Ah, the holidays. They’re the best of times, they’re the worst of times…but mostly, they’re straight-up nightmares. Driving hours in the snow to grandma’s house, arguing with rarely seen relatives, and family feuds to end all family feuds. Sound familiar? If so, read on, because these Redditors had absolutely horrible yuletide experiences and lived to tell the tale—barely.
1. Naughty, Not Nice
It's Christmas morning and I can hear my nephew, who lives in the apartment downstairs, throwing a temper tantrum because he thinks his sister got "larger gifts" from Santa this year. His dad goes, "Are you joking right now? You better be joking. Say just kidding. Oh my god, tell me he's kidding." Seriously, the kid is a spoiled brat.
2. Money Can’t Buy Class
My wife ruined my Christmas. I don’t know if I’m ever going to be able to look at her the same. She called the simple ring my daughter received from her boyfriend “a trash ring” because she wasn't wearing the nearly $700 class ring we had just given her. I have never been so disgusted with my wife. It’s a whole new side to her.
3. Bad Boy
I woke up at 4:30am to the sound of my dog throwing up. After cleaning up and snuggling with him, 6:00 am rolls around and he starts having shallow breathing. I’ve now been sitting in the vet ER parking lot since then and waiting for his exam to finish. He was diagnosed with pneumonia and racked up a $900 bill.
4. Perfect For You
A few years ago, my aunt gave me a rock for Christmas. She gave presents to me and my two older cousins and said it’s time for the big girls to open their gifts. She made my cousins go first and they got scarves. Then I opened my present…and pulled a rock out of the package. I looked up, waiting for her to laugh, and she said, "Isn't it wonderful??"
So I had to be like “Yeah, I loooove it!!” She then told me that she had dug it out of her garden the previous summer and she knew that I would think it is sooo cool. The following year, she gave me acorn tops because "some people know how to use them to whistle and I don't know how to show you or explain, but I'm sure you can figure it out." She is a tad eccentric. Both were pretty terrible presents.
5. One Big Angry Family
I found out that my wife was cheating on me at 11:30 PM Christmas Eve while we were at her parents’ house. I packed up my stuff, walked right by her family—who, to be fair, didn’t know what was going on—and drove 6 hours in a crazy rain storm to my parents’ house. So there’s that. I know it’s going to be okay, but…not a good Christmas.
6. Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder
My Granddad, who I’m very close with, has been in the hospital for almost two weeks and unfortunately, he can't be home for Christmas. We've never had a Christmas without him for all the 20 years of my life. We can't visit either. I gave him a call this morning and it put a big lump in my throat. Then he said something that made me burst into tears.
He mentioned that he got a gift from the ward, which got him emotional and made me cry in return. He calmed down and started to tell me about the turkey dinner he's having today, which he's excited about. Good news, though; he should be home before New Year.
7. Taking It For Granted
My cousin, who bought Chick-fil-A to holiday dinner just so he wouldn't have to eat our homemade meals, announced upon arriving that, actually, he wasn't helping with anything. No cleaning, cooking, babysitting, nothing. He then tried to use substances all day on Christmas Eve, and was drinking before noon by himself on that same day.
When I told him no Christmas shenanigans and to please clean up his dishes, he screamed in my face.
8. Mother Doesn’t Know Best
My mom’s denial of her bipolar disorder really ruined my Christmas. Right now, she is in full manic mode. I traveled eight hours from another country to be with my parents on Christmas, and I was supposed to stay for almost two weeks, but the atmosphere was so toxic that I had to get out after just three days living around it.
When I told them I was leaving, the situation went from bad to worse. During the talk, I admitted I couldn’t handle her screaming and aggressive fights and overall nasty behavior. I want to help her so badly, but she flat-out screamed to my face that she isn’t ill, this is who she is, and I just have to accept it because it won’t get any better.
I have my own mental health issues and I couldn’t take it anymore because she was pouring verbal toxic waste into me every minute I was with her. I sat on a bus back home and arrived at three am to my apartment, to spend Christmas alone.
9. Child’s Play
Well, I got left with building EVERY single toy set for my nephew. And these aren't simple plug in things, either. We’re talking booklets with like seven bags of screws and wooden dowels that I have to twist and fit perfectly to build the toys, otherwise he’s going to have a fit. It's now 6:00 am and I still have one left. But that will have to wait.
10. Parent Of The Year
My mom decided that it’s better for her and for me that she is going to spend the holidays with her much younger boyfriend—there’s like a 15-17 year difference. But that’s not even the worst part. Her boyfriend lives in another city, while her second husband (my step-dad) is in a different country trying to work for us so he can help us with money. So here I am, barely 18, spending my first Christmas and New Year's Eve alone.
11. In The Dog House
I was planning to go spend Christmas with my mom and dad this year after my nine-year relationship and two-year engagement broke off just before Christmas. I just moved out, so I'm alone for the first time in nine years, and it was hitting me pretty hard. I thought it couldn't get worse—but I was wrong. My dog got a really bad stomach bug, and he woke me up three times at night to go outside for a poop.
