Gifts for Parents/In Laws

mileswithmyles · November 2017

What is everyone getting for their parents/in-laws for Christmas?

JNCPro3130 · November 2017

I struggle with this every year! I usually have DH take care of his parents. My mom loves all things wine. I know nothing about it but I'm looking into getting something wine related for her.

tincupchalice · November 2017

We have a limited relationship with the in-laws. They're getting a pair of homemade candles, an ornament DS1 made, maybe some handprint art, and a box of homemade cookies.

My family will get the above plus my mom's birthday is the 21st and I'm making her a cardigan for that. Then I got her a tea sampler for Christmas and Dad is getting a make your own hot sauce kit. Brother is getting bourbon infused coffee beans.

ivyvines6 · November 2017

This year my parents and inlaws are getting a framed 8x10 wedding portrait, a framed ornament from J, and a custom yankee candle with the ultrasound from this one. (I’m all about pictures)

cups4 · November 2017

We are doing holiday photos tomorrow. I bought an 8x10 matted frame to fit a 5x7 photo from the session and the toddler will decorate the matted part. My H will do whatever he wants for his parents and I'll get my dad cases of his favorite soda and a gas gift card.

suchaglencoco · November 2017

My mother wants a ladder. Yup, a 6 foot ladder. So that's what she's getting.
I bought 8 wooden, holiday themed ornaments yesterday. The kids will each paint 4, 2 to each set of grandparents and then 1 for us.
I told DH he needs to get a list or ideas from his parents or they're getting nothing but candles I got on clearance at Kohl's a few months ago. I'm just so tired of having to come up with lists for the 4 of us and his parents not even giving us ideas.
I also told him he needs to get a list from his sisters for their kids or we're getting them candy and that's it.
I hate when people act surprised that it's holiday time and have no lists or ideas for their kids. It boggles my mind!!!
I have an amazon wishlist always open for our kids. Throughout the year I add to it when I think of different things. It's really not that hard!

jhysmath · November 2017

@ivyvines6 that's what I wanted to do for our parents and aunts and uncles. Pictures from our wedding, I purposely didn't share our photographers photos for this purpose. I was going to do one photo of us and then a photo of the family groups. I mention it to DH and he says, no one wants a picture of someone else's wedding for Christmas.

@suchaglencoco in with you, I'm sick of getting people things they don't need. I personally would prefer no gift to the random assortment of gifts MIL gets DH and I. We don't come up with a list though because there isn't anything we "need" or really want. DH mentioned he was saving up for a drone after playing with the one the school owns, he's thinking a $5-600 drone. MIL decides she's going to get him one from Christmas. A $30 one from family dollar, I know she had good intentions, but it's a waste of money.

mileswithmyles · November 2017

@suchaglencoco we all keep running Amazon lists throughout the year so that we can add when we think of something. Shopping for my mom is hard because she’s very particular. At least she makes a list so I just stick to it. My ILs are the worst because they tell us not to get them anything and that just feels weird.

ivyvines6 · November 2017

@mileswithmyles I hate that game. Gift cards for the win! Anyone who says they don’t want/like presents is a lying liar face.

mileswithmyles · November 2017

@ivyvines6 right?! And then if we didn’t buy them something, MIL would drop all kinds of passive-aggressive hints about how we forgot about her and don’t care because we didn’t get her a gift.

jhysmath · November 2017

@mileswithmyles and @ivyvines6 we just moved into a new place that is smaller than the place we just moved from. It has no basement or attic to store stuff in and the bedrooms are half the size of the other place, but it does have an extra bedroom and a sun room. We have filled the few closets with our stuff and I have no idea what we're going to do with it once baby needs a closet. We really can't fit anything else if we plan on having room for baby and stuff. So really I don't want anything that I feel I have to hang on to because it's a present. We got everything I needed for our wedding before we moved and now I don't even have room for all of that stuff because we no longer have a pantry and our cupboards now hold food.

