A good gift should reflect the recipient’s taste, not just the giver’s.

When a mother-in-law refuses to take “no wall space” for an answer, her gift transforms from a token of kindness into a towering demand.

Read on for the full story.

AITA for refusing to hang large poster from mother in law?

For Christmas, my mother-in-law got us a poster of a painting and some money to get it mounted and framed.

She thinks I have always wanted this—I do not remember this, and I do not want this.

They compile an exhaustive lists of reasons.

I know it is really kind of her, but:

1. The poster is huge at 90×60 cm.
2. My MIL (Canadian) bought it for us because she seems to think I told her I really liked a version of it in her house many years ago. I have no memory of this and, as a British person, was likely just making small talk.
3. She insists that it be framed and hung above our sofa to replace the artwork we already have and like.
4. We rent, and a frame that size and weight would be difficult to hang without damaging the walls.
5. She has told a number of people about this print and how much I like it—even swearing my mum to secrecy, even though she tried to dissuade my MIL.
6. To get it framed and mounted would be about five times more expensive than the cheap glossy poster itself.

Perhaps the most important reason: They already have artwork for the space!

We have a number of actual local artist prints on the wall already, and this poster is really not to our taste.

When we received it, we of course politely thanked her for the gift and explained that, while it was lovely, we couldn’t hang it up where we are now given the size.

We said we would save the money to frame it when we have space to hang it, hoping to leave the issue to the sands of time.

But she keeps coming up with alternatives.

Since then, she has repeatedly raised the poster and now wants to order a smaller version, as she didn’t mean to order one quite that large.

We explained it was very kind but would rather she didn’t spend any more money on it.

They just plain didn’t want this poster – no matter the size.

We also said if she really wanted to get a smaller version, then 30×20 cm would be much more practical and allow us to hang it, but we actually like what already hangs behind our sofa.

We could find somewhere to hang a much smaller version to keep the peace—maybe the toilet, I don’t know.

Unfortunately, my MIL didn’t take the hint.

So she continued to insist.

She said that was too small and that the existing art behind our sofa is “too small and too highly hung in my opinion” and insisted we must hang it there.

My wife and MIL have a somewhat strained relationship at times, and MIL has a habit of flouncing when someone disagrees with her.

So my wife was trying to be kind without directly saying we didn’t like the print.

She told her that the art behind our sofa and how it is displayed is to our taste, and a much smaller print would be more practical.

So now the mother-in-law doesn’t want to get them anything at all.

My MIL didn’t like that and has now said she is giving up on giving us presents.

We didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but we were worried she was going to keep pressing and wanted to avoid any more money being spent on this.

So, AITA for refusing to frame a massive poster of a picture I don’t recall ever seeing and display it in our living room to replace the stuff I actually like?

When a gift feels like this much of an intrusion, it’s really not a gift at all.

What did Reddit think?

If the poster debacle is any indication, maybe her refusal to give more gifts is a blessing in disguise.

No more gifts? Sounds like a win!

Just because something looks nice in her house doesn’t mean it will look nice in every house.

It can be really tough to gauge personal taste – especially with works of art.

No gift should ever come with strings attached.

If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.