My grinch-in-laws have a f****ing rude Xmas habit

"And yet, my husband makes it my problem every year."

We all know that it’s the thought that counts when it comes to gift giving. 

But when it comes to gifting to a complicated in-law… well, that’s practically rocket science.  

For one woman, it seems she’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t.  

“It’s coming up to Christmas and her birthday again and we are stuck for ideas because she doesn’t like ANYTHING we give her,” she explains in an online post this week.

“We know this because she opens it and gives it back saying “Oh, no thank you, you can keep that.”  

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RELATED: The self-serving gift my in-laws have given my son every Xmas since birth"

"Don’t need that"

She shared a few examples of her past gifting failures. 

“Last year we made her up a hamper of her favourite (we thought) treats,” she recounted.  

“She went through it and gave us back seven of the 10 items, saying ‘Don’t need that, bought some last week’, ‘don’t buy that brand, you can have that back’ and so on.” 

Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there. 

“The year before we got her vouchers for her favourite shop. She said “I don’t need anything from there at the moment, dear, you can keep that.”” she continued. 

“Another year we gave her a framed picture of her grandchildren, it went in a drawer. Never seen again.” 

By this point you're likely thinking just don't bother - think again! 

“She tells my husband every year that she will be very hurt if he doesn’t get her anything,” the woman added.

Image: iStock

RELATED: Mum issues ‘PSA for husbands everywhere’ to save their marriage at Xmas

Grinch-in-law

She's been left wondering if it's brutal honesty - or if the woman is giving the Grinch a run for his money.  

“I’m at the stage where I think she’s just f***ing rude but my husband has put it on me to work out a present for her,” she complained.  

She's now seeking helpful suggestions. 

"Personally I wouldn't buy her anything," one commenter wrote.  

"Literally buy something that you want, wrap it up and wait for it to come back.," another suggested. 

Some were more direct:  "Rude. Buy her a guide to manners!"  

"How dare he"

Others argued that her husband should step up. 

“If your husband thinks she should have a present then he can do the work of giving it to her,” wrote one person. 

“Absolutely 100% put this back on your husband. How dare he make this your job!” another said.   

Unfortunately her husband’s view aligns with his mother’s.

“I was brought up to believe that if someone gives you a gift, it’s common courtesy to accept it, but my husband thinks it’s more honest to say you don’t like it,” she explained.  

The issues don't stop at gifts, either. 

“In 99% of the scenarios we end up with something we don’t want and can’t return that we could only just afford in the first place,” she said.

“She won’t come to our house at Christmas and refuses to eat a meal cooked by anyone other than herself. If we go round there she spends the whole time complaining about how much work it involves."

Joy to the world of in-laws, right? 

Originally published as My grinch-in-laws have a f****ing rude Xmas habit