Everyone looks forward to the holidays. The lights, the festivities, the food, and the company of family and friends help to make the season bright...however, all it takes is one mishap to ruin the fun. Here are some real-life holiday horrors that will never be forgotten:
1. Can’t Please Everyone
I don’t spend Christmas with my mother anymore. When I was between the ages of 15 and 17, my parents were in the process of a nasty divorce, so I spent Christmas Eve and morning with my father and then went to my mum’s side of the family for Christmas dinner. Her response was unhinged. She was so upset I had spent half my time on Christmas with my dad that during dinner she didn’t sit or speak to me.
Later that night as we were getting ready for bed in a room we shared, she was typing on her computer, still not having said a word to me up to this point. I asked her to be a little quieter because I was trying to sleep, and then she blew up at me with no warning. It ended with her telling me I ruined Christmas. My grandpa ended up driving me out to meet my dad at 1 AM that night. I am forever grateful to my grandfather for taking me out of that horrible situation.
2. Sudden Tragedy
Last Christmas Eve, my mom passed on at the age of 71. Then, on New Year’s Eve, my dad had a heart attack and lost his life at the age of 78. Needless to say, this completely ruined the entire holiday season for me and my family. To make matters even worse, our entire family got food poisoning from the catering that the church provided at the funeral service. It seems a bit comical now, but it wasn’t the least bit funny at the time…
3. The Evil Stepfather
My mother was a narcissist. She got remarried when I was ten or so and her new man was everything. She had always been abusive, but it was always of the emotional, mental variety. After his unwavering acquiescence of her torment, he came to agree with it wholeheartedly. That's when my life became a real nightmare. For instance, when I was eleven, his three boys came to stay with us over Christmas break from school.
They were showered with gifts. I received none. Their explanation was so messed up. They told me that I was not a good child like his three boys. The eldest of his children, who was around twelve at the time, took pity on me and gave me an RC car that had been gifted to him. When I was caught playing with it, it was taken from me. When the eldest explained he had given it to me for Christmas my stepdad lightly reprimanded him and then took me outside.
I was told to stand still and watch as he ran the RC toy over with his big truck. I then had to sleep on the cold cement basement floor for “taking” presents from his children. I've never celebrated Christmas since. The whole holiday season makes me very emotionally wrecked with bitter intermittent flashbacks of the way I grew up.
4. Not Exactly the Ideal Christmas Dinner
What ruined my Christmas this year was when my mother-in-law tried to feed my eldest child a mango, a thing that she has been allergic to for the past 11 years. My eldest said, “What are you doing??!! Grandma, I’m allergic to those!” Grandma replied “It’ll be okay. After all, it’s Christmas!” Um, no. Last time I checked, food allergies don’t take Christmas off, you idiot…
5. A Broken Memento
My late grandmother gave me something of hers, and when I came back from the bathroom, I found that my mother had broken it. I got angry—that's when my mom snapped. She started screaming at me and ran outside after she was done. I was never able to talk back to my mother growing up, but the last few years, my patience with her personality disorders waned, and I just glared at her until she ran away.
I followed her outside and asked her angrily if she wanted to be a part of my family. She said no. So, I turned around and left. She followed me out, screaming the whole time about what a piece of garbage I am. It’s a tactic used by narcissists to degrade someone’s sense of self in order to subjugate them. I told her the only way I’d talk to her again is if we were in court.
So, this holiday season will be the first time away from my family. I’ll be with my wife’s family, who are nice people.
6. Farewell, My Feline Friend
Without any warning at all, my beloved cat passed on Christmas Eve. I’d had him for almost 15 years and he meant so much to me. I still miss you, Nero.
7. Making It Manageable
One year, two of my brothers got in a fistfight on the front lawn. Another year, two of my brothers got stoned and cut the Christmas tree I bought because they were "trimming it" to fit in the stand. I always do 90% of the cooking, but I’m left to sit in the living room with two of my brothers’ random friends because there was no room at the table.
I regularly play referee, and I always have to buy or at least wrap my own presents. Yeah, I don't go home for the holidays anymore. Want to know the best part? Since I started not going, I receive yearly calls about how unmanageable the holidays are when I'm not there. Ha! I enjoy them with my husband who gets me gifts and wraps them and appreciates my hard work.
8. There’s No Place Like Home for the Holidays
I live in Vancouver, where basically nobody is originally from. The vast majority of people I know who live here are actually from other places, and so all of my friends and my girlfriend go home for Christmas. I have spent the holidays alone the last three years in a row. That’s what always ruins my Christmas. It just feels so painfully lonely.
9. Everything’s Falling Down!
My since-passed grandfather brought a Craigslist working girl to family Christmas. Of course, she preceded to get loaded and hit on me. But it gets even worse. She actually tried ripping off my shirt; a couple of buttons popped off. My grandpa, after seeing this, comes over and screams at her. She takes a swing at my grandpa, and he attempts to grab her.
I get in between them to try to separate them. This was all happening next to the bar shelf which is getting run into and begins to fold. I have my leg propping up the shelf from falling while holding each of them apart while they swing away at each other and me. Took what seemed like an hour for my brother to step in and help.
My family then took my grandpa’s side and disregarded the event even happened. I didn’t attend the next three years of holiday events.
10. Dinner Reservations
One year, the power in our house went out on Christmas Eve and, even though we called the utility company and begged them to help, they couldn't do anything. The power never came back on for the entire holiday. All the delicious food we prepared at home rotted without the fridge. In the end, we had to have our Christmas dinner at McDonald’s.
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11. These Aren’t Gifts At All…
I was dating a guy for a few months when Christmas rolled around. He had recently started a new job that required travel. This was before smartphones and built-in GPS in your car were common, so I splurged a bit and got him a Garmin to help him find his way. Thoughtful, useful, but not too sentimental; it felt perfect for where the relationship was at the time.
Due to schedules, we couldn’t get together until a few days after Christmas. The second I saw him, my stomach dropped. In my haste to go see him, I walked right out the door without his gift. I didn’t realize it until I got to his house, and I felt terrible, but he said, “No worries, I’ll give you your gifts now and I’ll just get mine later.” Cool. So, he goes into the other room and comes back with two wrapped gifts.
I noticed some of the paper was messed up like it had been rewrapped, but didn’t think much of it in the moment. I carefully unwrapped the first package—and I couldn't believe my eyes. It was an MMA magazine. That had clearly been read. I was…confused. I do not like MMA. Not even a little bit. Nor have I ever expressed interest in MMA. Not once. He, on the other hand, loved all things MMA.