He usually sleeps through the night with no problem. This morning, I discovered a pile of puke on his dog bed. It's not his fault, but I don't know if I can go anywhere today.
12. It’s All Fun And Games…
My 5-year-old opening his new Nintendo Switch and immediately dropping one of the controllers into my wife's coffee. Yep, that ruined my Christmas. Literally 1.2 seconds from opening to “Oh god NO. No, it wasn't really his fault—he picked it up out of the box, it was in a plastic sleeve, and it slid out of the sleeve and into the cup.
Still, not our finest moment as a family unit. At least we can laugh about it in Christmases to come.
13. All Dogs Go To Heaven
My dog suddenly passed earlier this month due to sudden onset aggressive cancer. It’s my first Christmas without him. Honestly, he loved Christmas more than me. He’d wake me up early because he knew what wrapped presents meant. He would lie by them waiting. He was such a good boy, and I miss him so unbearably already.
14. The Doctor Is Out
I have Crohn’s disease and I got an abscess right near my sphincter that had to be surgically drained under general anesthesia. That’s not even the worst part. Unbeknownst to them, it was so deep and it went so high up in my right cheek that there were complications in surgery. The operating room looked like somebody threw blood everywhere when I left.
It happens because it shoots out from the pressure, especially if they aren't prepared. Well, then they forgot to give me pain medicine when I went home. At first, I was still numb from surgery so I couldn't feel anything. Cue six hours later, 10:30 pm my time, and I head BACK to the ER. I finally got a pain pill in me in the wee hours of the morning.
Now I have to wait until the fight or flight reaction goes back down, which means I’ll take the pills for a bit and then I will eventually calm down. Worst of all, this isn’t my first Christmas or New Year’s in the ER, not by a long shot.
15. Burden Of Care
My mom's knee surgeon who broke her femur while applying a new prosthesis ruined Christmas. Now I have to stay with her and my ailing father 24/7 because she's immobilized and can't care for him. So I don't get to be with my husband for Christmas—or most of December for that matter. Somehow though, it took a bigger downward turn.
After this all happened, my mom started pitching a fit because she can't do Christmas the way she wants to, despite the fact that she gets to see literally all of her loved ones and they’ll come to her. I’m not out to get the doctor, but he is responsible for my greatest holiday adversity, even though that complication only happens in like 2% of procedures.
Still, I'm making the most of it and trying not to take it out on my mom. I get to see my sister and niece, but I haven't seen my husband in a few weeks now and I really would've preferred to spend last night with him in person as opposed to on a video call.
16. The Christmas Choice
So it was a group effort of my parents to ruin my Christmas. Last summer, my mom decided to finally divorce my dad. My dad had been a big drinker for a while, and eight or nine years ago my mom had decided not to divorce him because my oldest sister (who was 14 at the time) would have had to be the sober adult on the days that us three kids were with our dad.
Now that I (the youngest) am almost out of high school, she felt it was safe for us kids to handle the divorce. It's complicated and I've already rambled enough already, so I'll just say that my mom has had enough trying to make things work, while my dad is in denial, thinking we can still work something out without going to a full divorce.
He also blames himself for everything when, at least partly, it really just didn't work out. His drinking is just part of the picture. Well, a week or two ago, my dad sent me a text I wished I could unsee. It was a very emotionally distressed message that was basically an ultimatum, telling me to choose between my two parents.
Nonetheless, this gave me an opportunity to stop going to his house every week and stay with my mom indefinitely. Now it's Christmas, though, and we're spending Christmas morning at his house so that he's not alone like he was on Thanksgiving. My dad means well, but he goes crying over every little thing and being around him makes everyone in the family depressed.
Let's see how this morning goes. I'm on my way now. My dad is now 7 months sober and counting. It means a lot to him, it just seems like no one cares.
17. The Great Forgetting
My mom is old, and her vibrancy is gone. Her bones are brittle. Her hair is gray. Her eyes are glazed over from cataracts. Her skin is patchworked with blood spots. And it is not cliché to say it happened overnight. Just three years ago, she was getting a monthly pedicure and keeping hair appointments to cut and color her once brown hair.
With her five children grown and gone, she never stayed home. From the time she woke until dinnertime, she was outside roaming in her car, visiting friends and shopping. She was alive and loving every minute of her new freedom that was formerly restricted from being a full-time nurse, a housewife, and a mother. Then the accident changed everything.
Three years ago, she stepped off a sidewalk curb and lost her balance. Her right shoulder completely shattered, and it was how she discovered she had osteoporosis. The entire shoulder had to be replaced. The surgeon picked out pieces of splintered bones and put in a round metal ball to give her about 60 percent use of her shoulder again.
