MIL guilted me into giving her my Mother’s Day gifts to my wife, then screwed me over by buying more gifts anyway
My MIL was visiting us last week. The day before she left, I went out and got my wife the perfect set of gifts: 5 Pokémon booster packs, a sunflower bouquet delivery (her favorite flower), and a $25 Target gift card.
When I got home, my MIL was on the couch nearly crying because she “couldn’t figure out what to get” my wife. She talked about how she’d spent hours scrolling online at night trying to think of something meaningful.
For context, my wife and MIL had a rocky relationship growing up, and things have only improved in recent years. So I felt genuinely bad for her.
She asked what I got my wife, and after I told her, I made the incredibly dumb decision to give those gifts to my MIL so she could give them to my wife instead. I figured I could just go buy something else later.
So MIL leaves, gives my wife all the gifts, and understandably looks amazing for it.
Yesterday I spent the entire day scrambling to replace everything: gave my wife a Pokémon ETB I was saving for myself (but that I knew she wanted), bought a combination of the snacks and drinks she likes, and wrote her a handwritten card.
What absolutely has me pissed off, though, is that today we received ANOTHER flower delivery. She also bought my wife lunch delivered to our door. AND THEN she called to tell me she also ordered us an edible arrangement that I had to go pick up.
If she already had all this planned, why did she give me the whole “I have no idea what to get her” breakdown that ended with me handing over all my gifts? Even though I ended up being able to get my wife a good set of gifts, it (a) ended up causing me significant stress since I had to go back out to get another set of gifts and (b) I spent my own money on both sets of gifts.
Am I right to be pissed off? Should I bring this up to my wife, or anyone really (beyond reddit)?
TL;DR – I felt bad for my MIL (who was stressing about what to get my wife (her daughter) for mother's day). I foolishly gave her the gifts I had planned to give my wife. MIL gives my wife the gifts, looks amazing for it, and ends up sending us more gifts. I took all the stress of gift buying and my wallet took two purchase hits.
