Trying to be practical during the holidays can sometimes land very differently than you expect.

Imagine your one-year-old just had a birthday party and your house was overflowing with toys already, and Christmas was just around the corner. How would you handle it?

Would you stay quiet and let him receive more gifts? Or would you ask family to skip gifts for him this year?

In the following story, one mother finds herself in this situation and is second-guessing her choice.

Here’s what happened.

AITA for requesting no Christmas gifts for my 1yo?

We just had my son’s 1st birthday party on December 6th. There were around 40 people there, and he got a mountain of gifts.

I’ve spent the last few days unpacking and organizing all of his new toys and clothes.

With Christmas coming up in 3 weeks, my husband and I decided to request that we not receive any more toys from our families. I can’t get this interaction out of my mind. I sent my message to both family group chats.

Her note did suggest a few items.

My message: “Hey everyone! I’ve learned that having a December baby means our house suddenly transforms into a toy warehouse overnight 😅

For Christmas, please don’t feel like you need to get him anything.

Honestly, he’s set for a long time, and we really don’t want anyone spending money out of obligation. If you really want to get him something, we’d love simple consumables like food, little snacks, bubble bath, or clothes in bigger sizes for when he’s older.

The response from her BIL made her question the message.

Thrifted or Marketplace finds are totally perfect, too, since he grows out of things so quickly.

But seriously, please don’t feel like you need to spend your money. Your love and chaos-filled family energy are more than enough. ❤️”

BIL response: “Okay, sorry our gifts sucked. We’ll get diapers or something next time. Just let us know what you want, and we can get you something acceptable. 👍”

AITA?

Wow! It’s easy to see why she thinks this, but he may have been joking.

Let’s check out how the fine folks over at Reddit feel about what happened here.

This person thinks the wording could’ve been better.

She struck a chord with this person.

Yet another reader with a December birthday.

She should’ve let this go.

Ultimately, there’s no such thing as too many toys for a kid. Plus, she could’ve donated some of them herself.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a daughter who invited herself to her parents’ 40th anniversary vacation for all the wrong reasons.