Man Removes Mother-in-Law’s Expensive Gift from under the Christmas Tree to Teach Her a Lesson

Marrying into a family where one partner sides with their parents no matter what is a nightmare, as described in the following social media story. However, sometimes, the only way to get through it is to be equally petty.

In December 2022, a Reddit user named theantigrinch wrote into one of the platform’s channels sharing a story of how he was once petty or sought revenge. He explained that he’d gotten a well-paying new job that year and decided to splurge on gifts that Christmas.

Most of his money was spent on his nine-year-old daughter. The Reddit user shared how the little girl had been helping around at home without anyone asking her, was pushing herself in her schoolwork, and being a kind person.

Her father felt she “100%” deserved all he’d gotten her. However, when his wife’s mother, his mother-in-law, visited one morning, she saw that their Christmas tree had more than usual gifts under it and asked why.

Her son-in-law explained that he’d bought everyone, including her, lots of presents. The mother-in-law then asked how many had he bought his daughter, and he revealed she would be getting around three big gifts and the same amount of smaller ones.

For some reason, his mother-in-law became “outraged” and informed him that her grandchild didn’t deserve that many presents. The grandmother insisted on her stance:

“She started saying that a nine-year-old did not deserve that many gifts and she would be taking away the gift she bought…”

The upset son-in-law protested and told her that it was an unfair move, especially seeing she’d promised his daughter a doll and the child looked forward to receiving it. Instead, his mother-in-law shared how it would be a lesson to the child that you couldn’t get all the things you ask for in life.

The child’s father understood the merit of the lesson but still felt his daughter wasn’t showered daily with gifts, and Christmas was a day for spoiling one’s children. Sadly, his wife encouraged him to let the matter go and that her mother’s gift for their child was hers to choose what to do with.

The Reddit poster decided to be petty by going along with his mother-in-law and wife’s ideology. He removed the $600 designer bag he’d gotten for his mother-in-law, a present she’d wanted the most, and replaced it with a $40 robe.

When his mother-in-law opened her gift, she was disappointed and asked her son-in-law if that was all from him since everyone else got more expensive ones. He confirmed it was and apologized if he’d disappointed her but that people couldn’t always get the gifts they’d hoped for!

The Reddit user felt theantigrinch’s mother-in-law seemed like a mean person for not giving her granddaughter what she’d promised to get her.

His response left his wife and mother-in-law “extremely furious,” but he felt the latter had gotten enough presents and wouldn’t want to spoil her, but wanted to know if he was in the wrong. Reddit users replied, sharing their opinions.

What Did Reddit Users Think of the Son-in-Law’s Revenge?

One person who read theantigrinch – a well-chosen username to describe what he thought of his mother-in-law – supported him! The commenter said the only way the poster’s revenge could’ve been better executed was if his mother-in-law had known that he’d bought her the bag.

The person continued saying the poster could’ve told her he didn’t want her spoilt; the robe was hers, and she could do what she wanted with it. Another person said they couldn’t imagine a grandmother choosing to withhold a gift for a child.

The social media user shared how, unlike theantigrinch’s mother-in-law, they had a mother-in-law whom they argued with each year because she overdid the presents! The reader also praised the poster for not giving his mother-in-law the designer bag, while someone else joked:

“You should have gifted the bag to your daughter in front of MIL.”

A fourth person felt theantigrinch’s mother-in-law sounded like someone who is “abusive & entitled,” while his wife appeared to have learned early to let her mother get away with that behavior. They felt the poster’s petty story was satisfying, but his wife would need to deal with the repercussions from her mother, seeing as the parent now knew she couldn’t abuse her son-in-law and urged him to stick up for his wife.

Another thought the poster was within his rights for what he did, and it was his “prerogative” if he chose to “spoil” his daughter. The Reddit user felt theantigrinch’s mother-in-law seemed like a mean person for not giving her granddaughter what she’d promised to get her. They thought it was worse because she was doing so without offering the little girl an explanation.

What do readers think about this situation? Was the original poster right to deprive his mother-in-law of her Christmas present?

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