She suffered through the yearlong healing process…and fell again, this time breaking a bone in her back and knee. For the last few years, her car has been supplanted with a recliner. The last few Christmas holidays have obviously not been the same. This one will more than likely be the last. A few months ago, I started noticing the memory problems.
I visit her weekly, and since the Breaking of Bones I have been spending every Saturday morning and night with her by sleeping in my old childhood room. The severity of the memory problems became more noticeable every week I returned. For the first time since I was born, my mom forgot my birthday. Birthdays are more important to no one other than a mother—at least, my mother.
Birthdays were an event celebrated in my parents’ home more than Christmas was. My birthday, my brother’s birthday, and my father’s birthday are all in December. My mom forgot all three. No phone calls. No cards. No cake. No celebrations. We did not remind her. We only spoke of it amongst ourselves briefly to mention that we noticed.
Maybe it did not need to be broached. More than likely, though, we were so saddened about the Great Forgetting that none of us could bring ourselves to discuss it. Last week, just four days before Christmas, my mother told me when she was a teenager that she would eat the honeycombs from real bee honey. She said it was her favorite thing to eat as a child.
She and her two sisters would sit on the porch and put the comb on an English muffin or hot biscuits. She said she would not eat oatmeal unless she had honeycomb pieces to put in it. Sometimes, she would just suck on the honeycomb before finally eating it by itself. She and her two sisters felt so rich and luxurious if they had it.
“Honeycomb was not easy to come by back then,” she said to me. “I can’t remember what it tasted like, but it was the best kind of candy. I wish I could taste it again.” It is said that men have trouble listening to women. They hear them, they just do not listen. I had no trouble listening to my mom. I knew what her Christmas gift was going to be this year.
I got mom six separate quarts of honey with combs in them. I had to go to three different bee apiaries in two different states to get them. I spent no fewer than two days tracking down and purchasing honeycomb. Apparently it is not a popular request with bee farmers. The price was costly, but would be worth it. It would be the best gift I have ever given my mom.
I would give her the gift of honey to help atone for my mistakes made when I was younger. Maybe this gift would help her forget the disappointment I caused when I dropped out of college after she paid the tuition. Maybe this gift would help her forget the time I sold the two wingback chairs only six months after she gifted them to me for my new apartment.
I needed the money, and I got it. No money was worth the first and only time I made my mother cry when she learned I sold those chairs—the same chairs she had gotten from my grandmother. I was a bad son, I made mistakes. Maybe this Christmas gift would make all that better. I will call it the Honeycomb Atonement. Naming it so will make it easier for me to remember this current Christmas when I get old later and start having my own memory problems.
This year will be doubly special for me because I know this will be my mom’s last Christmas. Her memory problem is worsening quickly. The differences are noticeable now almost daily. But I had a secret I could not tell her for two more days until Christmas morning. Why can it not be Christmas Day right now so I can give her this gift right now, I thought.
This is going to be her best Christmas. I am certain of it. I am going to drop a hint about her gift like she used to do with me as a child a few days before Christmas. Yesterday, while I was sitting on my mom’s couch with her across from me in her recliner, I asked, “Mom, do you remember when you used to eat honeycombs on the porch with Pat and Dina?”
She turned her head to face me with a blank stare. Her response chilled me to the bone. “Honeycombs?” She asked. “Who told you that? No, I never ate honeycombs. Those things were disgusting.”
18. Father Christmas
You decide what ruined my Christmas the most: My dad was hospitalised for drinking recently and now that he's home, I'm the only family member left who will take care of him and help organise his life, since my brother doesn't have any capacity to care whatsoever and is off having a happy little Christmas of his own with his family.
I came to spend Christmas with my dad even though he's in a bad mood and argumentative about things. He has carers who come in four times a day between 7 am and 10 pm, which does not change over the holidays. While I was there, I found that two expensive items were taken from his house last night. There are only carers who come in, so it must have been them.
I also had two hours of sleep last night because my dad has a searing toothache and today I've had to call the medical care line to book a dental appointment for Sunday for him, so will have to extend my stay with him to take care of that and get him there, even though I can't drive. There's no Christmas dinner, nothing special at all, and I'm very tired.
19. Life Comes At You Fast
My girlfriend ruined my Christmas. She has a drinking problem and decided, hey, let me get wasted at my first Christmas with my boyfriend’s family. Don’t get me wrong, she’s a fun drinker…up to a certain point. Once she passes that threshold, though, she’s a clumsy, emotional, angry, awful person and goes the extra mile to make a statement.
Except the statement makes no sense, ever. Then, not “understanding” her infuriates her, and then the arguments begin. But it doesn’t end there. Instead of letting me try to defuse her outburst, she attacks me verbally and says some of most screwed up stuff. Because I’m no punching bag, I attack back and we went into a verbal free-for-all.
Now I’m single. Yep, we broke up on Christmas at a family gathering.
