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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:
TheChild · 19/12/2021 08:40

Probably last year, I had covid and whilst I wasn't very poorly I was so worried that I'd passed it on to my DH's elderly gran that I cried for about 2 days straight. If she had caught covid she very likely would have been seriously ill due to her other health issues and that would have been my fault.
It also meant that my mum could no longer spend her last Christmas in this country with us and she ended up having ryvitas for Christmas dinner.
To top it all off it was the first and last time my DP made beef wellington and I couldn't even taste how bloody good it was 😡
Here's to a better Christmas for everyone this year!

TheChosenTwo · 19/12/2021 08:50

Dd2 was a newborn, we’d flown abroad to see my dad. It was a freezing cold house, dog hair everywhere, no home comforts! dd2 had colic and screamed blue murder til about 5am, dd1 would wake up at about 6. Dh and I tag teamed sleep.
Dad and stepmum had a massive argument on Christmas Day, the other guests (their friends) and us ate dinner without them as they had both stormed off. That evening, stepmum came down with a suitcase packed and passport saying she was leaving. No one spoke.
Actually despite being chronically tired, we managed to have a weirdly fun evening with the other guests who were also staying, my dad stayed in his room for about 3 days, would come out for coffee etc, take a snack back to his room, he was fine, just didn’t really need a houseful of guests while his marriage was crumbling around him.
Anyway, dh and I can laugh about it now but at that time it was just so horrific, I remember crying in our room to dh that I just wanted to go home - longest 10 days of my life.
Sorry to so many of you that have had really traumatic times - I love Christmas but appreciate that it can be so hard for some Flowers

Georgy12 · 19/12/2021 09:03

Every Christmas I've ever had to spend at my SILs, she makes it quite clear I'm not welcome and it's exhausting ☹️

Thisbastardcomputer · 19/12/2021 09:05

I think it must have been the 1999 Christmas, we always went to USA for Christmas but I wasn't allowed the time off work due to the millennium bug.

Went to friends for pre lunch drinks, husband started doing shots with her Norwegian brother in law, totally arseholed and angry at missing the holiday. I went home to finish cooking our lunch, knobhead stayed.

Turned into a complete shitshow, lunch in the bin, I left for a week.

CeeceeBloomingdale · 19/12/2021 09:06

A close family member attempted suicide on Christmas morning

Justcashnosweets · 19/12/2021 09:20

Christmas 2016, I had a missed miscarriage which had to be medically managed just a few days before Christmas. It was awful. My OH then went into work on Boxing Day when I was in bits, which I struggled to forgive him for. The only thing that made it bearable was my then 3 year old DD and my family, who were really supportive. Still, after reading some of the other experiences here, it really doesn't seem to bad. Flowers

NotTheOriginalFeargalSharkey · 19/12/2021 09:24

Wow. Somebof these are truly awful!
I really hope things have improved for all of you.
Mine is a choice of 2.

  1. When I was 6, I woke up with mumps.
  2. Thus one coming, when I won't be able to spend it with my dd (9)
Rememberallball · 19/12/2021 12:30

Nowhere nearly as bad as other stories on this thread, many of which are heartbreakingly sad.

Probably the worst one was a few years back when, for some unknown reason, my care agency bosses had scheduled me to work 14 hours straight on Christmas Day from 7am-9pm with no time to take a break or see any of my family (no one else at work was doing the full day, they either had the morning/lunch or teatime/evening runs) I didn’t even have time to nip home for a quick lunch so sat in my car, in the rain, eating a sandwich as quickly as I could before the next care call.

At the end of the day I went home to my flat alone to try and get some sleep before doing it all over again the following day and listening to all the staff talking about what a great time they’d had with their families the day before. I didn’t even bother opening any presents because there was no one to share it with.

Chipsahoy · 19/12/2021 16:19

Chid abuse, sexual, Christmas morning early hours. I was 14. Probably the worst Christmas but mostly because I spent the rest of the day being hated by my family and treated as if I should be ashamed and with contempt because of it. I have hated opening gifts soon. As if I don’t deserve them. I know it’s just the old triggered feelings and I’ve had tons of therapy but it never really leaves me. They hated me so much for being abused and I believed that I deserved their hate and the abuse.

I love Christmas with my family now but the gift part I could do without.

So sorry for all the pain shared here.

Chipsahoy · 19/12/2021 16:20

Since. Not soon.

Jellyfishsandwiches · 23/12/2021 22:49

Last Christmas. My boyfriend was in hospital with covid. I wasn't allowed to see him, he was unconscious on a ventilator. Spent the day alone, hoping for news that he was going to be ok. He died four weeks later.

LookslovelyinSpringtime · 23/12/2021 23:32

@Jellyfishsandwiches

Last Christmas. My boyfriend was in hospital with covid. I wasn't allowed to see him, he was unconscious on a ventilator. Spent the day alone, hoping for news that he was going to be ok. He died four weeks later.
So sorry. 💐
Waterlemon · 23/12/2021 23:39

Oh gosh! So many heart breaking stories - but you’re here to tell the tale, and doing so well to make Christmas a happy time for your loved ones.

