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Original poster

To ask about your worst Christmas day ever

195 replies

sparklybluesky · 14/12/2021 19:47

Mine was 2010 heading towards divorce. Day spent at In Laws where I had to drive as ex couldn't. Not as though much alcohol was served.
MIL served up a tiny meal, gifts to me were freebies from Avon. Weirdo ex was obsessed with his video camera which he set up to film the day. His Sister arrived with her badly behaved children and the whole thing was recorded on this bloody camera set up in the corner. Ex bought me some yankee candles off of ebay! We divorced shortly after.

OP posts:
Bagelsandbrie · 14/12/2021 19:52

That does sound awful op Flowers

I’ve had many awful Christmases, particularly as a child. My mum was an alcoholic schizophrenic and for some reason Christmas was always her worst time. I think the stress of it all, trying to be organised, used to tip her over the edge. Particular highlights include trying to stab my Dad with a fork in 1984 (when I was 4) and throwing a pan of Brussel sprouts in cold water at my Grandad in 1989…. Crazy times. She would then be carted off to the psychiatric hospital where she’d be sectioned for about a month and she’d miss the whole thing. My Gran would come and live with us and take over during that time.

As an adult I always make every effort to make Christmas special for my two dc. I don’t want them to have any bad Christmas memories.

ThesecondLEM · 14/12/2021 19:53

Two days come to mind.

One year when I was horribly constipated and was so stressed cooking and serving up dinner.

Last year was the worst though. My mum died on 18th December and we all had Covid. We cooked dinner, ate it and went back to bed. Grim.

SayAaa · 14/12/2021 19:55

The year I was pregnant and so uncomfortable. No one made any adjustment or allowance at all. Couldn't even get drunk to pass the time.

AFingerofFudge · 14/12/2021 19:58

My mum died on Christmas Day 1985. I was 14. The whole thing was surreal. I knew I was getting a cheap Walkman type thing but it sat under the tree unopened for days and I felt guilty for really wanting to open it.
Now I over compensate and try to make it all really special for the DCs.

Tiddlywinkly · 14/12/2021 20:00

Some of these are much worse than mine...
2018 - had a cold and I couldn't taste anything.
2019 - stomach bug that started on Christmas eve.

cliffdiver · 14/12/2021 20:00

When I was 20 I had Norovirus Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Mine sounds pretty fun in comparison to most of these Thanks

Borisjohnsonshairbrush · 14/12/2021 20:00

@AFingerofFudge

Omg. I'm so sorry

FrankiesCheeseTruckle · 14/12/2021 20:01

Late 90s I had a quinsy over Christmas. That was pretty rough.

AtleastitsnotMonday · 14/12/2021 20:02

The year my grandad died. Christmas was usually at ours but we knew he was on his way out, my grandmother had brought him home from hospital to die in his own home. So, at my grandmas wish we moved Christmas to their house. Went through the motions as usual but spending time sitting with grandad too. He died that afternoon. We were all broken. But grandma was adamant we still had Christmas dinner. It was kind of surreal.

ABCeasyasdohrayme · 14/12/2021 20:06

Basically all my childhood Christmases.

My brothers were spoiled with new toys, bikes etc, and I would literally get their old toys for Xmas. Never learned to ride a bike because I've never had one. My mother absolutely hated me for being a girl.

She got married to a known peadophile as well and used to allow him to 'have an affair' with me on Christmas nights as a child too, then blamed me for it. She referred to me as 'his present'.

She is pure evil.

Christmases with my kids now are amazing, I go as overboard as finances allow and I've really turned the festive season around now, and I love it. My kids happiness means everything to me.

LaBelleSauvage123 · 14/12/2021 20:06

When I was about 12 we were at my grandparents' house as usual for Christmas lunch. My grandmother, who was quite elderly by that time, was serving up Christmas pudding and for some reason I got a portion which had a lump of catfood in the same bowl. I can only assume that she'd put the cat food bowl on the work surface and forgotten it was there. Absolutely disgusting - I can still taste it 48 years later.

mrsbobbelcherakalinda · 14/12/2021 20:07

3 years ago on Christmas night my mum got rushed into hospital and then passed away on January 4th c

Stormwhale · 14/12/2021 20:08

I still feel sick when I think of mine. Sad I have a long history of problems with my brother. He was violent and awful towards me through our childhood and it really messed me up. On Christmas day a few years ago, he turned on my toddler. He started shouting at her, when he had actually done something wrong to her (he hurt her accidentally). I think he was embarrassed and just lost it at her. I saw red and we had a huge row. It was like all the trauma from our childhood came up at once, seeing him try to bully my little girl. I was very distressed, he was irate, it was ugly.

Then my grandad had a stroke. Our parents blamed us for it, that the stress of us arguing had caused him to have a stroke. There were no ambulances so my husband had to carry him unconscious out to the car and they raced him to the hospital. He survived, but I will never get over that day. I feel anxious in the run up to Christmas now.