20. A Happy Meal
My wife ruined it. She left the fridge open when we went to bed yesterday, so we needed to throw away all our Christmas food. I don't mind really, though. We celebrated by ourselves and our newborn, so there was food for two. Things happen when you are tired. And it's actually an okay excuse to go to McDonald’s, after all.
21. She Has A Type
My girlfriend’s sister ruined my Christmas. She has three young girls and just terrible taste in men. So of course, she chooses today, via a video call with the kids, to reveal to everybody that she is now dating a well-known addict within our town. She has a very addictive personality and has struggled to stay clean herself. My girlfriend is now ridiculously stressed out and worried for the kids.
22. Angels Among Us
My grandma is into spiritualist stuff. Whatever, we thought at first, she's happy and it's not like the money she gives to the interest puts her well-being in jeopardy. We were so, so wrong. We found out that the people to whom she's been giving money for years are scamming her for a very large amount of money and giving nothing back.
In response, my dad and uncles stopped taking her to the place where they sell the stuff. Well, the store called her and convinced her that her family, us, wants to do her harm. This was right before the holidays, so she was very sour and barely spoke to anyone throughout Christmas, even though it was a painfully small gathering.
People were bitter and worried, and it was a very tense meeting.
23. Life’s Not Fair
Lung cancer ruined my Christmas by popping up the week before the holidays. I’ve been an endurance athlete my whole life, I don’t partake in any smoking and I barely drink. Yet I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. We just did a CT scan, and the results broke my heart. I got them three days ago: I definitely have lung cancer.
I’m only 29 years old, just finished grad school and landed my dream job three weeks ago.
24. Unhappy Holidays
My long-term girlfriend, who I was going to spend Christmas with, cheated on me. Then when I tried to forgive her and gave her a chance to make it work, she decided she simply wanted to end things there. Now I’m sitting here staring at the huge pile of gifts I’d got her, wondering what the point is anymore. Not a good Christmas.
25. House-Bound
My dad and his wife live in the Midwest, while my wife and I live in California. In September, my dad had asked my wife and I to consider moving to the same Midwest city as him and his wife. My dad said he'd help us with moving expenses, buying a house, or whatever else we needed. By the way, my dad and his wife are millionaires.
My wife and I, however, are not nearly as well off, and are just starting our careers. We talked about it, and we liked the city, and the prospect of getting some help buying a house (which we all know is a futile millennial dream) was enough for us to say yes. My dad and his wife had just purchased a new home and told us that as soon as they sold their old home, they'd co-sign and/or help with a down payment on a house in their city.
They hooked us up with their realtor right away and informed their realtor of the game plan. We're looking at homes online the entire time and making a list of houses to view when we return to the Midwest for Christmas. That’s when it all unraveled. After opening presents, in front of the ENTIRE family, my dad tells me that he's decided he wants to put in a pool and doesn't want to help us buy a house.
He then avoids me for the next three days, and the night before my wife and I are supposed to fly back out, I've had enough. I tell my wife to pack her bags and we'll stay in a hotel the last night. My dad overhears us talking about it, interjects—after literally not seeing him for three days, despite being in the same house.
I calmly confront him about the entire situation. His wife flies off the handle and bum rushes me from across the room, completely unprovoked. My dad has to restrain her. She tells me to leave and never come back. My dad backs her up and says, "Yeah, if you don't leave, I'm going to call the authorities.” I scoffed, pointed out that we were already leaving, and called an Uber.
I haven't talked to him since—we blocked him and his wife. A year later, my wife and I are six months pregnant, I just got my dream job making great money, and my dad has no idea about either. Additionally, my brother and his girlfriend refused to visit my dad for Christmas and have more or less cut contact with my dad and his wife.
26. Say Uncle
My stupid uncle. The story behind why I hate him is long and involved, but every year I hate him and my awful cousins just a little bit more. This year though? Screw him. My 83-year-old grandma had been caring for my 88-year-old grandpa with dementia, incontinence, and legs so bad he could barely stand, let alone get around.
My grandfather was horrible to her because he was so confused he couldn’t figure things out, and lashed out at her. My mom went up and helped as much as she could, and I did too. My uncle, however, never lifted a single finger. Instead, he made my grandma feel guilty about thinking about putting my grandfather in respite care because he was getting so bad.
She was all alone with no outside help. And yet he whined at her for even thinking about putting my grandpa in respite just so she could get a break from the 24 hour care. She eventually snapped and had a mental breakdown from the stress. She also decided on putting my grandpa in respite in the end—and then the worst happened.
Unfortunately, he suffered a stroke and passed couple of months later. Did my uncle help plan arrangements? No. Did he go to my grandma’s at all the day he passed? No. Then he insulted my mom because she didn’t personally give him the funeral plans even though my aunt was there the whole time and could have told him at any time.
Then, THEN he actually whines about not having a traditional Thanksgiving dinner and made my grandma feel so guilty that she prepared dinner for his family by herself, ONE MONTH after my grandfather’s passing. AND he did his usual thing of arriving two hours late, leaving her sitting there trying to keep food warm. Like she has to do every year.
