A woman didn’t get her son a Christmas present after her daughter-in-law told her not to. During their Christmas celebration, her daughter-in-law asked where her husband’s gift was, leaving the mom in disbelief.
A woman wondered whether she was too harsh for kicking her son and daughter-in-law out of the house during Christmas. She asked Reddit users for their opinions as to whether or not she was wrong.
The doting mother loved her three children dearly and got along with two of her children-in-law. She had two sons and a daughter, with her son Patrick being a little different than the others.
The mom described Patrick as asocial and introverted. He was particularly cruel to his younger sister by putting her down and making fun of her.
This mean trait rubbed off on Patrick’s wife, whom he’d been with for 15 years, married for eight. It wasn’t only the woman’s younger daughter who had difficulty getting along with Patrick’s wife – she did, too.
The mom tried to be as welcoming, loving, and warm to her daughter-in-law as she was to her two other kids-in-law. However, it was difficult for her because of her daughter-in-law’s attitude.
One day, while baking cookies with her daughter and daughter-in-law, the woman found herself in a strange situation. Her daughter-in-law asked her not to get Patrick a gift for Christmas because he “doesn’t want any.”
A part of the woman knew this was true. Patrick wasn’t big on gifts, but he appreciated them nonetheless. She’d always give him practical gifts he could use as upgrades to those he already had, like pots, pans, and power tools. However, her daughter-in-law insisted he didn’t want a gift that particular year.
When Christmas came, and everyone was exchanging presents, the woman’s daughter-in-law turned to her and said, “Where’s Patrick’s present?”
The woman was stunned and replied, “You told me not to get him anything, remember?” What her daughter-in-law did next was the last straw for the woman.
Her daughter-in-law denied the entire thing, but the woman had her daughter to back her up. When her daughter did, her daughter-in-law said the most insensitive thing to them: “You guys must be off your meds again.”
In disbelief, the woman snapped. She was so humiliated that she got mad at her daughter-in-law and slammed Patrick for allowing his wife to treat his own family like “trash.”
The furious mom felt the need to ask both Patrick and her daughter-in-law to leave. Her other son thought she was overreacting, but the woman felt disrespected and mocked in her own home.
On Reddit, the mom wondered whether she was wrong for kicking them out during Christmas. While the mom knew she “ruined” the celebration for the couple, she wondered whether anybody cared about how she felt, too.
To her surprise, people sided with her and felt her daughter-in-law was in the wrong. “Yeah, it sounds like she’s purposely trying to sabotage you two with the gift thing, which is super weird,” one user said.
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byu/momvsthedil from discussion
inAmItheAsshole
“That’s pure gaslighting and possible alienation (‘See? They don’t care about you! They didn’t get you anything!’ That’s what DIL was possibly going for). Not to mention just plain cruel,” another person wrote.
Whether or not the daughter-in-law played a prank on her mother-in-law or it was her tactic to alienate her husband from his parents slowly, people sided with the mom. “You did exactly the right thing. The only way to stop a bully is to stand up to them and let them know you’re done,” one Reddit user concluded.
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byu/momvsthedil from discussion
inAmItheAsshole
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byu/momvsthedil from discussion
inAmItheAsshole
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byu/momvsthedil from discussion
inAmItheAsshole
What do you think of the woman’s situation? Do you think she did the right thing, kicking her son and daughter-in-law out of the house? What would you have done in her situation?