If you ever do this again, include nothing but a piece of paper that says "I have been swapping gifts with people for years and have never actually bought anything of value."
I love this as long as the person opening the gift knows what's up. If it's a kid, I would feel bad for them as they would feel rather used in a moment that should be very joyful and exciting for them.
Some kids are rotten and honestly deserve it. I used to go all out for my nephews and buy them the best of the best only for them to say "eh, I already have it" or "this is old like a month ago i saw people ranting about it" mind you I'm not a person of wealth so I save up for my nephews and nieces. Some are more than forever grateful for just a Keychain. Others like the one mentioned feels like he deserves the world at his feet
Just wrap up the empty box of that totally awesome gift.
In that empty box, you put an envelope with a beautiful card.
The card reads: "Nephew, this is not just an empty box. This is to make sure this gift gets to the intended receiver, YOU [name of the child] ! As it seems that in the past there have been some mysterious mix-ups with gifts I sent you, and I am not sure that you were not cheated out of a few cool stuff, this time - and in the future - I [gift giver] have your gift in my car. So let's go get it!"
Better to put a second tag inside. Like two layers of wrapping paper, a box in a box, or on the present itself saying who it is actually from and calling out the SIL's behavior, like "just in case SIL changes tags, this is actually from me".
I like that box in a box in a box idea. Except, the note should say "Give me a birthday hug and get $50". No signature. The kid gets $50 and the SIL gets a hug and hopefully a life lesson.
Just always put a heartfelt card with your signature in the package. Gift receiver has most times a second gift that makes them happy and the gift swapper can't have a single excuse to how it could end up like this
Box in a box in a box is a great present unwrapping experience my great uncle wrapped ALL mine and my sisters gifts like that with enough tape to cpver both boxes and it was hilarious and something we still talk about 2 decades later
That is fabulous! Caught red-handed...hope this makes her think about this day before ever switching tags sgain! Your neighbor is a wonderful co-conspirator!
What a piece of work, that SIL. I am sure when someone from out of town sends gift, the swap is easy. In the past, why haven’t the true gifters ever stood up for themselves? “I didn’t buy that. I bought that!”
That is a brilliant prank and way of getting back at her, and I'm sure there is still mileage in to do it again.
Suggestions that could be used for the next time could include:
A pink doll.
A cheap musical recorder instrument.
A feather duster.
A Cheapskate Handbook
Nah. "I expect Aunt Lightfingers (use real name) would swap out tags and claim this. I have your gift in my purse, please come get it. Happy Birthday! Your Name"
Put a little piece of wood or a small box or something in there so it make some noise and sounds like a present....
Or just “I have your real gift in my purse.” When he goes to Aunt Lightfingers’ purse to find nothing…..
“Well, I didn’t have time to put mine on the table, so here!” *produce from your bag*
Not nice for the receiving kid. Unless you tell him beforehand: "Hey, nephew, I am sending you this cool gift, the latest PSI-Q Whatever, in the coolest ice-blue they invented, with the dual scrumpties [so you must describe the real gift in detail] ! But at first it may look like a crappy gift. No worries, ask your mom about it!"
Make sure your SIL hears you comenting about the totally awesome ice-blue PSI-Q Whatever you bought for the kid, so she will be certain to swap that tag.
Oh yes, if needed: show the receipt when you hand over the gift.
If, and it’s a pretty big IF, the kids send out thank you notes they probably use generic terms: dear (relative/friend) thank for the gift and and coming to my party. It was really good seeing everybody there and having all that ice cream and cake. End letter ask mom if we can play games now cause we wrote our notes. Seriously, like OP said SIL is careful to steal credit for gifts for people who don’t have time to stick around or don’t actually come to the party. I’ve sent gifts through the mail or with attendees and never been disappointed with the vagueness of a thank you note. If anybody did follow up it could probably be ignored under “the child got all their gifts no need to fuss about who gave what” or like OP said SIL knocked over a pile of gifts and it would be really poor showing to present a receipt to argue about who bought what gift.