This year I said screw that, I’ll have Christmas here and you do whatever the heck you want, but it will NOT involve guilting my grandma again to make a whole Christmas dinner for your selfish, whiny butt. Well, plans changed, and me and my brother (plus our spouses and children) are going to my grandma’s on Sunday, but he wasn’t going to be there.
But could he leave well enough alone? No, now he’s intruding on my nice relaxed Christmas with my grandma and I have to be forced to be in the same room as him. The saving grace is my terrible cousins will not be there. If he follows the same pattern as every year before, though, he will be two-three hours late and we will already be gone, so it won’t matter.
27. If The Clothes Fit…
So every year we go to our grandma's house (which is next door) and open the majority of our presents, then come back to our house and open the rest. So over at our grandma's, we only get like a couple of presents and half of them were clothes. Rock on for me because I needed some. But, my little brother, who is 11, decided to say and loudly repeat, "Can we go home, all I got was clothes. I want to go home!"
This looked so disrespectful to everyone because all he was thinking about was more presents and he wasn't grateful. I got the same amount of clothes and the two other things I got there I thought were cool. I also made sure to SHOW my appreciation.
28. Not-So Picture Perfect
My mother and I worked hard and waited months, with the help from an Etsy store, to make a poster of a song my father loves. The poster had all the lyrics from “My Man” by Lynn Anderson, as well as a picture of them on their wedding day. My mom wanted to dedicate it to my father and give it to him to show how much she cares.
Anyway, we all open presents last night and are so excited for my dad to see our gift. The minute he opened it, I knew something was wrong. He smiles but doesn't say anything. Then, hours later, my mother comes in my room bawling her eyes out. Apparently, my father said, "I hate it. It looks like a kindergartener wrote it. I felt disrespected as soon as I saw it." I was livid, and confronted him by asking "Why do you hate it?" and he says the same thing.
He then tells me to go screw off and not ask him for anything ever again. Next thing we heard was the poster being ripped from the frame, and I found it ripped to pieces. My mom ripped it up in anger and sadness, and she also ripped up their wedding photo on the poster. So once again, another Christmas down the drain because of my awful dad.
29. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
My boyfriend’s family left him alone on Christmas. He begged me to stay with him, but it’s a tradition that I always stay at my mom’s house. I invited him to stay with me, and instead of being grateful, he came in the house and fought with me about going with him. He ended up locking himself in my room and refusing to leave, even when my parents were trying to make him leave.
They bought presents for him and made food and drinks for him, but he didn’t even take them because he wanted his way so bad. I didn’t get to enjoy my Christmas Eve at all...I spent the whole day crying.
30. An Ivy-League Burn
Grandma called my degree useless and a waste of time. Not going to lie, that hurt and ruined Christmas for me. I just graduated this year and wasn’t even able to go to my own graduation. For what it’s worth, I went to a top 10 college.
31. Party Pooper
My brother leaned in the corner staring at his phone the entire Christmas Party. He wouldn’t open any gifts, he wouldn't eat, he wouldn't even speak to anyone. He was just standing there in a shredded hoodie, neck at a 90° angle, staring at his phone. My step-dad dragged him outside to talk, but it didn’t do anyone any good. He just got worse.
He came inside and was a complete jerk to anyone and everyone. He even yelled at his son for yelling "I love it! I love it!" when he opened his gift.
32. Doesn’t Age Well
My 90-year-old grandfather ruined my Christmas. I've been his caretaker for the last few months, and he pulled a knife on me this week, calling me the "greatest disappointment of his whole life" and a "worthless piece of junk.” All this even though I just got into medical school this year. Took all the joy right out of the holiday.
33. The Opposite Of Puppy Love
My wife and I went to exchange gifts at our in-laws on Christmas Eve, and it ended badly. In May, our family adopted a rescue puppy, and it was a very hyper breed. During the holidays, it was still a puppy. Meanwhile, my father-in-law keeps a four-year-old Labrador they never trained or socialized, and who is an absolute nightmare.
At first, we didn’t plan on bringing our dog around their dog so as to not pick up bad habits, as well as their age difference. But then my father-in-law thought it'd be cute to let them play. Instantly, my puppy goes into play mode. Running in circles and jumping on the Labrador. Normal behavior, mind you, but to the father-in-law this was violent.
Still, the Labrador is clearly uncomfortable and so was the owner, so I call for my dog and she comes. As my dog was prancing back to me, my father-in-law smacks my 5-month-old puppy to the ground, yelling "bad dog!” We left. 0/10.
34. A Christmas Surprise
My older brother is an addict, and he and his girlfriend came over to the house for Christmas Eve. They were both messed up and wouldn't shut up or stop arguing at each other. One thing led to another, words were said, and he attacked me, I promptly choked him out, cause he's weak. His girlfriend was attacking me when I did it, so I got up afterward and threw her out of the house.
