When there’s trouble with in-laws, there’s no peace. Many individuals are choosing to go no-contact with family members, including their own in-laws. There’s usually good reason for this. When the relationship brings too much emotional stress and trauma, it may be time to walk away. This is what one Tennessee woman found out about her mother-in-law and the drama that followed her. Now, she’s speaking up about how Christmas felt before she went no-contact and the stress that came along with something as simple as gift-giving.
Giving and receiving gifts during the holiday season is supposed to be fun. It’s supposed to be a time when you show loved ones how much you care about them. But, for Hannah Strauss (@hannahgstrauss on TikTok), it was a stressful situation when it involved her dramatic mother-in-law. She’s recently gone no-contact with her MIL, but she shares a story about the awful things her alleged loved one showed how much she “cared.”
Hannah said that, while her MIL loved gift-giving, the gifts she picked out were not “nice” toward others’ feelings. Instead, she did it so that she could “feel better” about herself. Hannah said her MIL would give them things they expressly didn’t want, and then she would be upset when people didn’t show her “immense gratitude.” She would manipulate them and use tears to make it seem like they were in the wrong. An example of this was receiving 18-month and 6T clothing for her daughter, even though she was currently wearing size 3T. Her MIL knew this and kept buying her clothing that was way too small. And why would you waste your own money doing that?
To put icing on the cake, Hannah said that her MIL bought her toddler daughter a “decorative rat.” She claimed that Hannah’s daughter would love playing with it, but she didn’t appreciate it. Because why would she? Hannah said it was a decorative object and wasn’t even a toy. Her MIL’s absurd gift-giving wasn’t meant for them whatsoever. It was meant to make her feel good about herself so she could say that she did something. At that point, it would make more sense to give them a small gift card to show them she was thinking about them. It sounds frustrating, and I totally get it.
In the end, Hannah was scrutinized for not thanking her MIL for the unwanted gifts. Luckily, it doesn’t matter anymore, because she chose to go no-contact after repeated episodes of her MIL showing her selfishness in other ways. One commenter agreed with Hannah that she was in the right for being upset about this. They said, “Buying the wrong sizes is classic narcissistic gift giving.” Another person pointed out, “A gift that is not wanted or needed is not a gift, it’s a burden. It puts you in a position to feel ‘thankful’ when you’re not. You’re the bad guy for not appreciating it or using it. I’d rather just never get a ‘gift’ from people like that.” Amen to that.