I made the same decision with my goddaughters (18 & 20) last year - no acknowledgment let alone a thank you. They got birthday cards last year and that was it
Yeah, that’s plenty old enough to know better. I was giving OP’s nephew a little leeway since he just turned 13, but I was definitely writing my own thank you notes with personalization of gift and activity at party by 10. Honestly my family basically stopped doing gift exchanges (except for grandfather spending money) around my teens so it was easy doing thank you notes and follow up for graduation gifts.
I don't think I've ever written an actual official thank you note, it's either been a hug and thanks in person or now since I'm in a different state I text or say thank you while on the phone
I love and admire my sister and brother in law, but we sent their kids gifts for years and never once did we get a thank-you note. It's a moot point since they're over 18 now and we stopped giving them gifts. We would have been happy to receive an email or text message or anything, really.
Maybe a note in an otherwise empty box that says “It is not the gift given, but the thought that went into it that is important.”
Obviously the box would need a bit of padding around the inside with random junk to give it weight and make a bit of noise when it was moved.
Can you imagine if she didn't swap the tags though? Not sure what I would do if a neighbor gave my 13 yr old condoms and ciggies, but it might not be neighborly.
Why do you use tags that can be swapped? Usually if you wrap the present u put on of those little stickers and if its in a bag u can put a card at the bottom
So...kid opens gift SIL swaps, and at no point does anyone speak up? They just go along with it? Why? I'm so confused by this. How does she actually get away with it? Why has it been allowed to go on for so long? None of this makes sense.
I always go over the top with wrappings so everyone knows it’s MY gift for the person. No denying it. I also write on the paper and make it super personalized etc your sister in law is a real freak for doing this. I hope she was mortified and never does that again.
But did the kid actually get any lego?
Because that would have been devastating if not. Feels like you used him and his feelings to get some childish revenge when you could have done the adult thing. :(
Yeah, but there's no way SIL can call OP out publicly without admitting that she swapped not just this gift, but enough gifts in the past that OP would notice and then set her up like this.
Ideally, SIL is gonna quietly change her ways, but I think OP's got her dead to rights on this one.
Is the SIL your nephew's mom? Or his aunt? Either way, that was epic! You can share the back story with him when he's older. Teenagers can usually appreciate some instant justice and trollery! My youngest sure does!
I'm guessing they bragged when SIL could hear it but not the kid and hopefully not too many outsiders either. If so, the kid wouldn't know about it and it wouldn't really matter if it's actually a lego set or not.
Having the actual lego set in another present just makes it better for the revenge part. It has your name tag on it, so she knows who set her up.
How are u related? You need to have a talk with whoever is your connection and nephew’s parents. What SIL is doing is really not ok. Especially since your nephew has been thinking you have let him down before. You don’t deserve to have his trust jeopardized because of SIL’s greedy behavior.
I agree that she needed to be taught a lesson. But there was a **better** way than this. You didn’t need to embarrass the **13 year old CHILD**, too.
*(Because no doubt he was and that wasn’t fair on him, he’s the innocent one here.)*
And it was highly inappropriate to gift him condoms at 13! So you’re a dick for that, because as the adult you should not be encouraging a 13 year old child to have sex! 13 year olds should be playing with toys, not playing with girls.
Instead you could have gotten him a glitter bomb. **Obviously** get him a real present too. But imagine SIL’s face when she realises she has to clean that shit up. Not only that, but **her tag** was on the gift. SIL would’ve looked like one hell of a b*tch in front of her own family.
And from now on *(since you use bright wrapping paper)* maybe don’t use gift tags, instead use black sharpie to write: *To Nephew (insert his name instead of nephew, obviously), from (insert your name).* In giant black letters.
Try letting her *”swap the tags”* and take credit for other people’s gifts then.
Sorry to tell you, but many children at 13 are having sex. Whether or not we as agreed with it or not. STDs are on the ride here. Our teenage pregnancy numbers are among the worst in the world.