I threw her boots and jacket out behind her. My brother woke up and left as well, but later that night it all started up again. They got into a domestic, the authorities came, and my brother ended up breaking his arm. So my mother had to drive him to the hospital at 3:00 am. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE! My mom is a saint putting up with it.
35. Special Delivery
Last week, FedEx delivered some of the gifts I'd ordered, but instead of placing them on my porch, they left them behind my vehicle in the driveway. I have no idea why they did this. It’s a long, private driveway separated by several hundred feet of woods in each direction from neighbors, and the packages were relatively small.
I also have no pets that could have scared the delivery guy. I can only assume they were in a hurry. I can't imagine the stress of working during a shipping season of unprecedented volume, let alone making it through a year like this, when nearly every tiny bit of normalcy we experience falls on them to deliver.
A lot of these folks are probably seasonal temps just trying to do whatever they can to make ends meet during these trying economic times. HOWEVER. It took me a long time to appreciate this once disaster struck. See I subsequently backed over the packages when I went to get groceries. The packages were small enough to pass beneath the bumper of the truck, and positioned close enough that they could not be seen from the rear and side-view mirrors.
Not the greatest turn of events, if I’m honest.
36. This Story Slaps
I have this one aunt. A Bad Aunt. She used to babysit me a lot when I was a kid—I’m grown now—and she displayed some really disturbing tendencies toward me. Eventually when I became an adult, I realized with horror that she was likely into little children. But today she finally got what was coming to her. Our family was all together.
My sister has a little toddler, my niece, and she was strutting around. Suddenly, my aunt said in her creepy voice, “what a cute little butt,” and did a spank/grab of some of the chub. My sister wasted no time: She slapped her so hard it nearly knocked her out. It was great. Next year, I don’t think she’s going to be invited over at all.
37. Sibling Rivalry
Yesterday, my sister falsely accused me of attacking her five years ago. But it’s her reason why that was horrific. I told my parents yesterday that she had been physically harming me for the past few months. I was sick and tired of enduring it just because I was the “big brother.” It made me so infuriated that she makes something else up just to save herself saying, “That was the reason why I did all those things.”
Worst of all, my family believed her, and they already have a messed up image of me. I pleaded with my family to hire a polygraph test for both of us or a detective or something to prove my innocence, but she cried more and says even though it’s hard she will forgive me. Of course, she’s just trying to avoid the polygraph test.
Really ruined Christmas and makes me so depressed that my family sided with her. Eventually, I pleaded to my parents to please try and interrogate my sister again, because her story kept changing with little details as she piled on more misinformation to make me look bad. She eventually broke down and came clean that she lied in order to avoid punishment.
My parents and I cried for almost an hour together, I finally could eat dinner with them, and I got to open presents with them. My sister still went scot-free and acts like nothing happened, but I can’t even look at her face or go near her.
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38. The Mother Of All Bad Christmases
My husband hates our Christmas tree, so it’s only half up in the living room. I haven’t had time to finish it because when I’m not working, I’m running errands and battling school with the kids. I was up until 4:00 am putting out Santa stuff. My husband brought the bags inside and went back to sleep while I set it all out.
However, he forgot to get my daughter’s big gift (a trampoline) out of storage, so I don’t know how I’m going to explain that. It was his one task. My three children didn’t even wake me up when they looked at their Santa gifts this morning. They know how much I look forward to it. Then my husband is having an anxiety attack and has just slept all day.
He didn’t even bother to participate during our family gift exchange. Now I’m cooking Christmas dinner alone while the entire house sleeps. The kids did complain that I added onion to the pot roast, though. I wanted to make turkey, but by the time I was able to get to the store, they were all frozen and I had no time to thaw.
I’ve asked the kids to take the trash out that I gathered after Christmas presents and Santa, and no one has. My husband did complain to me about the bags being in his way though, when he ventured downstairs for 10 minutes. After cooking and eating, I will have to do the dishes too while everyone enjoys their presents. That I bought for everyone on my own, with no help.
And wrapped. And set out. And cleaned up afterward. And once again, my husband didn’t even bother to participate or open his. I opened nothing because his gift to me was in a room that had three closed garbage bags full of wrapping paper and plastic propped against the shut door. Not even gross. And my kids, one with a job, don’t ever get me anything.
My husband has never taken them to a store or even online to pick me out a dollar something. So buying a gift for me isn’t something they even think about. Bah. Humbug. When I ranted to my husband about it all, he told me that I was obviously in a bad mood. To be fair, my husband genuinely has anxiety and never really celebrated Christmas even as a kid.
He doesn’t have traditions or anything that guide him. He participates solely for us. Also, his mother passed on Christmas Eve years ago, and that just made his neutrality of the holiday turn into dread and sadness. So he struggles through it for us but some years are better than others. Conversely, my childhood Christmases were magical and full of traditions and it’s my favorite time of the year.
