Kinda made me chuckle to myself. My in-laws are the most self centered people I have ever met. DH's step-mom has money and we are just normal middle class. We see them maybe 6 times a year which is 6 times to many in my book. We have been married 19 years. In the 18 years that we have been married during Christmas time, not once have they ever liked what we gave them. Every year, we give great thought in what to give them and every year they roll their eyes and make snide comments that hurt. You would think by now my feelings wouldn't be hurt......unfortunately this would be wrong. This year we are giving my DH's Dad a jacket for the college our son will be going to in the fall and his step-mother a Vera Bradley purse. We have senior pictures and a joint gift certificate too. Again, they will hate this. They use to hate our children but now "enjoy" them only because they excel in school and extra curricular activities. They can brag...if they were average students, I'm sure they would still have the same feelings for them. Shoot, step-mom was so hateful when our daughter was a toddler and on a feeding tube and they thought she had Cystic Fibrosis that she said maybe it had ben better off if she had never been born. Again.....GRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Forgive me for ranting. I'm a happy go lucky person, but they just make me nuts! :-/