Trying to move on, I politely thanked him, set the magazine down, and refocused on the next gift. I could tell it was a DVD from the shape of the package. And indeed, it was a DVD. A Forrest Gump DVD. With the cellophane wrapper missing. Now don’t get me wrong, Forrest Gump is a solid choice. Except, I already owned a Forrest Gump DVD.
And now here I was suddenly the proud owner of a second copy that appeared used. I again thanked him, and sat there quietly, trying to wrap my head around how he could have arrived at the conclusion that a used magazine on a topic I didn’t like and a second-hand DVD of something I already owned would make for good Christmas gifts.
He also got a little quiet, then sheepishly volunteered, “I, uh, got bored so I watched the movie yesterday.” I just stared. “And then I, uh, hadn’t seen that issue yet…so I went ahead and read through it. I think you’ll really like it!” I slowly responded, “So…you got me a magazine because you wanted to read it and then watched the movie you got for me because you were bored?”
His only response was, “Well yeah, I guess so.” I left not long after. The next day, I returned the Garmin for a full refund. About a week later, he called and said he didn’t think it was working out. “No problem,” I said, “I don’t think it’s working out either.” As we were wrapping up the call, expressing well wishes and all that, he paused for a beat and said, “Hey, uh, were you still going to give me that Christmas present?”
12. Showing Them All Who’s Boss
What ruined Christmas this year? Me! I was invited to a lovely dinner by my boss with his extended family. Even though I was extremely nervous beforehand, everything went amazingly well—until I messed it all up with one horrific mistake.
For a little bit of background, I had just been promoted to manager for my boss's company within the last month. The business is very small (only five employees). When he learned that I had been planning to spend Christmas alone, he decided that he wasn’t going to let that happen and graciously invited me over. He even insisted on driving me home at the end of the night.
But here's the thing. Before getting the job, I'd lived in a large city and haven’t needed to be in a car for a very long time. In fact, this ride home was probably the first time I had ridden in one in about a year. So, as I was in my boss's beautiful car, I started to feel ill. That intense, nauseating kind of motion sickness. I tried to open the window to get some air, but it was safety locked, probably because my boss and his wife had just had a baby.
I felt trapped and helpless. I tried to keep myself from puking but at a certain point, there was no use. I puked all over the inside of my boss's car. After it happened, I was extremely embarrassed. I offered to have the car cleaned for him, and his reply shocked me. He just said “No worries, I’m more just worried about if you are okay.” I seriously lucked out with best boss ever!
13. The Nutcracker
I’ve been with my girlfriend for like two to three years now. Her family considers me a part of their family, but my girlfriend’s mom and aunt are probably the most hypocritical and insane people you could ever meet. Aunt believes that if you use a GPS, you don’t deserve to live in that state. She proceeded to get everyone lost when she was driving us around on vacation.
She had lived in Florida for 27 years by that time. The mom is a manipulative narcissist who actually said to my girlfriend and a mutual friend of ours that she only keeps my girlfriend around as someone to "let her anger out on." This year, I got the worst of it. For Christmas, I went over to my girlfriend’s home to celebrate with them before celebrating with my girlfriend at my house.
I got a present from the aunt who sent something over. I received a single rubber duck that had the bottom torn out of it. A note was stuffed in the opening, and on that note was the sentence, “If you are reading this, you killed the birdie!” There was also a painted rock that was almost completely black with the words “best buds” on it.
The mom was the worst one though. I got a nutcracker from her. I didn’t fully understand it at the time. But I finally got it when my girlfriend’s dad took me aside and said in a hushed tone, “I’m sorry for the gift, but she has given that to boyfriends as a threat.” That’s right, I got a broken rubber duck that blamed me for killing it, a painted rock, and a threat that if I did anything to upset my girlfriend, that her mother will use the nutcracker.
14. A Slight Change of Plans
If this doesn't ruin Christmas, I don't know what does. My fiancé abruptly decided to cancel our wedding and end our years-long relationship just a couple of days before the winter holidays began. Her rejection completely crushed me. It was just impossible to get into a festive mood after I went through something like that…
15. Laundry Emergency!
My husband's uncle called me four times on my birthday before 8AM, leaving cryptic voicemails about how he needed to talk to me as soon as possible. I started to panic. I thought someone was hurt. I called back maybe 20-30 minutes later when I was fully awake, and he told me to rush over to his house. I get there and he says he had a gift for me and wanted to make sure I got it on my birthday!
I watch him pull a men's polo out of his laundry basket and say, "I saw this and knew you'd love it!" I'm a petite woman who doesn't wear polos. He found a men's large polo shirt in the back of his closet that he was given at some event 15 or more years ago, somehow thought that was emergency worthy, but also didn't need to even put it in a gift bag or anything.
He crumpled the shirt from the laundry to my hand. It's been almost three years and I'm still perplexed by it.
16. Let’s All Wish Him a Speedy Recovery
On the 14th of December, I received the worst news of my life. My brother had been hit by a car and gravely, horribly injured. Even though the doctors did all they could, he is still lying in an artificial coma at the hospital. Needless to say, this made it extremely hard for me to enjoy celebrating the Christmas season this year.
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17. Friends Or Family
I lived about two and a half hours from home but hadn't actually lived there for 10 years. Anyways, I have a small family, and we had a Christmas get-together 2 weeks before actual Christmas. However, my wife’s best friend’s father passed from cancer, and he was also a good friend of mine. His funeral was my family's planned Christmas get-together.
I did not go home for that get-together, as I obviously went to the funeral. They...did not take it well. I literally had to receive wrath from Grandma about caring more about friends than family, and my aunt eviscerating me on Facebook. I haven't spoken to any of them in five years because of that, and I'm perfectly fine with it.
18. Not Quite Words of Love
What ruined Christmas for me was when my dad used a racial slur to refer to my girlfriend while we were over for a holiday visit. We kinda had to leave after that one, especially when he refused to apologize because, in his words, "that's what they're called." Yeah...not the best Christmas dinner for anyone involved. Thanks, dad.
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19. A Relaxing Visit
I was laid off and went back to visit for the week. Times were tough for me, and I just wanted to relax. I hadn't lived there in seven years. But the week I went, my mom was really laying into me to clean her house, do her dishes, wash her laundry. I told her I don't live here anymore and I'm not doing her chores. To which she flipped out and started yelling at me.
She's always been a two-faced backstabber, but I'd had enough. I immediately walked away from her, packed my bag, and got in my car to make the 10-hour drive home. I haven't spoken to her since. That was almost three years ago now. I have no desire to see her ever again. She's caused nothing but misery and pain in my life.