I ended up breaking down and crying, once dinner was ready, because I sent a group text to my husband and two older teens that dinner was ready and a reminder to take out the garbage bags so we could eat. They literally just...ignored it. All three. Didn’t even reply. So I made my plate. Texted them (about a full half-hour later) thanks and merry Christmas, and cried while I ate.
I NEVER cry. The angry text dragged them out of their rooms to check on me, I guess. I’m probably the reason all this even happened because I’m a very “Never mind, I will just do it myself” kind of person. I think if the kids hadn’t done Christmas without me I probably would have been fine. But that just hurt so much because I picked out each and every thing to see their joy.
I worked overtime to pay for it because it’s been a bad year and I wanted to make the holiday a bit more special. But seeing me in tears put their but in gear and they ate, cleaned, and thanked me for the food and presents. After dinner, I went to my room and took a four-hour nap.
39. Santa Isn’t Coming To Town
I worked 18 hours today. My kids, who are toddlers, didn't want to come over because "Santa won't come to my place because I don't have a chimney.” I live 2,500 miles from my relatives, and worst of all, my dog was alone all day.
40. Ship Wrecked
My kids’ mom and the US Navy ruined my Christmas. When my kid was nine years old, my ex shopped him around to doctors trying to get a diagnosis so she could put him on disability and collect a check. She got a quack to claim he was a schizophrenic and had psychosis with Aspergers. All baloney. She would read up on what she wanted and lead the doctor to the result she was looking for.
After getting custody of him, I had his previous diagnosis thrown out and he was judged to be a normal kid with some emotional trauma. Fast forward to this year, my son joins the Navy. We were up front with his recruiter about everything, and they said don’t worry about it. It won’t show up, and he’ll be fine. He shipped out for basic in November.
Well, they found his records from 12 years ago and disqualified him. Now he’s been separated at boot and sent to ship 5 awaiting discharge with a plane ticket home. He’s devastated and angry. We hoped he would be home for Christmas, but he might get home by New Year’s Eve. So once again our Christmas was ruined by the ghost of witches past. Just the latest of many.
41. Undercover Santa
Me. I did it. My partner had to stay up late working last night, so I did too. When he finally gets done and goes to bed at 1:00 am, I stay up to stuff his stocking real quick and put the dog to bed. No sooner did he lay down than I knocked his stocking over, which then fell and knocked over the plug-in wax warmer full of hot fresh red wax.
This then SPLASHED all over the wall, hardwood floor, and my boyfriend’s stocking. The stocking he still had from his first Christmas. It's literally 40 years old. Hearing the commotion, he came running out of the bedroom and I yelled at him to stay back there, that I was cleaning up a mess I made but it's fine and I'm taking care of it.
I had to literally beg him to stay back there and not come out to the veritable disaster scene I'd just made of our delightful little chrimmus display. Two hours later, at 3:00 am, the wax is scraped from the floor. It's scraped from the wall as well but has stained it red. Good thing I bought some matching paint last year after we had to get into the wall to find a stud, because those stains are now painted over.
You'd never guess what horror was there just an hour ago. I saved his stocking for last. I was sure it was a lost cause, the thing is almost like felt. By some divine stroke of luck, the wax only spilt on the back, which is also red. I almost left it, but thought, no, I gotta try. So, I grabbed an iron, an old rag, and got to work. 10 minutes later there's not a trace of wax on it.
Then I calmly swept up the bits of dried wax I'd peeled and scraped, put the paint away, rubbed the paint off my hands, put the dog to bed, and put out the champagne and hors d'oeuvres (a silly inside joke tradition we have). So yes, I ruined Christmas but then I saved Christmas. It was a wild ride. And my boyfriend knew nothing.
42. Monster-In-Law
Five days ago, I moved my life, my four dogs, and one-month-old baby to my mother-in-law's. Her and I have serious issues with each other, but my husband and I had nowhere else to go and she promised we could put the issues aside for the baby. Not two days of being there she was already on her same old routines. With the issues we've had in the past, I told my husband we need to start looking for a different place to stay.
I guess he mentioned to her that after the holidays we would be leaving. Her response was utterly disturbing. I go to the store and come back and she's on a complete rampage (typical of her behavior) telling us to get the heck out immediately. She had to help us move in the first place because not all of our stuff will fit in our car and my husband drives a darn crotch rocket everywhere.
We tried to rent a U-haul, unsuccessfully, because she had rented one with my name and email and never paid for it when she dropped it off somehow? So they wouldn't rent to me. Plus it was Christmas Eve, so hardly anything was available. We ended up moving all our stuff and dogs and baby into a motel. And that's where my baby is spending her first Christmas.
43. Welcome To The Family
My sister, her boyfriend, and their young dog came to me and my mom’s for Christmas. It was the first time we had met her boyfriend. My mom got plastered accidentally before they arrived, so by the time we all sat by the table, she was almost unconscious. Three of us tried to have a normal Christmas, but my mom was constantly mumbling.