Do I think that children should be having sex? No way Jose! Do I think children should be having babies? That’s gonna be a HARD no as well. So many children end up in the foster care system and they will be forgotten until they turn 18. Will our opinion change their behavior? Judging definitely won’t change their attitudes and opinions.
Namaste 🙏
That was a bit over the top for a 13 yr old. Was he embarrassed by the gift? Did he think it was funny?
I think your SIL got what she deserved but it was at the expense of a kids birthday. He had to open that up in front of everyone. I hope he has a sense of humor.
Fake. You can't "switch tags" that easily. Tags are either stickers or attached to the handle via punch hole. And they usually match the original package.
If you ever do this again, include nothing but a piece of paper that says "I have been swapping gifts with people for years and have never actually bought anything of value."
I love this as long as the person opening the gift knows what's up. If it's a kid, I would feel bad for them as they would feel rather used in a moment that should be very joyful and exciting for them.
Depends on the kid, putting someone in their place like that wouldve been the best gift you couldve given me :p
My kids would think that's the height of comedy.
Mine too 😅😅
You won the lottery with kids like that!
Some kids are rotten and honestly deserve it. I used to go all out for my nephews and buy them the best of the best only for them to say "eh, I already have it" or "this is old like a month ago i saw people ranting about it" mind you I'm not a person of wealth so I save up for my nephews and nieces. Some are more than forever grateful for just a Keychain. Others like the one mentioned feels like he deserves the world at his feet
The poor kid *is* being used by his own mother.
Unless I’m misreading, OP never actually says it’s his mom. Could be his aunt.
Possibly, certainly - but it seemed to me that SIL was in charge of when presents were opened, which implied mother to me.
Or put another layer of wrapping inside that says "this present is from..."
This present is *actually* from...
Just wrap up the empty box of that totally awesome gift. In that empty box, you put an envelope with a beautiful card. The card reads: "Nephew, this is not just an empty box. This is to make sure this gift gets to the intended receiver, YOU [name of the child] ! As it seems that in the past there have been some mysterious mix-ups with gifts I sent you, and I am not sure that you were not cheated out of a few cool stuff, this time - and in the future - I [gift giver] have your gift in my car. So let's go get it!"
Lmfao yes, this!!!!! 🏆🏆🏆
op, we need a date and time for when this is going to happen please.
I would write directly on the paper,can’t change that.
Better to put a second tag inside. Like two layers of wrapping paper, a box in a box, or on the present itself saying who it is actually from and calling out the SIL's behavior, like "just in case SIL changes tags, this is actually from me".
I like that box in a box in a box idea. Except, the note should say "Give me a birthday hug and get $50". No signature. The kid gets $50 and the SIL gets a hug and hopefully a life lesson.
Forgot a zero
Genius!!!
YES!
Totally awesome!
Just write on the box of cigarettes and hand them directly to the kid to avoid all confusion.
“Hey, smoke up, Johnny!”
Just always put a heartfelt card with your signature in the package. Gift receiver has most times a second gift that makes them happy and the gift swapper can't have a single excuse to how it could end up like this
Box in a box in a box is a great present unwrapping experience my great uncle wrapped ALL mine and my sisters gifts like that with enough tape to cpver both boxes and it was hilarious and something we still talk about 2 decades later
Lumps of coal would have been fun as well
That was my initial thought as well, but it would hard to convince everyone to do that.
How about natgas?
This-
That
The other
I wish I could see her face in that moment :’) I’m proud of you OP! I’m also wondering what hers actually would have been..
A sticky hand from the 7/11
I do think that "sticky hand" thing can be a great gift for a certain age.
I would love to get a sticky hand instead of the usual socks, and I'm in my 40:s
What??!! In my family socks are the ultimate gift. We all want socks and that’s what we get from extended family.
