I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this. My mother intercepts gifts meant for other people. It's small value stuff that's not worth arguing about, but it's really getting on my nerves. I got back from a trip with presents for people and had to make sure I didn't give them away in front of her because she would have moaned about how she wanted one until the other person felt guilted into giving it to her to shut her up.

At dinner last night, a relative came up to me with a book she thought I'd like to read. My mother jumped in and took it. My brother came back from a trip with a pile of t-shirts to give away to friends and family. He asked us to pick out what we liked and my mother took almost everything - even though it was pretty clear that he had other people to give them to but was giving us first dibs. He had brought back one thing specifically for me but she raised a stink so I split it with her. I left something for my brother at her house, told both her and my brother it was for him, and she kept it for herself and sent me a thank you note.

If she didn't do this all the time, you could chalk it up as a misinterpretation, but it just happens too often for it to be accidental - and the complaints when someone gets a present she wants can't be written off. It's exhausting trying to work around her.