"Interesting" gift from my MIL...

[TigH]

First off - I love my inlaws and I am happy that they are alive and that we get to spend time with them. MIL just turned 73 and FIL celebrated his 80th in October.

That said - they sure have their quirks!

Went to visit them on Sunday to celebrate MILs birthday. She has EVERYTHING, so we bought them dinner and gave her a Yankee Candle as a present.

She gave us early Christmas presents. My husband got a gift card for Home Depot. I got a very old, very used, potato masher. Not her old electric beaters, but the manual kind. Wrapped in Christmas paper, but still pretty unusual. It's not an antique, just her old potato masher. Apparently I had commented once about wanting one... She also gave me a pineapple corer. I had mentioned before that I thought it would be neat to core pineapples so I could use the pineapple shell to serve tropical drinks in (so I am really impressed that she remebered that one!)

She is a sweetheart and I know her heart is in the right place, I just find some of her gift choices very odd. She bought a rough looking baby Kermit the Frog stuffed toy wearing a Santa hat several years ago to give to my husband (he is a Muppets fan but this toy was looking really beat up!). She also bought me a Santa ornament at a yard sale once. Santa is clearly missing a leg (broken off)!

Hubby and I usually have a good chuckle over the gifts once we are on our way home from their house. He has wondered out loud several times if senility is starting to settle in. For the first two years of our marriage she forgot my birthday. No big deal. For my last birthday she made a big deal out of giving me some earrings from China. The jewelry box looked pretty old. I showed them to my sister and she took them out of the box and discovered lots of "crust" behind the earrings...they had been previously worn!

MIL is always very warm and caring when I am around. I know she sincerely likes me and we have a great relationship. I just find it odd that I get these whacky gifts. While we were there on Sunday she was going on and on about the curio cabinet she had just purchased for their house cleaner. This lady has been working for them for about 6 months or so, yet I get broken ornaments, old potato mashers, crusty earrings and velour stretch pants that were marked down to $9.99. Sorry, I know I sound shallow. This just seems weird to me.

Merry Christmas!

 

[JulesMom]

Those are different gifts, but at least she remembered

 

[FairyGF]

OMGoodness! Wow, I'm not sure I'd know what to say upon unwrapping these special gifts. A potato masher...eh? Families sure can be challenging at times, mine own included.

In any case "Merry Christmas TigH!"

 

[mrsapalm]

Sounds a bit like Aunt Bethany (Nat'l Lampoon's Christmas Vacation)!
-MrsAPalm

 

[CamColt]

LOL! Thats too cute. Definitely better than some of my MIL's gifts...lingerie & a dustpan.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Well I suppose really there is nothing to be done about it, really. I have similiar in-laws that would buy us gifts from the thrift stores and mail it to us.
At first we laughed about it, then we were irritated, now we have settled into "its not in our control, and don't give it a second thought" mentality.
It was hard to get to that place but we did it.

 

[TigH]

Phew! I remembered reading earlier in the holiday season about some "interesting" gifts people had received from inlaws (and their own family). Just wanted to share my own experiences (now that my memory was refreshed).

They really are lovely people. When we were married (1997) I used to let it bother me that she got me these bizzarre things, but over time I have just learned to laugh. The thing is she is SO excited and happy when she gives us these presents that I KNOW she is not doing it to slight me.

We still hang the broken Santa ornament on the tree. It makes us laugh when we unwrap it and remember opening it up and seeing his missing leg for the first time!

In 2001 for my birthday she got me a summer dress. It was all cotton, white, with flourescent flowers on it. Came down to my knees. She said, "I have one just like it and so does Betty across the street." Betty is just a few years younger than MIL. It was not a dress that a (then) 32 year old would be caught dead in. That is when we started wondering about her senility. Couldn't figure out why a 70something year old would buy the same dress she and another 70something year old own for a 32 year old (who still gets carded when she buys beer!)

Thanks for reading, guys! I knew you'd understand!

