Pregnant Mom Gives Toddler Christmas Present Early without Telling Husband. Now, She Feels ‘Guilty’ for Keeping Him in the Dark

A pregnant mom is second-guessing her choice to give her toddler her Christmas present early, knowing she’ll likely be busy with a newborn during the holidays.

The mother shared her story on Reddit’s AITA forum, explaining that she and her husband have a 20-month-old daughter and are expecting their second baby sometime between Thanksgiving and Christmas.

This year, she planned to surprise her daughter with a Toniebox — a kid-friendly audio player that uses small character figurines to play stories and songs.

Her husband, she said, didn’t have much input. “He said if I thought our daughter would like it then to get it,” she wrote.

When she expressed to her mom that she felt sad about possibly missing her daughter’s reaction on Christmas morning, her mom suggested she give the gift early. “My mom said I should just give it to her early then since it doesn’t really matter,” she explained, adding that her mom often gives her granddaughter small presents throughout the year.

So she went ahead — taking out the Toniebox and letting her daughter choose one of the characters. They’ve been using it occasionally “to keep the novelty,” but she hasn’t told her husband. “I feel kind of guilty and like an a—— because I’m purposely not telling him,” she admitted, “but at the same time, it’s my gift to our daughter and it’s not like she isn’t going to get anything new.”

Commenters on Reddit largely felt she mishandled the situation — not because of the early gift, but because of the secrecy.

“Why are you making these decisions with your mother and not your husband?” one person asked. “You’re not an AH for the gift, but YTA for how you’re going about it.”

Another wrote, “The fact you want to give the gift early isn’t a problem — the only real problem is that you’re willing to lie by omission to your husband. When he finds out, he might wonder what else you’re hiding.”

Others pointed out that she took away her husband’s opportunity to enjoy that first-time reaction, too. “Your daughter might not understand Christmas, but your husband does,” one commenter noted. “You should’ve talked to him and celebrated early together as a family.”