Mom Refuses to Let In-Laws Come Over to Watch Kids Open Presents on Christmas Morning: ‘I Want It to Be Sacred’

Mar. 15, 2025

Presents under a Christmas tree (stock image).Photo:Getty

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A woman and her husband are having a Christmas confrontation.

The woman, 28, turned to Reddit’s popular“Am I the A——?”forum to detail a recent argument she had with her husband, 27, sharing that they disagree on “how to handleChristmas mornings” with their young kids.

The Redditor wrote that before having children, she and her husband used to alternate years with each of their parents and spendChristmas Eveand Christmas morning at those respective homes. However, her ideal Christmas morning changed once she had children, who are now ages 2 and 1.

“After having kids, I want to be home for Christmas morning, and then spend the rest of the day with my family or his family depending on year,” she said. “It is still such a special moment for me and I want it to be sacred and intimate amongst the four of us. We only get so many years of little kids on Christmas morning and I want to soak up every single moment.”

A pile of Christmas presents (stock image).Getty

Because of this, she suggested that she and her husband drive to his parent’s house this year after the four of them open a few select gifts at their own home, noting that it’s a 3.5-hour drive and that they plan to spend several days with her in-laws.

But her husband disagreed.

“He is calling me selfish and inconsiderate of his parents’ feelings because it would mean the world to them to watch the grandkids open presents from Santa,” she wrote. “We had the same argument last year. I told my husband that they had their turn with their own kids, and this is now about us and our children.”

“I still want to see and celebrate with his family, but only after we have Christmas just the 4 of us on that morning,” she concluded, while also asking fellow Redditors if she was “being unreasonable.”

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Another wrote, “They’ve had their kids and chose their own traditions, now it’s your turn. Going over later and having them open the grandparents presents isn’t unreasonable. Your [husband] is putting his parents wants above you and your kids. That’s a problem. Nta [not the a——].”

source: people.com