 

[newmousecateer]

I hope you will forgive me, but I was LOL when I read this. I was able to laugh because of the way you described your MIL....caring and loving. That was the key. Yes, it is sad that she is apparently getting senile. But she is giving you what she thinks you really want....a potato masher! And she probably thinks it is more special because she gave you her potato masher.

And you and DH are very special people. You accept the gifts lovingly (I would laugh to after I got into the car too).

I love the ornament. Something tells me that ornament will carry a lot of good memories for a long time and find it's place on your tree for many years to come.

(PS - I'm mailing you my old potato peeler)

 

[CathyCanada]

Poor Karen! Sounds like your MIL may be a tad "cheap" and buys at garage sales. The curio thing is odd though....

My MIL gave me 3 pairs of pantyhose for my birthday one year. For my last birthday she gave me a Doulton figurine that I had always admired and she knows I am a "knick knack" person. Her DD (aka the Wicked Witch of the West) always talks about what she wants from the house, when her Mum passes away when she comes to visit from the West Coast. My MIL is kind of bothered by this and I think she gave the figurine to me because she wanted me to have it and that sentiment alone meant the world to me. She is a sweet lady and we have grown much closer over the years.

If you want to talk unusual MIL gifts, just ask jeafl (Jill) she has some GREAT stories!!
CC

 

[Gillian]

I'll trade ya for an egg slicer! That sounds sweet, really.

My MIL goes to yard sales and flea markets all the time! Every week is like a birthday because you never know what she'll get for you. She loves finding treasures The funny thing is, sometimes she find special things for me (Disney, usually ) and she's starting hiding them because her daughter/my SIL will go through everyone's bags and take the good stuff!

 

[ABCMom]

My grandmother is the same way. When she went to Germany several years ago, she "brought me back" a plastic-stickie-hook. The absolute best gift however, was one she gave to my cousin after a trip to the Bahamas, it was a red baseball cap on which she had written on the front (in pencil, no less) "The Bahamas" in her scribbly barely legible handwritting. That was probably 15 years ago and he was in Jr High or High School. I think she still thought of him as a child and that he wouldn't notice. It is a huge joke in our family. And I know for a fact when he moved into his first OWN home last year it got a special place in the curio cabinet. I am sure he will treasure it for the rest of his life, just becasue it's so typical "Grandma."

 

[HunnyPots]

Sounds a bit like Aunt Bethany (Nat'l Lampoon's Christmas Vacation)!

That's the first thing I thought of as I was reading! At least she get didn't wrap up lime jello or her cat.

 

[luv2nascar]

My mother is the queen of bad gift giving
not because she's cheap but because she is selfish
you will get something because she thinks you need it not because you want it
Once she was visiting and we had pie and I didn't have a pie server. I'll never forget Martha Stewarts face. I told my husband when she left that I was getting a pie server for christmas and I did.
Once my parents were purchasing a christmas present for a friends husband who is a large man. My dad holds up a 3x and says I think I'll get Joe this one. I say dad my DH could wear that size Joe is bigger than DH. Why don't you get him a 5x.
My dad says well if this one won't fit him than he better go on a diet cause I'm not buying a bigger size. Duh buy someone a gift you know won't fit them?? that's stupid.

 

[SonjaB]

Luvs 2, I wouldn't mind so much a pie server as a gift......I was once accused of stealing my ex-GMIL's pie server. Why in the WORLD would I steal a freaking pie server????? Okay, aside from the obvious, stealing is WRONG and I wouldn't steal anything ever, it wasn't even a nice silver one, it was a Tupperware-thingy with a little slidey-thingy that slid the pie off of the server (GEEZZZZZZ!!!!!). Why in heck would ANYONE steal that thing????

I still loved her, she was just a little nutty sometimes, LOL LOL LOL.