She was trying to say something all the time, making everything really uncomfortable, meanwhile the dog was constantly trying to hump my mom. The thing that really ruined everything was when she dropped a glass. She got up, did a 360, and fell on the floor, hitting her head. She got up, lay down on a couch next to us, and after few minutes she kept asking me who are the people in our living room.
The three of us cleaned everything up and hopped in the boyfriend's car. They were going home, but I asked for a ride to the city centre, because I really didn't want to be home. So yeah, ruined Christmas and probably the worst first impression my mom could do.
44. Looking For These?
When I had gotten home from college one year, I found myself with some excess cash. I decided to invest in some new video games for my self and had them sent to my house. The strange thing was, I had only received half of the games. I emailed the suppliers and told them I hadn't gotten my packages yet and was growing quite sad.
Well, Christmas morning came around and I was opening up my presents. I got to the one from my older brothers. I tore the paper away and opened the box. Inside there were several other packages that had been mailed to our house. With my name on them...My brother had taken half of my games and hid them from me until Christmas…thanks.
45. You Get What You Give
I remember my first day working retail on Xmas Eve. The store closed at 6:00 pm and we, the store staff, were only supposed to go home "when the store was spotless and returns were empty." We expected we would work until about 8-10pm, as that's how shifts would normally go in previous years. But store director went home at 5:30 sharp.
We were so ticked off, but it got better in the blink of an eye. At about 6:05, the manager left in charge said that if the big boss man wanted the store perfect, he could’ve stayed himself. She told everyone to go home and have a merry Christmas, and that she would take any flak herself. Well, she got some…but she had the perfect response.
She apparently told him to, and I quote, "Shut your Grinch mouth up and fire me if you want. But you can’t do it, because you know you need me.” Her adamantium balls were apparently fortified because she already had plans to quit. She got a better job early January and the big boss apparently learned his lesson. Never saw him take off early on Christmas again.
46. She Knows When You Are Sleeping
My wife’s grandmother passed a few days ago, and they were extremely close. Subsequently, she's been an emotional, angry wreck, and I've been doing everything (including not sleeping) to try to keep this season afloat for her. It's been a monumental challenge in patience and letting her say very angry things, knowing she needs to.
Well, last night was a nightmare. We hung out with her parents, at the end of a basically four-day stretch of not sleeping, and I couldn't take it any further and passed out on the floor of her parents’ place. I told her I just needed a few minutes to keep functioning. We got to our home at about 1:00 am and she basically exploded in anger at me.
She told me I was weak and "not husband material" for being tired, and that I had no idea what she was going through. She threw her engagement ring at me and told me to sleep in the car. We're supposed to see my parents today. Last thing she told me was that she didn't want to waste her time seeing my awkward family today. Grief, y'all.
47. There Can Only Be One
My brother's ex-wife made me so angry. She refuses to tell him what gifts she is getting their two kids, who are 12 and 7. Moreover, she had them every Christmas morning, so she knows even if she gets them the same thing as him, she will have given it to them first and it won’t look bad for her. It’s truly spiteful stuff. Well, this holidays…
He has busted his butt working as much overtime during the week and weekend as he can over the past few months, and got the eldest a PS5 and the younger one a PS4. Guess what she got them?
48. Fight Together For The Kids
My ex and I had decided our kids would spend Christmas Eve with me, and that he would pick them up on Christmas Day. Last night, he texted me saying that he would be at my house in 15 minutes to pick them up because technically this was his day to have them. Which is true, our stipulation says they are to go with him every other Thursday.
Unfortunately, we never put anything in about holidays—I thought we could be civil and work them out as needed, and now I’m kicking myself for being so naïve. I had to hand over my sobbing, confused, daughters to him in their Christmas pajamas. Prior to this, he hadn’t had them over to his house in over a month. This was purely to hurt me, and it worked.
49. Shots Fired
Last year at Christmas my older sister, who I’ve never really gotten along with, was being a total witch and talking down to me. "Seriously,” she said with a snarl, “When was the last time I even talked to you?" My comeback made her face go pale. My reply: "Huh, I'm not sure, maybe it was at your wedding a few months ago?"
See, she got married in May, divorced by July, and was now sitting next to her new boyfriend who she's introducing to us for the first time. They left. My parents were so mad. I had a great time.
Pexels
50. Last Christmas
The universe ruined it. My wife and I found out yesterday that our unborn baby (our first) has a severe brain defect that is “not compatible with life.” We’re not telling the rest of the family until next week so everyone else can have a happy Christmas. We’d been crying on and off for the last 24 hours, but we had to pull ourselves together for a few family gatherings.
The family calls went okay, but I almost lost it when my younger brother said he was looking forward to meeting the new member of the family next year. We spent the day watching Christmas movies and The Lord of the Rings as I explained a bunch of really nerdy stuff to my child. Our first and last Christmas together wasn’t so bad.
Sources: Reddit,