Our other home so has all of FIL's stuff in it, though we did get rid of most of the hoarding, but 1850s farm houses don't come with closets either. Until we teardown the kitchen and put on an addition I don't want more stuff. Contribute to our vacation fund, but people think giving cash is tacky.

theletlers · November 2017

My parents are all about lists. I'm getting my mom a griddle and my dad a shirt. DS will make them something but I haven't decided for sure what. For MIL and her husband I have no clue. For FIL we usually give him one of those meat and cheese and crackers gift set things and DS gives him a big tin of popcorn. I don't know about his girlfriend yet. I wish we only had four parents to buy for and not six.
I also had a hard time coming up with anything I really wanted. I want no tangible things. A night off of dishes, to cook a decent meal in peace and quiet, for my husband to mop the floor so I don't have to...

sandbar517 · November 2017

I make my husband deal with what to get his family. I usually go "in" on a big gift with my siblings for my mom, but I'm rarely the one to think of what to get her. Since I have such a big family, I buy stuff for my younger sister and her husband (they live about five minutes from us and we see them at least once or twice a week), and their two kids, but that's it. We used to put all the siblings'/spouses' names in a hat and pick, so everyone only had to buy one gift, but it went up in flames and ended in disaster more times than not, so we just scrapped that idea altogether.

MissusTexas · November 2017

We’re giving 23andme tests. They’re having a 2 for 1 sale through Thanksgiving and they’re into that stuff so they’ll love it.

oywiththepoodlesalready · November 2017

We just started talking about this yesterday. I'm totally clueless about what to get for my parents and inlaws. They don't do lists so I always have to come up with what to get. I do usually do a hand made gift from DD but no ideas for that yet. I really need to get on this!

I'm getting my sister dinner plates because she only has 4 and is constantly having to wash them. She doesn't see this as a problem but I find it annoying when we visit.

sandbar517 · November 2017

@missustexas This is what I told MH that I want for Christmas, too! I also would love to get the twins tested to see if they truly are identical or not, but have never been willing to pay for the testing, so I told him to put that on my list, too LOL

doraleigh35 · November 2017

Shutterfly has 50% off of photo books until this evening. I made a book of DD's first year and everyone is getting a copy of that along with a few small gifts likely ordered off of Amazon. I hate shopping for parents/ILs every year. Both mine and DH's parents are divorced so it ends up being 8 parents and they live in various locations across North America. My Mom/StepDad/Brothers are the easiest, my Mom just sends me a list. I used to get annoyed by it, but now I love it.

zizzabell523 · November 2017

I think for DH's parents, we're getting them meal vouchers nad tickets to a local theatre. I have no idea what to get my Dad, though. He's a dentist and has developed a passion for scuba diving. I got him scuba-inspired trinkets last year, and he's covered up in dental gifts from clients. We live 400 miles away, so it's tough to know what he really needs. I wish he'd get another dog to keep him company and give him something to care for, but he doesn't seem too keen on another pet. He's always going to concerts, parties, and going out with his lady-friend, who I think is fantastic BTW.

mamabird515 · November 2017

I hate planning for Christmas personally. Everyone forced to buy presents just because just annoys me. I always did family presents for my sister but they never reciprocate, which is fine, but we stopped doing it a few years ago when we were saving for our wedding, then house, then baby. It’s just easier. But my H parents always want to exchange but they are so hard to shop for. There’s a rather large income jump between us and my Hs brother and SIL and when they want to go in on presents, they are like 200-300 each and that’s not at all realistic for us. We haven’t really found a groove of what’s appropriate and how to set limits.
side rant: they usually give us gift cards and my husband will always get more than me and I think it’s so weird. Just do the same?!

silverhope · November 2017

@tincupchalice I have never heard of bourbon-infused coffee beans. I feel like that would have made my old job more bearable after a morning coffee.

@suchaglencoco my mom wanted a ladder last year for Christmas! She lives alone and wanted a lightweight one for reaching lightbulbs, etc.

@doraleigh35 I love love love shutterfly books. I make those for myself and my mom all the time when they have sales.

@zizzabell523 we are also giving my ILs tickets to the theater. I really like giving experiences more than objects. They tend to be more meaningful. I did mess up one year and get my MIL a spa day she never used

But they like going to shows and restaurants, so now we usually do that.