 

[connimac]

OK, my turn.......my (former) MIL was and still probably is, the WORST gift giver, poor thing. She tries, I KNOW she tries, but sometimes it makes you wonder ....... ANYWHO....one Christmas we are sitting around opening presents from her and as usual nothing was quite right, but so far everything was passable. Toys for the kids, a package of Tee shirts and socks for my husband and then with a big smile she hands me a VERY large white box with a big ribbon. "I just know you are going to love this......" words that made my heart stop and a cold lump begin to form in my stomach. I pull off the ribbon and open the box, pulling back the white tissue paper I begin to see pink...........LOTS of pink, now........let me make this clear for effect as well as clarity, I do not wear pink, it is not a good color for me and this was not just ANY old pink......this was Pepto Bismal pink.....
NOW......I start pulling this dress out.......yards of hot pink chiffon, floor length with long sleeves that ended in 3 inches of ruffle, ruffles on the skirt, ruffles around the neckline and.....to top it off.......A HUGE BOW in the back. To add insult to injury, I was a size 8 at the time (this was a few pounds ago) and the dress was a JUNIOR SIZE 15.....
apparently she thought I was going to the prom....the JUNIOR prom. My ex (bless his heart), started laughing so hard that he got choked and fell off the couch.......his mother thought he was having a heart attack and was distracted while I tried (unsuccessfully) to recover. ...........It was not a good night.
For years, every time we wanted a good laugh, we would pull the dress out of the hall closet......roll around on the floor for awhile.... and put it back in its place of honor.....every word is true, I swear! Ask Sonja......she and her brother STILL 25 years later, remember the dress......

 

[SonjaB]

Here it is! Only Mom's had more ruffles.

 

[connimac]

OMG.............THAT'S ITTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT

I didn't know it came with a HAT.........rofl

 

[dandave]

Well, I'd be happy with a used potato masher at this point. I have gotten no Christmas presents and 2 BD presents from my in-laws, since 1991. (DH called and asked them to send me a BD gift of NY specialty bread one of those years.) DH always gets a BD gift from them. They do always send the boys BD and Christmas gifts, too. Hmmm. Maybe they don't like me? Nooooo! That can't be.

 

[TigH]

connimac - that dress is hilarious!!!!!!! I'm sure it wasn't at the time you opened it, but OH MY GOODNESS! I think you win first prize!

Thanks for sharing all these stories, guys! It's great to know that I am in good company.

This is my last MIL/FIL story (I hope!) For our four or five year anniversary they got us a gift. Now we don't exchange gifts with them or my parents for either of their anniversaries, so I felt a bit odd about them getting us a gift. It just so happens that we got married the day after my birthday, so maybe this was a combo birthday/anniversary present.

Anyway, MIL calls to say that they have gotten us something VERY special. They had it custom made for us. I start asking for hints and all she'll say is that it's too big to fit in their trunk (they have a Mercury Grand Marquis - that's got a BIG trunk!) and it is for our yard. I'm thinking they had some type of ceramic tiled bird bath made for us (one year they got us a coyote or wolf fountain...very South Western design and we have more of an English Country style decor...) I convince myself it is some very cool looking yard art or a special bird bath or bird feeder (we love to feed the birds).

DH and I have to take his truck to their house. The suspense is killing us! For several months they have been gushing about this wonderful, custom made anniversary present. They escort us into the garage, and the present is (drumroll please...) a very tall "shadow" golf man. One of those larger-than-life human cut-outs painted black to look like someone's shadow. DH is a golfer, so naturally we would want this in our front yard (not). And they had one made for my BIL and his wife. I apologize to anyone who has one of these shadow creations - I have seen them before in other people's yards and they are just not my cup of tea. We were completely speechless! What were we going to do with a big cut out person?

He lives in our back yard on the border of the woods. I keep the weeds away from his feet and have mulched the area he stands in with pine needles. When MIL and FIL came to visit they seemed disappointed that he was not displayed in full glory on our front lawn.

On a more positive note, MIL is one heck of a baker and she sent us home with a huge platter full of holiday treats on Sunday afternoon.

 

[snoopy]

All I know is this thread has me ROLLING with LAUGHTER!