20. Sounds Like You Have Some Nutty People in Your Family!
What ruined Christmas for me this year was everyone weirdly forgetting that I was allergic to nuts and, as a result, putting nuts in all of our food. Spent Christmas in the ICU. Thanks, fam!
21. Nobody’s Here!
I flew home for Christmas from across the country. Upon landing, I was informed that my sister would not be joining us because she couldn't get the day off. My parents knew this well in advance but didn't want me not to come. I was also informed that we would not be doing Christmas with my extended family as they were busy with my cousin's husband's family.
Since I don't have a great relationship with my family, I was already pretty crushed. Still, it was worse than I ever imagined. I spent Christmas Day with my mother and father until my father left around 2 PM to visit his friends. My mother then went to bed around 3 PM and didn't wake up until the next day. I decided to wait to have dinner until someone either woke up or came home.
My father came home around 6 PM, and he forced me to hug him despite my protests while he was just in his underwear. He then proceeded to run to the bathroom and puke his guts out. Yeah, I'm just not going back.
22. Not Exactly Model Behavior
I got my boyfriend a model kit for Christmas. I thought he'd love it, but I was so wrong. He called it "cheap" and said it probably wasn’t even worth his time to assemble. Then, later on, he told me not to let it discourage me from buying him more presents in the future. I felt very unappreciated and the whole thing ruined Christmas for me.
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23. Last-Minute Plans
My husband's family is just far better at making reliable plans than my family, so they usually win out. I can't travel all the way across the country to try and see my sister and brother when they refuse to nail down plans more than a day or two in advance. "Oh, you're coming into town. Cool, text us when you get here, and we'll try and meet up." Except when I arrive, they forgot they had some other obligation half the time.
24. Something Was Missing
What ruined Christmas for me this year was that my sister couldn’t come home. She moved to another country recently and couldn’t make it back in time for Christmas. I didn’t think I would mind that much. I’m so lonely without her, though. We had so many Christmas traditions together, and I didn’t have anyone to laugh with me about everything during dinner this year.
I’m thankful that she’s still alive and physically here on earth, but it was just more lonely than I expected to not have her around. It wasn’t a bad Christmas, it just didn’t really feel like a complete Christmas.
25. A Good Brother
My older half-brother and I️ would go to our mom’s place for Thanksgiving even though she didn’t raise us; our real dads and grandparents did. Thanksgiving of 2000 when I️ was 14, our stepfather made the mistake of hitting me in front of my brother. My brother is 14 years older than me, so he was in his twenties when this happened. I’ll never forget the distinct sound of genuine hatred when he screamed at our mother’s husband. We didn’t go back for the next holiday.
26. Brotherly Love
What ruined Christmas for me this year was my brother picking a fight with my sister over who won WWII. He was wrong, and she refused to let him get away with it. We left when he started yelling at her and calling her an idiot. Oh, but that's not all. My sister has a degree in political science and teaches world history.
27. My Meddling Mom
My wife's family is all deceased. The only one left alive on my side is my mother. Still, every time we go see her, I regret it instantly. We are quite literally all she's got, and still she tries to meddle like heck in our marriage. Last Christmas, after she left, we went to a marriage counselor because things got so bad.
The counselor said we are both more than fine and to limit contact with nightmare mother and mother-in-law. We no longer see or hear from her anymore.
28. It’s All About the Attitude
Last Christmas, my brother got a super bad migraine after lunch and endured a few decent rounds of throwing up in the bathroom. When he eventually came back out, he put both of his arms up in the air and proclaimed “Whoop whoop! I’m putting on zero calories this Christmas!” He was promptly told to shut up and went back to sleep for the rest of the day.
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29. A Troubled Family
My mom spends most of her time in the heart of the city, scoping out opiates. My dad spends most of his time looking for ways to make money or rip people off to buy drugs. My brother is usually depressed with a needle in his arm. My aunt lives out of town, my uncle is usually beating up his girlfriend or trying to score. With my well-paying job, my cozy apartment, my sanity, and peace of mind, I just avoid anything with family altogether. Holidays or not.
30. A New Christmas Tradition
Having to work retail in the morning on Christmas Day completely destroyed the holiday spirit for me. The store was extremely busy, which meant that I had a stressful shift. But that also means that corporate will probably keep it open on Christmas Day again next year. They may even increase the store hours on that day from now on.
31. Temper Tantrums
Literally every Christmas, my stepdad causes a fight. I've learned to think it's funny, and just laugh at his 5-year-old tantrums now, since I no longer depend on them whatsoever. I just leave if he gets really annoying. His antics are usually because someone wrapped presents wrong or opened a present in the wrong order.
His tantrums consist of throwing things, breaking things, slamming doors, peeling out of the driveway, and veins exploding from his forehead. It was scary to watch when I was 10, but now it's just comical. He’s in his late 50s now.
32. Bugged
I caught some sort of stomach bug at 5:00 in the morning on Christmas Day. I then threw up eight times and couldn’t go to my dad’s place or to my grandparents’ house for dinner. I had been more excited for Christmas this year than I had been any other year, and in the end, I had to spend it all alone, feeling pukey in bed. Woohoo!
33. Stop Belittling!
One side of my family is just a bunch of blowhards who all went to Ivy League schools and work on Wall Street, and they just suck. I definitely went to a good school and have a good job, but every year they tried to make me feel like garbage. I got accepted in an early decision to a good college, and at Christmas that year the cousins go, "So, did you apply early because you didn't think you'd get in anywhere else?"
I started dating a nice guy and had him over for drinks at Thanksgiving, and they said, "Wow, your boyfriend went to this school? What kind of job is he planning to get with that degree?" They want you to squirm and feel insignificant so they can feel better. So, I finally came up with a devious way to stick it to them. I just started telling them what they wanted to hear.
I moved for a good job, and first thing they said last year was, "So you're living in that neighborhood? Isn't that a bad part of town?" I just said, "Not really, but I don't make a lot of money, so it's all I can afford! Oh well!" They just looked really shocked and then THEY were the uncomfortable ones. Felt so dang good. Try it out against people like this.
34. To Save My Uncle, I Have to Become My Uncle
Our uncle recently abandoned his children as a result of his substance misuse. It was bad, but my sister's response was just plain crazy. She got extremely drunk and started telling us all about how she wanted to get high with our uncle in a “controlled environment” to try and help him come back to reality—whatever that means.