ParkheadParadise · 14/12/2021 20:09

The year Dd2 was born and Dd1 died. It was horrific.
Dd2 was 3 weeks old on Christmas day Dd1 had died 2 months before Dd2 arrived.
We had no tree or decorations. We ignored Christmas. I can remember looking out the window at our neighbours having guests arriving all jolly and wanting to open the window and tell them all to fuck off🙁
I made the effort to go and visit my mum in her care home(she had dementia) and all she said repeatedly was I've lost my wee girl have you seen her😪😪
I still hate Christmas 6 years on but Dd2 is soo excited about Santa she makes it bearable.

NotMyCircusNotMyProblem · 14/12/2021 20:10

Back in November 1977 my mum died after a year long battle with cancer. Christmas 1977 was the worst one ever. Mum wasn't there, she'd only managed to buy a few presents for us, my dad was too upset to buy any or buy food. We had no tree. I was 12. I've hated Christmas ever since.

Bagelsandbrie · 14/12/2021 20:10

@ABCeasyasdohrayme

Basically all my childhood Christmases.

My brothers were spoiled with new toys, bikes etc, and I would literally get their old toys for Xmas. Never learned to ride a bike because I've never had one. My mother absolutely hated me for being a girl.

She got married to a known peadophile as well and used to allow him to 'have an affair' with me on Christmas nights as a child too, then blamed me for it. She referred to me as 'his present'.

She is pure evil.

Christmases with my kids now are amazing, I go as overboard as finances allow and I've really turned the festive season around now, and I love it. My kids happiness means everything to me.

I’m so sorry to read this. Flowers
Hoolihan · 14/12/2021 20:14

My mum died when I was 14, in July. The first Xmas without her my younger sisters and I went to stay with my dad at the pub he ran with my stepmother and their toddler in very rural Dorset. My dad and his wife had to work almost the whole time so we sat upstairs in the cold bleak flat, looking after our stepsister. The worst thing was waking up for the first time on Xmas day without a stocking. I still feel sad about that, my sisters were only 11 and 9.

Juanbablo · 14/12/2021 20:14

Christmas Day 2002 was awful. We knew it was my mum's last Christmas and everyone was trying to be jolly but it was absolutely terrible. I was 14.

Second to that was about 2011 I had horrendous tonsillitis. I was in so much pain I couldn't even swallow my own saliva. We were at the in laws with 2 toddlers and I just wanted to cry the whole time.

PotatoGoblins · 14/12/2021 20:15

A toss up between 2:
Christmas 1998 - I was 4, my sister was 8 and we both had the most horrible sickness bug that started on Christmas Eve. My mum and dad spent the night changing bedsheets numerous times and cleaning up puke. The next morning, I remember the only present I opened was a pair of Mr Men slippers, and spent the rest of Christmas in a heap on the sofa puking my guts up.
Christmas 2017: I was still living in the terrifying black hole that is PTSD. I remember being at a family gathering, DS (who has numerous life threatening allergies) was about 14 months old, and I was so hypervigilant, noticing all the things in the room that had potential to kill my baby. I was trying to act normal, but in reality I was a completely and utterly terrified mess.

YellowandGreenToBeSeen · 14/12/2021 20:18

Christ, and there was me feeling sorry for myself with a tiny family (who I love and who love me) and not living in a John Lewis ad.

Sending much love to all who have truly experienced trauma at this time.

May your lives and happiness improve every year

FlowersFlowers

BananaPant · 14/12/2021 20:19

@AFingerofFudge

My mum died on Christmas Day 1985. I was 14. The whole thing was surreal. I knew I was getting a cheap Walkman type thing but it sat under the tree unopened for days and I felt guilty for really wanting to open it. Now I over compensate and try to make it all really special for the DCs.

❤️❤️❤️

Yellow85 · 14/12/2021 20:20

I was 22, just met my now husband. DMs alcoholism came to a head. Spent Xmas eve at an AA meeting, into the small hours, in local hospital whilst he sat outside in the car. My dad had left earlier in the day, I remember going to my parents house on Xmas day and my dad literally came back to stand at the door whilst I opened my gifts and then left again.

It’s was a rough time. All good now though. We’ll I mean the family are all good now, DM still an alcoholic. Still angers me a bit that our first Christmas together will always be tainted. We always make such a big deal deal of it now for our kids.

BackBackBack · 14/12/2021 20:22

Huge hugs and flowers to those MNers who have painful memories. It's genuinely lovely to read that you are determined to make Christmas special for your children.

RabitWhole · 14/12/2021 20:24

@ParkheadParadise

The year Dd2 was born and Dd1 died. It was horrific. Dd2 was 3 weeks old on Christmas day Dd1 had died 2 months before Dd2 arrived. We had no tree or decorations. We ignored Christmas. I can remember looking out the window at our neighbours having guests arriving all jolly and wanting to open the window and tell them all to fuck off🙁 I made the effort to go and visit my mum in her care home(she had dementia) and all she said repeatedly was I've lost my wee girl have you seen her😪😪 I still hate Christmas 6 years on but Dd2 is soo excited about Santa she makes it bearable.
I am so sorry to hear this, how heartbreaking. I hope you have some comfort in the joy that DD2 has about Christmas x
jb7445 · 14/12/2021 20:26

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