2010 was also a crap Christmas for us too OP. But looking back now, it’s quite comedic It was DC2 first so should have been lovely

We’d lost a Close relative just a couple of days before Christmas Day,
So their bereaved spouse and parents joined us
I think we all thought That a little baby and toddler Would lighten the mood, However both Children were full of colds and very chesty, grumpy Whiny and clingy and would not let anyone other than me Anywhere near them and so they didn’t provide any joyful distraction
DH was Also coming down with something and barely functioning
Me run ragged spinning plates

Then the pan over boiled and blew up the cooker half way through the meat cooking! Fortunately we had lovely neighbours who had left their spare key with us and had gone away for Christmas. They kindly let us Go into their house to use their oven.

Then the fridge freezer packed up With all the Christmas food in it

Luckily Everyone cleared off early around 5ish.
DH took himself off to bed. Where he stayed for the next 3 weeks - Turned out he had swine flu and ended up very ill with it!

Christmas night both the baby and toddler struggled with their cough and cold, I ended up having to drive them to The emergency out of hours GP in early hours of Boxing Day morning- they had both developed croup!

Boxing Day I pretty much spent nursing 2 sick babies and a very sick husband, I finally had a moment to myself - but the Bloody TV wouldn’t turn on, that had packed up too!

southern82 · 23/12/2021 23:42

2017 husband turned around after dinner and said he was leaving me. He then told our 6 year old that Daddy didn't love Mummy anymore and off he went. Didn't get a present either! Thankfully had great Christmas days since then!

LookslovelyinSpringtime · 24/12/2021 05:27

Similar story too @southern82. A few days after Xmas. Spent NY alone with three young children.

NovRainbow5 · 24/12/2021 05:34

Last Christmas I found out I had another missed miscarriage (4th one despite medication to prevent it) it was horrific. Hadn’t told in laws so had to pretend everything was fine. This year is different though as we finally got our rainbow.

tabletipper · 24/12/2021 05:46

I uncovered my husband's affair 5.30am Christmas morning I was going through his phone when I heard our daughter shout mummy Santa has been. I had family visiting from the UK and had to host for 9 people.
Unable to say anything to anyone.
Excruciating day.

Nat6999 · 24/12/2021 06:07

Christmas 2012 my late dp decided he wasn't,'t coming for dinner at my parents he was going to sit in the pub & then when we got home he announced he was leaving me. It broke me & then to top it all ds & I had flu.

maddiemookins16mum · 24/12/2021 06:24

My mum had died in the September, I was single. Went to my brother house for Christmas day. It was filthy. The toilet never flushed properly, the veg was put on at 10am to simmer (for 6 hours). My SIL watched back to back Deal or no Deal on the telly in her nightie. Dinner was horrendous. Nobody wished each other happy Christmas, no gifts at all, their massive (lovely) dog was not taken for a walk and shat in the hallway twice. It was a miserable, joyless experience. I’d always spent Christmas with my mum and we did it so nicely (food, gifts, decent telly) and it just made me miss her all the more. I feigned a headache at 8pm and went to bed and sobbed in sadness until I fell asleep.

rosesarereddish · 24/12/2021 06:37

This one. All my family finally getting back together, all the kids together and all my brothers and sisters for first time in years. Car packed, excited kids, was going to tell my family I'm pregnant. Tested positive at midnight last night, 7 hours before we left. No food or presents in the house really. Merry Christmas Sad

2020nymph · 24/12/2021 12:16

@Jellyfishsandwiches

Last Christmas. My boyfriend was in hospital with covid. I wasn't allowed to see him, he was unconscious on a ventilator. Spent the day alone, hoping for news that he was going to be ok. He died four weeks later.

I'm so sorry Thanks

DoingTheDusting · 24/12/2021 12:20

There are some horrific things on this thread. Flowers to you all and a wish for happier times in the future.

LookslovelyinSpringtime · 24/12/2021 13:31

@maddiemookins16mum

My mum had died in the September, I was single. Went to my brother house for Christmas day. It was filthy. The toilet never flushed properly, the veg was put on at 10am to simmer (for 6 hours). My SIL watched back to back Deal or no Deal on the telly in her nightie. Dinner was horrendous. Nobody wished each other happy Christmas, no gifts at all, their massive (lovely) dog was not taken for a walk and shat in the hallway twice. It was a miserable, joyless experience. I’d always spent Christmas with my mum and we did it so nicely (food, gifts, decent telly) and it just made me miss her all the more. I feigned a headache at 8pm and went to bed and sobbed in sadness until I fell asleep.
I would have taken the dog with you when you left. What awful people.
LinzyB · 13/12/2022 17:58

My mum died 20 years ago today from a brain tumour when i was 31.Her funeral was on the 23rd December 2002.My children were very young at the time and i was a single parent.My Dad insisted we go through the motions for the sake of the children.We tried really hard but it was awful.Especially when my son who was 5 started crying at the dinner table and saying he wanted his nanny.which set us all off.we somehow got through it and Christmas is a happier time for us all now.Though obviously we still miss her.

peaceandove · 13/12/2022 18:33

Christmas 2018. My Mum had terminal lung cancer and she had lesions in her frontal lobe - this meant her behaviour was very different. She just wasn't my Mum anymore. She spent the day with us, but it wasn't her.

Plus, I had come down with actual 'flu on Dec. 22nd so felt absolutely dreadful, aching and nauseous all day. Felt too weak to even shower.

Just awful. Awful.

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