She told us that she isn’t going to “become an addict,” but that she “just wants to know what it’s like” so that she can try to help him. It’s been an emotional couple of hours trying to get the fact that this WOULDN’T WORK through her thick skull.
35. Money Between Brothers
As a North Indian, the Diwali holiday is our most important one. Everyone is supposed to be together at home and celebrate, worship and stuff. It's also the festival when the goddess of wealth Lakshmi is worshipped. My extended family has messed Diwali up majorly for all us cousins, because it's a constant tussle of brothers.
They fight about power over the family business and the wealth it has collected over the years. It has gone from the celebration and worshipping of wealth to a day of fighting for said wealth. I’ve stopped going home for Diwali to just dodge this scene.
36. Oh What a Terrible Morning
This Christmas, my great aunt got deported, and I got a freakin’ cup stuck in my garbage disposal. What an awful day!
37. So Many People To Visit!
I went home last Christmas. Finished work at 8:30 PM, drove the eight-hour drive through the night, and made it. I was only going to be there for a few days, and this was during a family argument. I saw my immediate family, then went to my grandmother’s place. That night I received a text from my aunt saying that she’s angry I didn’t see her, and I was rude.
The kicker? She works a hundred meters from my Mum’s place, I didn’t know where she lived, and she never tried contacting me. When I go back now, I don’t tell anyone except the people I want to see. This year I’m working Christmas Day for some sweet, sweet bonus pay.
38. Worried Sick
What ruined Christmas for me was a typhoon ripping through my family’s town in the Philippines. There is an eight hour time difference and we spent the whole of Christmas Day refreshing our phones for updates. After 36 hours, there was still no news from them whatsoever and we were going crazy waiting. Thankfully, everyone turned out to be alive and okay, but the damage is pretty bad. I'll have to wait until their power is back for full details, but at least I can rest easier now.
39. Wrapping Paper Woes
Our first daughter turned one shortly before Christmas in ‘95. At that time, my in-laws lived in a town that was approximately a two-hour drive from us. My mother-in-law asked if we'd be staying at their place on Christmas Eve, and we said, "No, it's kind of difficult with a baby. We'll drive out to join you on Christmas Day."
She wasn't happy, but she said, "Fine, but you have to be here by 10:00 a.m. That's when we'll be opening presents." So, we got up bright and early on Christmas morning, gulped down breakfast, got the baby ready, and got on the road by 6:30 a.m. Driving was a bit slow due to some snow and ice, but we arrived at the in-laws' house at 9:50 a.m.
We grinned at each other with relief. We'd done it! We entered the house, and couldn't believe what we saw. There was torn wrapping paper everywhere. They'd all opened their gifts without us. My husband isn't one for confrontations normally, but he couldn't help it this time. He cornered his mother in the kitchen and asked angrily, "Why didn't you wait for us? We got here on time!"
She said sweetly, "Oh, the kids didn't want to wait." Said ‘kids’ were my husband's younger sister and brother, who were 26 and 21 at the time. To this day, I'm convinced that she decided not to wait because she was punishing us for not staying overnight on Christmas Eve. Whatever. That told us how much we mattered to her, and after a couple more similar experiences, we put our collective feet down and have been celebrating Christmas Day in our own house ever since.
40. Dinner and a Show
What ruined Christmas for me this year was eating a large quantity of gravy and following it with a large quantity of broccoli casserole. Needless to say, the two-hour drive home afterward was awful…
41. A Really Loud Christmas
Christmas was always at my grans house, and we'd stay for a week or two. I think every single time we were over, my mum would absolutely lose it over something innocuous and start a screaming session. I'd either lock myself in the bathroom to get away, or one time she locked me in there with her so she could continue berating me.
The last few times ended with my mild-mannered gran screaming at my mum for "ruining Christmas again" and then my mum would actually stop screaming and end up apologizing to her. She never apologized to me, of course. I came back into contact with my gran after a couple years and I'll visit sometimes. She'll tell me when my mum isn't there so I can visit in peace.
42. A Bad Year to Be a Gift
Two things ruined our Christmas this year. First, my bratty five-year-old kid had to go and peek at all his presents three days before Christmas. Then, almost like karma getting back at my kid, our family dog peed on the Christmas tree, the tree skirt, and, you guessed it, all over everyone’s gifts too. Merry Christmas to me!
43. Holidays Are Stressful, Okay?
My mother-in-law gets so stressed out by Christmas preparations. She thinks everything has to be exactly perfect and exactly according to family tradition, of course. A few years back she put herself in the ER with atrial fibrillation because of that stress. Christmas dinner that year was Subway and Jack in the Box around a hospital bed.
My wife and I have since figured out that, if we stonewall on Christmas itself and wander up a month early or late "just to see them," she doesn't shoulder nearly the same amount of anxiety, because it isn't "Christmas" and it doesn't have to be perfect. We can just have dinner like normal people, next to an unseasonal indoor tree that happens to still be set up and has a bunch of presents under it.
Basically, we stopped going home for the holidays to keep my mother-in-law alive.
44. My Way or the Highway
My sister is what ruined Christmas for me and my family this year. She's having a mental breakdown and was very much in an "If I can't be happy, everyone else has to suffer" kind of mood for the entire week.
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45. “So Kids? When?”
I dread family events simply because I'm in my 30s and still unmarried with no children. Thing is, I'm in a committed relationship, we own a house and we both have amazing credit. The two of us have two degrees and an amazing career, and we do all kinds of fun travel and events and enjoy our time together. Kids are on the docket eventually, but we aren't in a hurry.
My family doesn’t approve. No babies? That means I’m wasting my life, letting the womb cobwebs take over. When am I going to grow up and stop wasting money on cosplay and comic con and start popping out mini versions of me? Honestly, am I the only girl above the age of 19 without kids? Then about a year ago, my aunt pulled me aside. She said something that made me burst into tears. She said I'm an inspiration to her teen girls.
Apparently, she uses my life as an example of what they can have if they work hard and are responsible. My aunt even quietly admitted her oldest is sexually active and I'm an example of someone in an adult relationship who can be responsible about birth control. I cried and thanked her for appreciating how I spend my life instead of pointing out what I'm apparently doing wrong.
46. Dropping Like Flies
Christmas was ruined this year when everyone in my family caught the flu. And not the dignified flu. The fighting-over-who-gets-to-use-the-bathroom-first kind of flu. No one was spared and the carnage was horrific. One by one, each and every one of my family members fell ill until all of our Christmas plans crumbled like a bunch of gingerbread cookies.
