A woman has expressed her shock after she was given a list of acceptable presents for her two-year-old niece’s birthday.
She took to Mumsnet to chat with fellow mums about the issue. She wanted to see if her reaction was unreasonable or acceptable.
Her brother and sister-in-law wanted to know how much money she was going to spend on their child’s birthday gift, so they could issue a list of approved presents.
She revealed that the couple, who sent out the strict list, usually put £10 in a card when her children celebrated their birthdays.
The women also shared that her relationship with her sibling and his partner is not that strong. “We have very minimal contact, they don’t ask about the kids and have very little interaction with us.”
The aunt refused to respond to the cheeky message because she thought they overstepped the line. She was so taken aback by how rude the pair were.
Many people prefer to pick out their own gift for a child, they think it’s more meaningful if they spend time choosing something they think the child would like.
She explained to the pair that she would prefer to find a gift herself, but they replied abruptly saying, “not to bother.”
She asked fellow Mumsnet users who was being unreasonable. Many users responded and believed she had a right to be upset.
One user commented saying that the pair went too far when they asked her how much money she planned to spend on her niece’s gift.
Many users felt like the idea of sending out a gift list was clever as it would ensure that the child would genuinely like the present.
One user praised the idea saying, “gifts aren't duplicates, don't take up too much room and stand a chance of being used. The random gifts we get often don't get played with which is a waste.”
Sending out a gift list is a promising idea, but her brother and sister-in-law’s approach to it was the main problem with the Mumsnet community.
“Insisting that everyone sticks to the list is rude, people should be able to pick and choose”, said another member of Mumsnet.
Numerous users felt like the idea of a gift list for such a young child was too demanding. They felt like the idea would create problems further down the line.
“All it does is teach kids that they can have exactly what they want just by asking for it, instead of teaching them to understand the thought that goes into choosing a present and being grateful that someone bought them something nice.”
