A man has sparked an online debate after requesting that his mother-in-law refrain from giving his children Christmas presents this year, following years of what he described as “awful” gift-giving.

The man, who shared his experience anonymously on popular Reddit’s forum, said he has been married to his wife for 17 years and they have two children.

According to him, his mother-in-law has a long history of ignoring gift lists sent by family members, preferring instead to buy what she believed was the best.

“Each year she asks for a list and then completely ignores it. She thinks she knows better,” he wrote.

He recalled that when he and his wife bought a house 10 years ago, they requested household items as gifts. His mother-in-law bought them towels that year, which they appreciated, but then continued to give them towels every Christmas for the next six years.

The man further explained that his mother-in-law is also very competitive with gifts, saying, “Two years ago, our son got his favourite new toy from Santa. MIL immediately got jealous over how much he loved this toy and started shoving gifts in his face to try and distract him from it. Through the day, I caught MIL hiding his Santa gift so he would play with the toys she brought instead.”

Fearing that the growing tension around gifts could negatively affect his children’s love for Christmas, the man discussed the issue with his wife, and they both agreed to ask her mother to refrain from bringing gifts this year.

During a thanksgiving visit, the couple sat the woman and her husband down and explained their concerns. However, the conversation ended badly.

“She lost it on us,” he said, adding that she accused them of “ruining her few Christmases left with her grandbabies” and later questioned whether she would even attend Christmas dinner.

He said she then ignored both him and his wife for the rest of the evening.

Now uncertain if he handled the matter correctly, the man took to Reddit to ask users whether he was wrong for setting boundaries regarding Christmas gifts.

The post has since attracted widespread reactions, with users divided over whether the man was acting in his children’s best interests or being unreasonable.