I have a massive sock drawer and struggle to close it, I would be living in a sea of socks if I got them from the extended family 🌊😅😅😅
i buy my own socks in multipack, like there are 12 pairs in a bag.
Wigwam quarter length hiking socks are my go-to for daily use. Comfortable, breathable, antibacterial, durable. Not cheap, though.
Only if they are from Lasso Gear. Every other sock brand is cheap crap.
I was thinking "sticky hand from 7/11" was a euphemism until I remembered [these](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61Ja1w1ZrOL.jpg) exist.
That is fabulous! Caught red-handed...hope this makes her think about this day before ever switching tags sgain! Your neighbor is a wonderful co-conspirator!
What a piece of work, that SIL. I am sure when someone from out of town sends gift, the swap is easy. In the past, why haven’t the true gifters ever stood up for themselves? “I didn’t buy that. I bought that!”
Like I understand it, she waits till most extended guests left and uses one of theirs or like in OPs case, wasn't there at all and just sent the gift
but still, people see each other again and ask, "hey, did you like X?" or he sees them and says "thanks for giving me X"
He said, she said.
Only one has proof of purchase.
Yes, but, if you are trying to prove too hard, you could be seen as jealous by some. And the ticket is often not explicit
I think this would be sorted out after crossing different people at 2 birthdays
Not when you have the receipt that matches the gift receipt.
That is a brilliant prank and way of getting back at her, and I'm sure there is still mileage in to do it again. Suggestions that could be used for the next time could include: A pink doll. A cheap musical recorder instrument. A feather duster. A Cheapskate Handbook
Or an entirely empty box with a note that says "You deserve it"
Nah. "I expect Aunt Lightfingers (use real name) would swap out tags and claim this. I have your gift in my purse, please come get it. Happy Birthday! Your Name" Put a little piece of wood or a small box or something in there so it make some noise and sounds like a present....
Or just “I have your real gift in my purse.” When he goes to Aunt Lightfingers’ purse to find nothing….. “Well, I didn’t have time to put mine on the table, so here!” *produce from your bag*
Excellent!!!
Not nice for the receiving kid. Unless you tell him beforehand: "Hey, nephew, I am sending you this cool gift, the latest PSI-Q Whatever, in the coolest ice-blue they invented, with the dual scrumpties [so you must describe the real gift in detail] ! But at first it may look like a crappy gift. No worries, ask your mom about it!" Make sure your SIL hears you comenting about the totally awesome ice-blue PSI-Q Whatever you bought for the kid, so she will be certain to swap that tag. Oh yes, if needed: show the receipt when you hand over the gift.
Ahhh the sweet sweet taste of revenge
Get the whole family in on it, so she doesn’t suspect for a few years
i'm confused on how this works...no one called her out for taking credit for their gift for years?
If, and it’s a pretty big IF, the kids send out thank you notes they probably use generic terms: dear (relative/friend) thank for the gift and and coming to my party. It was really good seeing everybody there and having all that ice cream and cake. End letter ask mom if we can play games now cause we wrote our notes. Seriously, like OP said SIL is careful to steal credit for gifts for people who don’t have time to stick around or don’t actually come to the party. I’ve sent gifts through the mail or with attendees and never been disappointed with the vagueness of a thank you note. If anybody did follow up it could probably be ignored under “the child got all their gifts no need to fuss about who gave what” or like OP said SIL knocked over a pile of gifts and it would be really poor showing to present a receipt to argue about who bought what gift.
My niece and nephew are about to find out what their lack of thanks via phone, text, or snail mail means. Not a darn thing ever again.
I made the same decision with my goddaughters (18 & 20) last year - no acknowledgment let alone a thank you. They got birthday cards last year and that was it
How did it go over?
Same result - no acknowledgment
Whoa!
How old are they?
18, 26
Yeah, that’s plenty old enough to know better. I was giving OP’s nephew a little leeway since he just turned 13, but I was definitely writing my own thank you notes with personalization of gift and activity at party by 10. Honestly my family basically stopped doing gift exchanges (except for grandfather spending money) around my teens so it was easy doing thank you notes and follow up for graduation gifts.
