I spent months planning for the perfect Christmas. Now my selfish mother-in-law’s sneaky act could ruin everything… and my husband is on HER side

An Australian mum revealed her festive season turned into a ‘nightmare’ after her mother-in-law called her ‘selfish’ and accused her of ‘ruining Christmas’ over a ‘little’ act.

The mother, who had meticulously planned her children’s Christmas gifts this year, explained that she and her husband decided to spend the holiday with her in-laws, four hours away, to make the season extra special.

She ordered all the gifts online and had them sent directly to her mother-in-law’s house to save time.

“My mother-in-law said she didn’t mind packing them all up before we arrived,” the mother revealed on Reddit.

“When we got here, she told me that most of the gifts were wrapped and stored in their basement. She insisted that I rest after the trip, so I left it to her.”

But later, curiosity got the better of her and she decided to look at the presents while her mother-in-law took a nap – when she made a breathtaking discovery.

“I went to their basement and noticed that the larger gifts already had gift tags taped to them. When I turned the cards over, they all said ‘From Grandma’. Not just one or two, all the big ones!’

Shocked, the mother immediately told her husband, who admitted he knew about the switch.

He said his mother asked if she could hang up some of her tags because she “didn’t want to disappoint her grandsons.”

“He didn’t mind, especially since this is the only Christmas we spend at their house,” she explained.

But the mother was furious.

“Most of the bigger gifts are things I pre-ordered months ago. “I thought about it a lot and even had some toys personalized with their names, which cost a lot of money,” she said.

When her mother-in-law woke up, the mother confronted her about the gift card exchange.

‘She got very upset and told me I was being selfish. She even tried to make me feel guilty by saying that this could be one of the last Christmases she will have because she is getting older.

‘She’s 71, she’s not that old! Then she said I ruined Christmas.’

Now the mother remains conflicted about how to proceed.

The mother, who had meticulously planned Christmas gifts for her children this year, explained that she and her husband had decided to spend the holidays with her in-laws.

‘I don’t know what to do. Should I leave her tags on and apologize? Or put my own tags back on and tell her she should have bought more? I just want to keep the peace for my children, but this is turning into a nightmare.”

Hundreds sided with the mother and assured her that her response was appropriate.

“Your MIL is going too far here and taking advantage of a situation. What did she actually get for the grandchildren??

‘She shouldn’t have asked your husband and he knew very well that she only did that to get around you. It was clear that you were the one she organized everything with to do with the presents until she decided she wanted to put her name on them.

‘Very deceptive of her and really stupid that your husband didn’t tell you straight away, even though he was okay with it. Maybe he should help more with presents too,” someone said.

A second wrote: ‘The man has dropped the ball here, both by not contributing to the gift planning and by giving his mother credit for his wife’s hard work without even consulting her. It’s worrying that he doesn’t see how unfair and disrespectful it is.”

‘If she doesn’t want to disappoint the children, she should buy them something. I would rip those tickets off.”

But others criticized the mother’s “strange” behavior.

“Did you buy the gifts for recognition or because you thought the children would be happy with them?” someone asked. “I wouldn’t have a problem with this at all, it seems strange, but that’s no problem.”

“I can’t speak for everyone, but as a kid I didn’t really care what the gift tag was, it was all about the gift. It may annoy you, but the kids don’t care. It’s a stupid move on your MIL’s part, but is it worth the fight?’ said another.

A third advised: ‘She asked your husband and he said it was fine. Run to Kmart or wherever and buy a few more gifts and make it up to her to make Christmas wonderful and magical for your family.”