Mom Says She’s ‘At a Loss for Words’ After Her In-Laws Gift 40 Presents to Her 2-Year-Old on Christmas

A mom says Christmas at her house spiraled after her in-laws arrived with an overwhelming number of presents for her toddler.

In a post shared on Reddit, the woman wrote that she and her husband have been trying to keep gift-giving reasonable for their 2-year-old. This year, they chose around five to 10 items total—mostly small additions to games he already plays or activities he already enjoys—because they don’t want him to expect a mountain of gifts.

But on Christmas Day, she says her mother-in-law and sister-in-law showed up carrying five laundry baskets filled with wrapped toys, plus two additional boxes. By her estimate, that added up to roughly 40 presents just for her child.

As the pile grew in the living room, she said she started to panic.

She also recalled issues from the previous Christmas, when adults began unboxing and assembling toys while her son was still opening gifts. She described it as unsafe, with small pieces and screws around a young child, and said she and her husband agreed that this year, there would be no unboxing during the present-opening.

Even so, she says the large number of gifts created its own problem. Her son became confused about why he couldn’t stop to play, and she found herself repeatedly pulling him away for breaks and snacks. She described the whole scene as “pure chaos,” adding that her mother-in-law was largely opening items for him.

“It truly felt like it was all for her to relive a childhood she didn’t get,” she wrote.

The next day, the parents allowed their son to keep five age-appropriate toys and planned to donate the rest. Looking ahead, the mom said she intends to set firm limits next year—no more than five gifts, and no more than 10 total presents from her husband’s side of the family.

In the comments, others shared strategies that helped them reduce holiday overload. One suggested a strict “one gift per relative” rule and encouraged experience-based presents instead, like annual memberships to kid-friendly attractions.

Another commenter said they reached a compromise with grandparents: buy what you want, but it stays at the grandparents’ house.

A third person supported the boundary-setting and argued that her husband should take the lead in delivering and enforcing the limits, since it’s his family.