I don't think I've ever written an actual official thank you note, it's either been a hug and thanks in person or now since I'm in a different state I text or say thank you while on the phone
I love and admire my sister and brother in law, but we sent their kids gifts for years and never once did we get a thank-you note. It's a moot point since they're over 18 now and we stopped giving them gifts. We would have been happy to receive an email or text message or anything, really.
Yeah this is fake as fuck.
Yeah, this whole made-up scenario is baffling. That OP thought it plausible suggests a serious weakness of mind.
My favorite movie is Inception.
Maybe a note in an otherwise empty box that says “It is not the gift given, but the thought that went into it that is important.” Obviously the box would need a bit of padding around the inside with random junk to give it weight and make a bit of noise when it was moved.
omg that is a thing of beauty
Can you imagine if she didn't swap the tags though? Not sure what I would do if a neighbor gave my 13 yr old condoms and ciggies, but it might not be neighborly.
Why do you use tags that can be swapped? Usually if you wrap the present u put on of those little stickers and if its in a bag u can put a card at the bottom
So...kid opens gift SIL swaps, and at no point does anyone speak up? They just go along with it? Why? I'm so confused by this. How does she actually get away with it? Why has it been allowed to go on for so long? None of this makes sense.
SIL swaps tags with gifts from people who aren't physically there to see what happens, so they can't argue.
Freaking HILARIOUS!
GOLD! Thank you for this gem of happiness and real hope for my own future gift-giving!
Awesome pettiness!!!! What a jerk of a mother. An abominable person to boot. I can’t even imagine doing something like that.
I write directly on the wrapping paper! That’s the way to go.
Hilarious. Thanks so much for the laugh
I always go over the top with wrappings so everyone knows it’s MY gift for the person. No denying it. I also write on the paper and make it super personalized etc your sister in law is a real freak for doing this. I hope she was mortified and never does that again.
I could not be prouder of anyone.
Yes, but what about the nephew?
He did get lego as a present from OP. It's in a comment here somewhere.
What an evil person
Right? Even if the kid got a "real" present from her this is humiliating for a kid that age. It's Reddit so probably not true. Hopefully.
This is perfect. The only collateral damage in this prank is the innocent gift receiver
But did the kid actually get any lego? Because that would have been devastating if not. Feels like you used him and his feelings to get some childish revenge when you could have done the adult thing. :(
He did! That was my actual present for him. Which made it even sweeter, since SIL had to see him open that present from me, and not her.
Ahhh... So she knows it was you for sure now. Watch your back. But beautifully done! 👨🍳😘
Yeah, but there's no way SIL can call OP out publicly without admitting that she swapped not just this gift, but enough gifts in the past that OP would notice and then set her up like this. Ideally, SIL is gonna quietly change her ways, but I think OP's got her dead to rights on this one.
Watch your back means look out for back stabbing. Not a public calling out.
Oh! That's good :)
Is the SIL your nephew's mom? Or his aunt? Either way, that was epic! You can share the back story with him when he's older. Teenagers can usually appreciate some instant justice and trollery! My youngest sure does!
I'm guessing they bragged when SIL could hear it but not the kid and hopefully not too many outsiders either. If so, the kid wouldn't know about it and it wouldn't really matter if it's actually a lego set or not. Having the actual lego set in another present just makes it better for the revenge part. It has your name tag on it, so she knows who set her up.
How are u related? You need to have a talk with whoever is your connection and nephew’s parents. What SIL is doing is really not ok. Especially since your nephew has been thinking you have let him down before. You don’t deserve to have his trust jeopardized because of SIL’s greedy behavior.
Really great idea. But it didn’t need to be at a 13 year olds party. I have all sorts of ick and euw vibes at how inappropriate this is.
You really gotta suspend all your disbelief to think this isn't bullshit.
SIL is a POS
I would give good gift and add birthday card with my name in the box.
