Asking Eric: My mother-in-law won’t stop sending unwanted gifts

Dear Eric: My mother-in-law loves quirky Christmas ornaments. Each year she gets my husband and I each at least one new ornament.

My problem is that I love uniform ornaments and decorations. I want everything to match. I have the perfect set for our Christmas tree.

I know she gets us these out of love, but how can I kindly ask her to stop? Or would it be terrible if I had a separate, smaller Christmas tree just for these ornaments?

– Ornament Grinch

Dear Ornament: You have come to the right place! I have such a long history of Grinch-esque ornament preferences that I’m banned from Whoville. (I still stand by the tree I decked out in cranberry and pewter.)

A “Mom’s Christmas Tree” is a good compromise and can even start a lovely new tradition. Asking her to stop is likely to result in bruised feelings, as is getting into a long conversation about arboreal aesthetics. Accept that these ornaments come from a heartfelt place and give them a heartfelt place in your house.

I’m curious what you’ve been doing with the ornaments thus far. If you’ve been begrudgingly adding them to your uniform tree, it might seem like a demotion to move them. A simple conversation might help smooth things over. But a tree where all of her gifts to you can be displayed is a lovingly festive gesture.