My mother-in-law suggests I present gold as wedding gift to her niece

Two years ago, when I tied the knot, every member from my wife’s extended family, encompassing her uncles, aunts, and cousins, gifted us with a mace of gold ring each, accumulating to a total of eight maces. My wife and I subsequently opted to sell the entire collection of gold for business investments, leaving us without any of the original pieces.

This year marks the beginning of wedding celebrations for the children of these relatives, with the wedding of my mother-in-law’s niece coming soon. Invitations to the ceremony were extended to both my in-laws and us. In light of this upcoming event, my mother-in-law reached out, advising me to allocate VND8 million (US$321) for the purchase of a mace of gold as return gifts for the occasion.

I consulted with my friends, and their viewpoint was that the obligation to reciprocate with similar wedding gifts primarily lies with my in-laws, given their direct relation, suggesting that my wife and I could consider alternative gifts instead.

The advice has left me in a quandary, especially since the gold previously gifted to us has been sold, and the current market price for gold is significantly high. While fulfilling this obligation wouldn’t pose an issue had we sufficient funds, our current financial predicament complicates matters.

Nonetheless, the prospect of letting my in-laws shoulder this responsibility alone feels uncomfortable, given that it was my wife and I who directly benefited from the initial gifts.

What should I do now?