Next time, keep any gifts in your vehicle, if possible, then go get them when it's time for the guest to open gifts.
Ugh, sister in laws are the worst! Well played my friend.
This was great!
This revenge is in the top 5. Omg my sister and I laughed so hard. Literally priceless. I hope she learned her lesson.
10/10
Why are you even being petty? This is crazy behavior that should just directly be called out
I agree that she needed to be taught a lesson. But there was a **better** way than this. You didn’t need to embarrass the **13 year old CHILD**, too. *(Because no doubt he was and that wasn’t fair on him, he’s the innocent one here.)* And it was highly inappropriate to gift him condoms at 13! So you’re a dick for that, because as the adult you should not be encouraging a 13 year old child to have sex! 13 year olds should be playing with toys, not playing with girls. Instead you could have gotten him a glitter bomb. **Obviously** get him a real present too. But imagine SIL’s face when she realises she has to clean that shit up. Not only that, but **her tag** was on the gift. SIL would’ve looked like one hell of a b*tch in front of her own family. And from now on *(since you use bright wrapping paper)* maybe don’t use gift tags, instead use black sharpie to write: *To Nephew (insert his name instead of nephew, obviously), from (insert your name).* In giant black letters. Try letting her *”swap the tags”* and take credit for other people’s gifts then.
Sorry to tell you, but many children at 13 are having sex. Whether or not we as agreed with it or not. STDs are on the ride here. Our teenage pregnancy numbers are among the worst in the world. Do I think that children should be having sex? No way Jose! Do I think children should be having babies? That’s gonna be a HARD no as well. So many children end up in the foster care system and they will be forgotten until they turn 18. Will our opinion change their behavior? Judging definitely won’t change their attitudes and opinions. Namaste 🙏
I bet you're fun at parties. So serious.
Extremely well played!
i read this as girl swapping, very confused when i read today was my nephews 13th birthday.....
You are my hero!!!!! 👏 👏 👏
That's a gift that keeps on giving.
I love well thought out revenge.
Uh huh
Hehehehe naughty
If this is true, that fucking sucks for that poor kid. It was his birthday and you did THIS to him? You suck, OP.
This... sounds like total bullshit.
this is so petty and evil. i love it.
A cow turd and a note that says, a piece of shit for a piece of shit.
Psychotic behavior. After letting her sink into that for a minute I would have broken the story.
That's fucking hilarious
Fucking busy body SIL. Good revenge!
I actually laughed out loud.
That's wonderful!! I hope SIL has learned a lesson here!
You were out of town but also there to catch her eyeing up the gift? Where's the neighbor come in?
delicious
Love this! Hopefully she learned her lesson!
Treat every gift like you were going to a wedding. Put the card UNDER the wrapping paper, so it doesn't fall off!
Ye add a signd card inside the gift, will be strange when the outside name dont match that.
That was a bit over the top for a 13 yr old. Was he embarrassed by the gift? Did he think it was funny? I think your SIL got what she deserved but it was at the expense of a kids birthday. He had to open that up in front of everyone. I hope he has a sense of humor.
If only this story was believable.
Honestly, this is reddit, what difference does it really make true vs creative writing?
Because the least OP could do is put some effort into making their creative writing believable.
I find peace in long walks.
I would never even let it happen one time. First time and her kid opens the gift idc I'm stepping up like hey I bought this for them. It's not yours.
She swapped tags on gifts where the giver wasn't there - after they'd left, or if they sent the gift - so there was no one there to call her out.
Oh, thanks I was sleepy
Brilliant!
God this shit is so fucking fake
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Nice, you used a child a pawn to teach someone a lesson.
Fake. You can't "switch tags" that easily. Tags are either stickers or attached to the handle via punch hole. And they usually match the original package.
Admit it. You love your SIL. Who else would write this hilarious story for you?! Thanks for sharing.😎
I'm excited to see what you write once you take Creative Writing for Reddit 201.
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