47. One, The Other, Neither!
My parents are divorced, as a kid I was lugged back and forth between the two. If I spent Thanksgiving at one parent's home, then I had to spend Christmas at the other. As an adult I don't like to pick sides, so I chose neither and have come to blame the long distance and exams. Now that I'm out of university, I have a full-time job as my scapegoat.
I love both of them, but I would rather spend my time alone than worry about hurting one or the other's feelings.
48. If You Don’t Have Your Health, You Don’t Have Anything
What ruined the holidays for me this year was getting the flu and pooping my way through Christmas morning.
49. Broken Promises
My mom has been terrible to my wife the entire time we have been married. She threatened not to come to our wedding unless we specifically invited certain people. She also said she was going to plan my wife's baby shower but never did. She said she would come to our daughter's baptism, but she didn't. She always makes so many false promises.
The last couple times we were around, she was super friendly to me but didn’t even acknowledge my wife was in the room. She also spreads rumors about my wife when we are not around. That was the last straw. We don't go to her place for the holidays anymore. Sorry, you don't get to be mean to my wife and still have us come to things.
50. Terrible Timing
Christmas sucked for me this year because my grandmother was in the hospital. Even worse, I couldn’t even visit her because I had to work the entire time.
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51. The City And The Country
I refuse to attend any of the holiday get-togethers on my wife's side of the family. She's from a small town in Western Missouri named Boonville and I lived in the Saint Louis area most of my life. I guess me being a Saint Louis city slicker was just too much for her family. As my wife was introducing me to her extended family, I hear someone say, "look at him all dressed up nice and fancy, I bet you're one of those city folk who voted for that Obama."
Except they used much rougher language than that. I just looked at my wife like, "Please get me out of this hillbilly hole..." I've never gone back. Yeeeeeehaaawwww!
52. But Tell Us What She Really Thinks!
What ruined Christmas for me this year was my mom screaming at me, and calling me a stupid, mean, self-centered, miserable, awful daughter.
53. Nobody Wants This
It was the last Christmas before I joined the Navy. I had about $300 to my name until January, when I would head off to boot camp. Mom told me to go to the mall with my sister and spend $200 on presents for everyone, despite my protests. I said I don't want presents and I don't want to get others presents because it's a stupid tradition for a house full of working adults.
I got yelled at, spent the money on a bunch of stuff that no one wanted, and got a bunch of stuff that I didn't want. I haven't been home for holidays since. After that, I told my family I'm never buying anyone forced presents ever, and never want anything for Christmas or birthdays ever again.
54. May He Rest in Peace
What ruined Christmas for me this year was that my dad passed just a few days before. His passing was on December 22nd, and we cremated him on December 26th. I spent Christmas Day with his body in the funeral home and set up the memorial program. I spent an hour with him on a bed, “talking” to him, telling him how much I missed him and wishing he would wake up.
55. An Empty Nest
We've had the holidays by ourselves for around 11 years now. My husband, our two young adult children, and I. All our grandparents have passed on. We used to get together with my husband's brother and his family, but after he divorced, it was too hard to set up plans as the kids were with their mother some of the time.
Everyone is an adult now and it's even harder to arrange, since some are now married or involved and have other places to be. "Home" is now us. My kids miss their cousins. They've missed them for over 10 years and now it's just a happy memory. I hope someday we'll be able to change it, but I don't know how exactly to do that.
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56. I’ve Got a Secret
What ruined Christmas for me was finding out that my 19-year-old sister secretly married her boyfriend and still hasn’t actually told us yet. Apparently, she’s waiting to tell us until she visits. None of us like her boyfriend (now husband), and he doesn’t treat her like she deserves to be treated. Looks like this Christmas will be very interesting…
57. Cutting It Out
The last time I saw my extended family like my aunt or cousins for the holidays was during college. They told me I was going to burn for dating a Jew, and the men were screaming terrible language at the TV while watching football. I went to hang out with my baby cousins, who were in middle and high school, and one of them told me that she learned that white people can only get AIDS if they’re partners with people of other races.
Once my grandfather passed, I cut contact with all my extended family.
58. Mother's Little Helper
Is anyone else’s family this dysfunctional? Every year, there is a major argument in my family during the holidays and finally, after 32 years, I was the one who blew up for the first time. To make a long story short, I’m half-Korean and half-white. My mom is Korean. My dad’s side is white. So, we only have my Dad’s side of the family living here in the United States with us.
For years, I have watched time and time again as certain relatives from my dad’s side repeatedly speak down to my mom. They never invite her to things. My brother and I have always been treated like outsiders by these family members. To be frank, I don’t really care how I'm treated by them. Every year, we always bite our tongues and survive the holidays because it’s only 2 or 3 times a year.
My mom even buys gifts every year for them, despite the fact that she never gets anything in return. She never complains. My white grandma is 80 years old now, and she’s the only thing still anchoring us to some of these family members. Three times in one day this Christmas, I watched a family member (aunt) raise her voice to my mom, talk to her as if she doesn’t speak English, and shut her down over simple questions like “Where should I sit?”
I watched my mom quietly recoil and I couldn’t stand to see it again. This aunt does it the most and I finally blew up. I yelled so loud that everyone instantly stopped what they were doing. I told them that enough is enough and that they had better start treating my mom with respect and as an equal in this house. I told them to stop speaking to my mom (who has lived in the US for over 35 years) as if she doesn’t understand English and to stop shutting her down over simple questions. I watched it happen year after year and insisted that I would not allow it to happen anymore.
My aunt stomped away and was so upset that she left the house. As she was walking away, I walked up to her and handed her my mom’s yearly gift to her. I said “For 30 years, I have watched my mom give you a gift every year. I watched her speak to you as an equal with respect. I’ve never once seen you treat her the same way in return.” She didn’t say anything to me in response; but before she walked out the door, she did something that shocked me: she actually apologized to my mom.
Before I left, I apologized to everyone for the outburst and explained why I had been so upset. Everyone was shocked, but once I explained it, they started to get it a bit more. But still, it definitely made things awkward for everyone there. People trickled out of the party early. Now, my poor grandma is already talking about not wanting to host Christmas anymore in the future due to our constant family drama. I feel bad about that, but at the same time, I’ve never felt so proud to stand up for my mom.
After we left, she gave me a very long mom hug. She didn’t say anything and just asked me if I wanted to go out for one of my favorite Korean dishes. That was her way of saying that she was proud of me. It felt good. Plus, Grandma’s 80th birthday is in two months. Now people will definitely think twice before being rude to my mom. Cheers and have a Happy New Year!
