I can't believe what my mum did with the gift my kids picked out for her

"I don't get how she didn't care it was from her grandkids."

In a recent post on the Melbourne Mums Facebook group, a mum shared her dilemma over an unwanted birthday gift her children got her mother, their grandmother.

 

Her young sons had lovingly picked out a Pandora pendant for the woman, a gesture the mum thought was very kind and sentimental. 

But that feeling quickly turned into disappointment when she found out the boys' grandmother had tried to return the gift.

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"I want something I will wear"

According to the mum, she found out that she had tried to return the gift when her mother called her from inside the store.

"She called me in the Pandora store arguing with the counter lady as she would not refund/exchange without the receipt, and I have the receipt, so she thought that putting me on the phone was going to help her case. So I found out on the spot," she recounted. 

When the mum asked her why she was returning it, the grandmother's response was blunt — "Because I will never wear it, and I want something I will wear."

Ouch.

After failing to be able to return the gift, the grandmother dropped it off at her daughter's house and asked her to return it as she "doesn't want it."

Double ouch!

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The mum then asked the group if she was overreacting by being so upset by this.

"Am I the only one that sees the sentimental value in my sons specifically picking it for her?" she asked.

She went on to share that, despite receiving jewellery she didn't particularly like in the past, she would still wear it around the person who bought it to show appreciation.

The mum also admitted that she doesn't have a great relationship with her mother (she's "scary" and "intimidating") and only keeps her in their lives for the sake of her children.

"I really don't like her as a person, and I don't know if this gets in the way of my reaction," she said.

Image: Westfield/Ebay

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"Insanely rude"

Reactions from the group were varied, but the majority empathised with the mum's feelings.

"That’s so awful. Sounds like she didn’t deserve a gift in the first place!" said one.

Another wrote: "This is so insanely rude. I'm assuming she must have been like this prior to this gift, though, and she doesn’t seem like a very nice person."

"I would be extremely hurt and disappointed. There is no way my mum or MIL wouldn’t cherish it. That would be the last present," said a third.

However, others shared that it wouldn't bother them as much.

"I’d rather her return it and get something she will wear. That’s the whole point of giving a gift you want them to enjoy it. If she wasn’t going to enjoy the present I’d personally rather her exchange it for something she will enjoy," said one mum. "I can understand you being upset, she should have communicated this with you and perhaps you all could have gone together to pick something together as a family."

And a different user said: "Once given a gift you've got no say on what happens next. Not everyone is sentimental. Perhaps you were hoping the gift would help with the relationship or bond, which is a lot of pressure to put on a gift to do the 'heavy lifting'. If you want the relationship to improve, focus on that, or give no or lower-value gifts in future so you don't feel hurt."

Originally published as I can't believe what my mum did with the gift my kids picked out for her