. She then inquired why the gifts were much more than they used to be. The Redditor shared that he told her, "I bought everyone a bunch of gifts, including her." 

The OP continued that on hearing his response, his wife's mother proceeded to ask how much gift he got her granddaughter. Oblivious of her reason for asking, he explained he got his daughter "3 big gifts and 3 mini ones." The Redditor relayed:

"Apparently, this outraged her because she started saying that a nine year old did not deserve that many gifts and she would be taking away the gift she bought my daughter so that my daughter wouldn't be too spoiled."

He was shocked by his mother-in-law's thoughts of thinking the gifts he bought for his daughter and the one she wanted to give her were a way of spoiling her granddaughter. He told her that she was being unfair to refuse to give her granddaughter the gift she had promised her for Christmas. The OP added that his MIL had promised their daughter "a doll for Christmas and my daughter was looking forward for it." 

OP added, "My mother in law said let it be a lesson to my daughter that in life she cant get all things she asks for." The Redditor noted that he understood her perspective, but he also explained that his daughter was not showered with gifts every day. It was Christmas, and "is the day you are supposed to spoil your children."

Amid the exchange, the man’s wife told him to let it go and also mentioned that it was her mother's gift. This meant she could do whatever she pleased with the gift. The Reddit user's mother-in-law also supported her daughter, stating that "it was her right." 

The dad was far from letting it go. Since his mother-in-law decided to deprive his daughter of the happiness he had envisioned on her opening her gifts, he decided to do the same. Since she wanted to play by that ideology, he was also down for it. He wrote:

"I decided to remove the 600$ designer bag I got my MIL, the thing I knew she wanted the most, and gave her a 40$ robe instead."

The Reddit user continued that when his wife's mother opened her Christmas present, disappointment was written all over her face. On seeing the gift, she questioned if that was all he got her since everyone else got more expensive gifts from him. He relayed:

"And I said yes and apologized if I disappointed her but we cant always get the gifts we hoped for." 

He added that this left his wife and her mother furious, but he wittingly explained, "I wouldn't want to spoil her," which made him remove the gift. 

Other Reddit users did not hesitate to share their opinion on the grandmother's behavior toward her granddaughter. One user wrote, "Your mother-in-law punished your daughter as a proxy for imposing her values on you. You need to sit your wife down and have a serious talk."

Other Redditors agreed, and one wrote, "Gee, I wonder which grandparent was your favorite /s I really don't get people who hate fun." 

Another responded, "It's generally because they were not allowed to have it, or bc they had too much of it and it didn't end well for them."

Reddit users supported the OP for giving his mother-in-law a taste of how it felt to be declined a gift already purchased and packed for you. 

Do you think the Redditor’s mother-in-law was overreaching regarding her decision? What do you think of how he handled the situation? Let us know, and be sure to pass this on to others.