59. Crying At Christmas
We stopped having holidays with extended family when I realized that one: I had cried two Christmases in a row, and two: My partner has never had any input in how all of us celebrate Christmas together even when it was at our place. It also makes sticking to our toddlers' schedule way easier if you celebrate on your own. I can definitely recommend it.
60. Double Whammy
Christmas was ruined for me this year because I spent it alone with my feelings. No good food was had either.
61. I Can’t Leave!
This year is the first year I'm not going home for the holidays. It's not because of a long-lasting reason, or any bad blood or anything. It’s just because my family is going to Australia for Christmas and New Year's. Me not being a semi-retired baby boomer means I can’t afford to take 2 months off work and fly out to Australia. I’d get fired. So instead, I'll be spending Christmas alone with my cat.
62. He Should Probably Get That Checked Out...
What ruined Christmas for me this year was finding out that one of my cousins is in really poor health. I hadn't seen him in a few months, and he has since developed a hernia in his groin. It has grown to the size of a soccer ball and, though he's only 27 years old, he's gotten so sick that he looks and sounds like he's 45. And that's not even the worst part.
For some reason, he refuses to get medical attention for it. He's always struggled with depression and I worry that he's just waiting to pass at this point.
63. A Discrepancy In Price
My husband’s stepmother gave me, a 36-year-old at the time, a kindergarten size backpack. And the sick joke only got worse. When I opened it, she said, “I actually bought that for a kid a few years ago and she hated it, so I threw it in a closet. I saw it and thought you’d like it. None of us did, we all think it’s ugly.” That same year, they gave my three kids gifts totaling all together $15 with clearance stickers on them.
Her biological granddaughter opened a $300 unicorn. Which they made sure we knew cost $300, and then they pointed out to everyone our clearance stickers and what great deals they were. THEN they made my kids leave the room so the granddaughter could take pictures alone with her unicorn. It was the last Christmas we visited them.
64. Spoiling the Party
What ruined the holidays for me this year was finding out that my family had a Christmas party...without me. A few days before the 25th, I got a card from them with directions to a charity dinner. I figured that it was their way of telling they weren't doing anything this year. Apparently, it was actually their way of telling me that I wasn't invited.
65. Why Don’t I Get That?
When I was 12, I bought myself a kindle. Me and my sister spent an entire summer working for our grandpa and stepdad to save up for them, each of us spending about $200. My mom got all three of my brothers a kindle for Christmas and I got some clothes from Old Navy. I was livid, and when I talked to my mom about it, she told me that my sister and I had been excluding our brothers from hanging out while we played video games and it was unfair.
She never apologized or saw anything wrong with what she did, and I honestly still haven't forgiven her almost a decade later.
66. It May Never Feel Right Again
My baby son passed on in the summer. Christmas didn't feel right at all this year.
67. The Odd One Out
We went to my dad's side of the family for Christmas like we had done every year for 17 previous years, but because I had turned 18 a few months prior, everyone decided I didn't get a gift from anyone. I still don't understand why. Every other one of my cousins older or younger than 18 got something from someone, and I just sat there awkwardly.
My parents had brought presents for all of my cousins, and those weren't the only gifts they got...but my cousins just simply got nothing for me. It's not like nobody knew we were coming or anything either. I never will understand it. Everyone acted like nothing was wrong.
68. Time Doesn’t Heal All
A few months ago, I decided to cut my toxic mother out of my life. Of course, since it was the holiday season, my grandmother and a few cousins of mine decided that I needed to get into the Christmas spirit and forgive my mother because, "It’s Christmas!" I'm not forgiving someone who isn't sorry. I'm not allowing toxic people back into my life just because it's the holidays.
Dealing with that whole thing really sucked. It completely ruined Christmas for me this year.
69. Rewriting History
I went home for last Thanksgiving and got to hear my crazy stepdad’s theories on why Hitler had lived through the 20th Century and was living in Argentina. For six entire hours. Like, yeah okay, sure, that could have happened if he insists. But seriously why do we need to do this on Thanksgiving and why is it more than a 5-minute conversation?
70. Turning on the Waterworks
Christmas was ruined this year by my grandmother being a jerk. She's not a nice person (never has been) but this year, she went too far. She actually made my tough-as-nails mother cry. Now, my mom never cries and always holds her emotions back; so the fact that she was bawling her eyes out should tell you how bad things got this time…
71. Too Much Stuff
My husband doesn't like to go home back east because his parents are now housing his grandmother, who spends her fixed income on all kinds of garbage. They are literally having trouble keeping the house from being overrun by useless junk due to her hoarding. His brother just got married, but the high cost of living in metro NY means they are also living at home. That place is chaos on a normal day, the holidays are just ridiculous.
72. O Come All Ye Unfaithful
I found out about my husband’s affair while we were home for Christmas 15 years ago, and those were some very awful days for me. Celebrating the holiday was the last thing on my mind that year. Thankfully, just one year later, I was able to look back on it and say “Wow, I’m so glad I’m having THIS Christmas right now and not last year’s!” Big hugs to anyone who’s ever been through something similar.
73. You Don’t Like Him, Do You?
Last Christmas, I went over alone and left the boyfriend at home as he had plans with his own family. My family has never liked my boyfriend anyway, and makes a point of badmouthing him whenever he's not around. Well, I had been staying at their house for three days and at around 9PM on Christmas day, my boyfriend texts me to tell me he left his family's home.
I ask why and essentially his "totally reformed alcoholic" mother is actually not reformed, and she's selling her pills to a cousin. He catches her and she told him, “Well where do you think your Christmas money came from?" He gives her the money back and leaves. He's in tears because his mom's a piece of garbage, and now he's spending Christmas day alone.
So, I tell my family I'm going to leave and go spend time with him. They start losing it. Asking why he doesn't just come over, there's a family here he can be with. I tell them: "Because he's not stupid. He knows you don't like him." That starts a whole thing dunking on me for telling him that. It all ends with my mom calling him weak for not wanting to be alone on Christmas.
I desperately don't want to go back this year, but I have a feeling I'll get guilted into it.
74. Father Doesn’t Always Know Best
What has ruined just about every Christmas for me throughout my childhood has been the behavior of my father, who has a drinking problem. He would make up a new lie every year to explain why we didn’t have any presents. His favorite excuse was "They're in my work truck, I forgot to bring them home." He would just keep repeating this line over and over again after Christmas ended too, hoping we would eventually forget. In reality, we would stop asking; but we would never forget.