We told my BIL and SIL no more adult gifts. So we are only buying for their baby now, which means I have fewer presents to come up with. I'm so happy they agreed ha.

sandbar517 · November 2017

@silverhope "adult" gifts, huh? Bet your Christmases were exciting

I'm totally kidding. Like I said, I have 17 nieces and nephews, so we definitely don't even buy for all of them anymore either, let alone the adults.

silverhope · November 2017

@sandbar517 lol. I didn't think about how that was written ha. No more gifts for adult family members

Image: https://media.giphy.com/media/xTiTnvrAUdsNB7tRJu/giphy.gif

sandbar517 · November 2017

@silverhope Thumbs up on the gif LOL

tincupchalice · November 2017

@silverhope I don't think it's actually alcoholic! I think they do something with the coffee beans and old bourbon aging barrels, IDK. I don't drink coffee!

Ceridwen77 · November 2017

You guys are amazing for already having so many ideas. Is it bad to say I haven’t thought of anything? Except this art print that my husband has been eyeing, but it’s not easy to find so I’m trying to get ahold of it without much luck.

suchaglencoco · November 2017

PSA- Shutterfly has up to 10 free magnets going on today. They all have to be the same design so I just ordered 10 to give out as Christmas gifts and one for us.

They ended up being $21 for taxes , shipping and handing and should get here by the second week of December.

1 gift for the inlaws done!

charlestonchew · November 2017

Is anyone doing gifts that incorporate baby for the grandparents? I was thinking an ornament with a picture of the ultrasound but my AS isn't til the 18th so I don't know if I could have that done in time. Does anyone have any other ideas or things they're doing?

psgoulet · November 2017

I'm making my parents and in-laws "grandparent kits"
Kits consist of:
1. Requisite grandma/grandpa mugs. They say things like, "I'm a grandma, what's your superpower?" and so on.
2. T-shirts. I asked each of them to consider what they want the baby to call them. Dad wants to be called grandpapa and mom wants to be called grandma or abuelita. MIL likes nana, and FIL is fine with grandpa. So I was careful to find a t-shirt that says "All my favorite people call me grandpapa" for my dad, and "Most amazing abuelita ever" for my mom.
3. Books to read to the baby. I got "How to Babysit a Grandpa" and "Grandpa's Wishlist" on Amazon for the dads. And "Grandma's Wishes" and "How to Babysit a Grandma" for the moms.
4. Picture frame with nice matting that includes a poem about how wonderful grandsons are. They can put a photo of the baby in there when he's born.

They are gift-basket style, so I've included some comfort items like new slippers and such to bulk them up a bit.

I found everything on Amazon and Etsy. Except for the photo frames with matte board. Got the frames at AC Moore and made the matting myself. Slippers are from Walmart.

suchaglencoco · November 2017

Gifts like that are only really fun for the first 1 or 2 grandkids. This one is 6th and 9th so the grandparents are pretty much gifted out with that stuff.

jessnoel89 · November 2017

We don't usually do gifts with the in laws since our relationship with them is rocky (to put it mildly) but we'll send them some updated family photos. As for my parents, we are totally stumped! My husband has been reading a lot this year (over 100 books and counting) so he wants to get everyone a book. We'll see. I wanted to salt dough ornaments with my son's handprints. Anyone done them before? I'm not very crafty lol.

mileswithmyles · November 2017

We ended up getting FIL a new flannel jacket and MIL a purse from Nordstrom. My mom is getting the two pairs of Toms she wanted, a new Soma sleep shirt, and the Chip and Joanna Gaines book.

ivyvines6 · November 2017

mileswithmyles said:

We ended up getting FIL a new flannel jacket and MIL a purse from Nordstrom. My mom is getting the two pairs of Toms she wanted, a new Soma sleep shirt, and the Chip and Joanna Gaines book.

Que???

LCKM · November 2017

So many great ideas! Thank you all for sharing! I'm still clueless about what I'm going to get.

mileswithmyles · November 2017

@ivyvines6 https://www.amazon.com/Magnolia-Story-Chip-Gaines/dp/0718079183

tincupchalice · November 2017

jessnoel89 said:

We don't usually do gifts with the in laws since our relationship with them is rocky (to put it mildly) but we'll send them some updated family photos. As for my parents, we are totally stumped! My husband has been reading a lot this year (over 100 books and counting) so he wants to get everyone a book. We'll see. I wanted to salt dough ornaments with my son's handprints. Anyone done them before? I'm not very crafty lol.

I've done them and it was fine. But I've heard that cinnamon applesauce ornaments are easier to do. IDK!

dem068a · November 2017

Just got an echo dot for my FIL. It’s on sale and he is hard to shop for, but likes music so I think he will like it

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