We usually found him passed out in his car on Christmas morning, still blitzed. He was also the type of person who would just get violently angry during every holiday. I think he's the reason why I have hated Christmas for most of my life. Luckily, I now have a wonderful girlfriend with an amazing family who welcome me into their home every year. Thanks to that, I'm actually starting to enjoy the holidays for a change.
75. You Can Come To Us!
My wife and I got tired of deciding which side of the family would get us on which holiday, so we decided to stay home for Thanksgiving and just cook for the two of us. We've done that for several years now, and it's wonderful. We'll visit the kids who still live in our state around Christmas, mostly to hand out presents. Out-of-state kids have to either come here or get theirs by UPS, because winter travel is a pain.
76. You’re a Mean One, Mrs. Grinch
My mom ruined Christmas. She basically turns into the Grinch at this time of year. She's a narcissist and only cares about her own feelings, and my dad does nothing about it. When it comes to her, he's just a coward.
77. The Annoying Stepfather
Our mother’s terrible husband would always, without fail, make every holiday awful. At Christmas he stood in the middle of the room with a trash bag to grab up wrappings the minute a gift was opened, and then he would vacuum under our feet to rush us out so they could leave for their weekend house. One year, he locked all the doors so the children couldn't get back in from playing.
They're crying, needing to go to the washroom, and we had no idea. He burnt the turkey by turning the oven up to hurry it to being done. Dang, we hated that guy.
78. Bringing Down the House
What ruined my Christmas this year was when my cousins got a mini bouncy castle, only for disaster to strike. The entire thing popped—while there were, like, ten screaming children inside of it, all under eight years old. When it happened, the amount of crying and shrieking almost broke my eardrums in half. Traumatized children do not make for a happy holiday.
79. You Really Think That…?
The last time I was home for a large family gathering my cousins were having a loud not-so-nice discussion about homosexuals. I, earlier in the day, had a run-in with the local Quickie Mart owner and was talking about how big of a jerk he was. Although my discontent with the man had absolutely nothing to do with his race—he was of Indian descent—my family launched into hours of fun being xenophobic jerks.
I learned a few things that night. One: They think the real purpose of a turban is always to conceal something dangerous. Two: I no longer have any reason to visit home for the holidays.
80. Home Is Where the Inheritance Is
What ruined Christmas for me this year? Easy. It was watching my dad and his siblings fighting over my recently deceased grandmother’s house. I really miss my grandma and really hope my family can work this out, especially because it turned out that neither my dad nor his siblings got the house. Instead, she did something that shocked everyone.
The attorney just called to let us know that Grandma randomly left the house to...me. And the rest of her assets are to be divided between me, my brother, and my two cousins. Even though I'm pre-law, I really don’t know what I am going to do.
81. Flaking and Leeching
For some reason, my brother and his wife are super unfriendly towards us and my extended family, including my parents. Just for example, my parents drove eight hours to come see them and they ended up sitting in their hotel room all weekend because he would never make plans or would cancel them at the last second. Note that my parents supported him financially well into his 30s.
Basically, every family function consists of my folks coddling to my brother and having him either blow them off or showing up briefly and being a complete jerk the whole time.
82. She’ll Give You an I.O.U.
What ruined Christmas for me this year was when my cousin stole $250 from me. Once she got caught, she said something I'll never forget: “But I need the money and you're too spoiled anyway!” She then proceeded to get to keep half of MY money after throwing a crying fit and refusing to give it back until she got some money from her mom.
After all that, I still don’t know why her parents don’t punish her if they actually care about being half-decent.
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83. Losing Conversation
Even when I was younger, I never felt much of a connection with any relatives other than my immediate family. Most of my family is from the south and enjoy things like fishing, hunting, and farming. Everyone is also very religious, so there's no drinking. I'm pretty much the complete opposite. I enjoy gaming, I'm introverted, and I love drinking.
Each time I'd go down for Thanksgiving all it consisted of was the super shallow small talk: "How is school? How is your girlfriend? How is work?" and the conversation would fizzle out. I've been going with my best friend to visit his family for thanksgiving for the last five-ish years where they all drink, play video games, and poke fun at each other.
It's a blast. I feel closer to my best friend’s family than I do my own. They make me feel so welcome.
84. An Awkward Time to Disappear
My niece and nephew’s uncle on the other side of the family ruined Christmas for us this year. His car was found randomly abandoned on the side of the road in the morning, with his phone on the front seat, vomit all over the car, and the back tire shredded. The whole family had to go out looking for him all day.
When we finally learned the truth, we felt so betrayed. Turns out he was fine. He was just being a complete jerk. They found him at a friend’s house, and then brought him home. This is by no means his first instance of selfish or reckless behavior, just a first that he did this kind of thing on Christmas. Oh, and he also didn’t bother to get his own children any presents, because “they were stolen out of his car.” Sure.
85. The Seventh Wheel
Last Thanksgiving, my mom told the entire family how she was depressed and felt like a terrible mother because of me, complaining that I had ruined her as a person. I’ve been struggling with mental health stuff for a long time, and they aren’t very understanding. Also, it's my parents, and my two sisters and their partners, with me being like a 7th wheel.
For the most part, I spend the entire holiday being ignored and talked over or snapped at. Either way holidays just make me feel like garbage. I still have to go, unfortunately.
86. Changes In The Family
The last conversation I had with my father was him calling me to tell me he kicked me off the insurance and doesn't approve of me being trans. I told him I'll do what makes me happy and have refused to go see him, despite my brothers both asking me to come with them to visit him. For whatever reason, my mother and her new husband always host super awkward holiday parties, and my coming out hasn't exactly helped.
I can handle Christmas, since they usually invite extended family I can catch up with, but Thanksgiving is just the immediate family and anyone we might be dating. Last Thanksgiving, my brother's girlfriend – the only black person at an otherwise very white party – and my own girlfriend actually hugged it out in solidarity due to how uncomfortable it was.
87. A Ball Of Nerves
My body is made of stress and string cheese. I get very nauseous when I’m not the driver, but I hate long drives. I can’t sleep outside of my own bed anymore, and if I don’t sleep or don’t take my meds, then I get nauseous all day. It’s all a huge hassle to be with people who have infuriating political opinions, and it makes me wish I lived in another body. So, I just... try not to be with them.
88. A Pressure For Children
My wife has a disease that makes childbirth complicated. She also has a degree in fine arts. We had to wait a long time to have a child. I told my mom that pressuring us made my wife feel unwelcome in the family, and if I had a perfectly healthy wife with a great career and no college debt, I could have had a child much earlier. My mom is unbelievably dense, stubborn, naive, and insensitive. This led to a major fight at Thanksgiving 5 years ago. I've still not got a solid apology from her.
89. Left Out In The Cold
When I was about 13, like many other teenage girls, I worried about my weight. One dish my family always had for Thanksgiving was candied yams with big marshmallows on top. I opted out of eating the marshmallows. My family's "punishment" was so disturbing I'll never forgive them. They locked me outside on the porch, while I was only in light PJs, standing in the snow.
They enjoyed their Thanksgiving dinner in front of me because the table was right in front of the glass porch door. I was very lucky to somehow not get frostbite, but I learned that day that frostnip can be quite painful. The most crushing thing however is that my grandmother was visiting for that holiday, and she sided with my parents and saw no wrong in this.
She even joined in their later berating. This kind of punishment wasn't abnormal but having someone witness and not care was one of the worst experiences of my life. I don't talk to any of them anymore.
90. Not The Right Gift
My parents would routinely give me "gifts" like chocolate, or some random thing I don't need like a picture frame. Then they'd go, "Oh you're too fat to eat it, you don't want that chocolate, right?" Then they'd regift my "gift" to their friend's kids. My sister who was in middle school at the time got an iPad and a year later, a MacBook.
Yea, I'd rather not go home to a place that constantly belittles me. I make sure I get my sister a good present but beyond that, I'm gone.
91. Christmas Alarm
Last time I went home for Christmas, my stepdad told my younger brother and sister to wake him up at seven so they could begin to open presents. So of course, on Christmas morning, they both got up super early, and they waited patiently until seven like he asked them to do before waking the parents up. Unfortunately, my stepdad once again was binge drinking all night.
He was not ready to be up at seven, so he got in a screaming match with my 13-year-old sister, called her names, and pretty much set the stage for one of the most miserable family gatherings I've ever experienced. By the end of the day, he had done something awful to everyone, and Christmas was completely and utterly ruined.
92. Taking Some Insurance
My dad rigged my car to explode the last time I saw him. He and my stepmom took out life insurance policies on my stepsister and me. That year, I went to their house for the holidays and while we were eating, he went out into my car and loosened up all of the fuel lines. It was a 300zx, so the engine would get really hot. He took off the engine cover so that it was bare metal under the hood.
I caught him outside with the hood up when I went out to smoke. He said he was just glancing around. One day, a few weeks later, the fuel lines popped off while I was driving. The car just sputtered out, thank God, so I jumped out and popped the hood to see fuel had sprayed all over everything. Called my dad to ask what to do.
He told me I had to get the car to his house which was 30 miles away. Instead, I got it towed to my shop and that's where they told me that it looked like the hose clamps were intentionally loosened. I knew that no one else was ever even under the hood. So, I never went back.
93. Lost in Translation
It was a shirt that said, "I'm not a gynecologist, but I'll take a look anyway!" It was from my stepdad’s mom. She knows I want to be a doctor, and her English is no bueno. I found it hilarious. Once we translated it to her she almost cried from embarrassment. I proudly wore it for the rest of the day.
94. Can’t Hardly Wait
Last year, my husband's grandma hosted Christmas dinner at her house and asked us to provide the turkey—but that's not even the trashiest part. We had to go to spend Christmas with my husband's dad's side that morning, so we dropped the turkey off on our way to his dad's house. His grandma said that they would be eating at 4.
We arrived back at his grandma’s house around 3:45 and everyone had already eaten all the food. Including the entire turkey.
95. John McCry
My parents got divorced a week before Christmas. I was eight. That year, after Christmas dinner, my dad put me and my sister to bed. An hour or so later I could hear my dad crying. I went out to hug him. He was watching Die Hard on TV. I sat and watched with him. So now every year, we watch Die Hard together.
96. Something Wicked This Way Comes (to Dinner)
My uncle brought a woman other than his wife. She was crazy. A practicing witch who would "divine" things about us on the spot and ironically accused my other uncle of having an affair. She got drunk and groped me in the coat closet, then tried to kiss me saying, "If only I were young again." I was 16.
97. Family Is What It’s All About
Back in the late 70s and early 80s, my dad was diagnosed with a terminal form of cancer. My mom was having to spend time at the hospitals or waiting for his treatments, so she got some projects to keep her occupied while waiting and worrying. She began working on a flannel patchwork quilt. Whenever I could, I would bring her a small bit of fabric to work into the quilt. Sometimes, I would get off the bus early so I could walk by a fabric store and bring her a new color.
Years went by after my dad passed on. Mom had put the quilt away. I thought it might remind her of all the scary, sad, and heartbreaking times she had hand sewed it through, waiting for the next awful thing to happen on my dad's way out. I did not ever bring it up. But, a decade later when I was having my first Christmas away from my birth family, she sent me a package to open.
It was my first Christmas together with my husband. My family lived several hundred miles away and I felt sort of sad, but also very much in love. When I finally opened the gift, I burst into tears. Inside the package was the quilt, completed. She had written me a note saying that she had continued to work on it after Dad passed, knowing one day that it would be mine. I will keep that quilt all my life and hopefully pass it on to my grandkids someday.
98. Home Is Where the Inheritance Is
What ruined Christmas for me this year? Easy. It was watching my dad and his siblings fighting over my recently deceased grandmother’s house. I really miss my grandma and really hope my family can work this out, especially because it turned out that neither my dad nor his siblings got the house. Instead, she did something that shocked everyone.
The attorney just called to let us know that Grandma randomly left the house to...me. And the rest of her assets are to be divided between me, my brother, and my two cousins. Even though I'm pre-law, I really don’t know what I am going to do.
99. She’ll Give You an I.O.U.
What ruined Christmas for me this year was when my cousin stole $250 from me. Once she got caught, she said something I'll never forget: “But I need the money and you're too spoiled anyway!” She then proceeded to get to keep half of MY money after throwing a crying fit and refusing to give it back until she got some money from her mom.
After all that, I still don’t know why her parents don’t punish her if they actually care about being half-decent.
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100. An Awkward Time to Disappear
My niece and nephew’s uncle on the other side of the family ruined Christmas for us this year. His car was found randomly abandoned on the side of the road in the morning, with his phone on the front seat, vomit all over the car, and the back tire shredded. The whole family had to go out looking for him all day.
When we finally learned the truth, we felt so betrayed. Turns out he was fine. He was just being a complete jerk. They found him at a friend’s house, and then brought him home. This is by no means his first instance of selfish or reckless behavior, just a first that he did this kind of thing on Christmas. Oh, and he also didn’t bother to get his own children any presents, because “they were stolen out of his car.” Sure.
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