Xmas version of things you wouldn't admit in real life....

[TinselTina]

I wish people would stop mentioning my 5 foot 3 height like im an outlier.
I cannt believe I married my ex. I needed to be in a mental hospital not marched up the aisle.
I dont care if my child is clever or not.

My DPs family are shit at gift giving. Even doing secret Santa so we each only receive one gift hasn’t helped. Now I just get £50 worth of shit all from one person

🤣

To the whole family: The "no presents for adults" thing is shit - you are all buying for your adult children and significant others. Yep, the only person left out is me. It stings, hurts like hell and feels very deliberate.

To my brother: Yes, we get it your are more religious than the rest of the family combined, but no we are not honoured that you squeeze us in between two church services. And no, we also don't appreciate you trying to shoe-horn your religion into every conversation. Doesn't make you a better human being than any of us.

I hate shop bought Xmas jumpers, mainly because of Xmas jumper day. The fact workplaces pressure you to wear them in aid of Save the Children is a complete farce!!! Do people realise that it’s children in third world countries who are forced to make the bloody things for pennies a day?! Surely it’s just perpetuating the issue…? That and they’re cringeworthy and never, ever funny.

You must hang around with some very odd people. 5’3” is a perfectly normal height.

You must hang around with some very odd people. 5’3” is a perfectly normal height.

You’re making a lot of assumptions there about where I may and may not shop…

and the two things are separate. You can care about shopping ethically in general and still not throw away unwanted gifts.

But it’s a good point. We should all look at the bigger picture about where we shop.

And I’m sorry it’s turned into a pile-on - I didn’t read other posts before posting.

This does make me laugh, my in laws are similar to be honest. They’re actually really generous and don’t expect anything back particularly (which is lucky as DH is shit at buying for them too - he’s better for me and DD). I organise them a photo calendar every year because I doing one for my side (did it once and they ask for it each year so I know I’m not just foisting it on them!)

They give us cash because, as I say, they are generous, and it’s much appreciated. But I think MIL feels compelled to give us ‘things to open’ too which results in the most random shit being wrapped up for us. I do get the gift set bath bombs stuff usually, which is fine in this house as DD loves a bath bomb so she can have them. But the stuff they actually buy her is frankly bizarre - it was a metal garden ornament one year - I’d have even understood if it had been animal or fairy themed or something. But no it was just some weird abstract shape on a spike to stick in the ground - she was 3 🤷‍♀️ And the things for DH, every year I sit there thinking ‘but you’ve known him his WHOLE LIFE, how can you have no idea what he might actually like?’

I’m confused by the outrage towards chucking shit gift sets away.

On an environmental level, they will ultimately be thrown away anyway. The only difference is the product inside will have been used. The plastic bottles and masses of plastic over packaging will still end up in the bin. The PP is just skipping a step. I’m surprised the virtue signallers are missing that blatantly obvious fact.

So sensible, I don't understand why everybody doesn't do this, I wish we did but I know my family would go ballistic and I can't cope with the fall out!

Im glad my kids are high functioning autistic like me. I get them better than I would do if they were neurotypical. Theyre the best.

Can't people recycle the packaging after using up the contents?

Where do you think “recycling” ends up?

What changed for you?
For me it was a bereavement leading to family estrangement.

I'm not understanding the hate for toiletries. Use them up and then recycle the packaging. Job done. And with the cost of living these days, maybe people might be more grateful for them than previously!

Report him to who anonymously?
Do you think there is some organisation who police whether or not old people can drive?

I am absolutely delighted my PILs no longer live nearby. Last Christmas was absolutely awful - DH doing everything he could to make Christmas Day enjoyable for both of them (MIL has dementia and was extremely aggressive). We cooked dinner at our house and took everything round there, so they didn'thave the disruption of coming to us, which MIL wouldn't tolerate. MIL was threatening violence, DH was stressed and upset, DD was frightened by her grandmother threatening to punch her grandfather, FIL was on some sort of autopilot, pretending everything was brilliant and he was just going to sit serenely in the middle of everything, wearing a fucking paper hat, and eat his dinner as if everything was normal. It was truly, truly awful. Thankfully, they have moved back to be near SIL and MIL is now in a care home. DH has gone extremely low contact with his dad and sister and I am absolutely bloody delighted. This Christmas will be spent with my family - my lovely sisters, their husbands, my nieces and my mum. My BIL is cooking dinner, so DH has this year off. Everyone will be kind and funny. No-one will threatening to 'fucking kill' anyone over the sprouts. I maintain basic WhatsApp communication with FIL, to find out how MIL is doing, and could never tell him we are all over the moon that they don't live near us any more.

That turned into a bit of a rant!

I totally agree but dread the time when one of us will be left on our own.

Another thought re. unwanted toiletries - women's shelters might be very glad of them. Or old people's homes. Or homeless shelters.

I don’t want to spend the day with my family, I don’t really like them much.

I have bought my niece and nephew lovely and expensive gifts (from their lists as supplied by my sister), their whole lives. They are now 31 and 25. Not even once have I received a Thankyou. They both earn more than me now and are both married. Pretty sure they could buy gifts if they wanted to.We get presents from my sister from ‘all of them’ which are usually token things. I don’t care about the gifts but I am cross about the lack of Thanks. Manners cost nothing. This year I’m very quietly just not doing it and I don’t feel bad about it at all.

Yes i only cook if i host. Had this conversation with MIL, that I am happy to be hosted or to host. But if i am cooking it is here. DH and BIL would cook it at her house but I’m the better cook so she wants me todo it - and that is fine but that is at home.

This^

The attempt to shame me at work for not participating in Xmas jumper day is akin to workplace bullying.

I’m worried my adult stepchild will spoil Xmas for me again this year with absolutely no pushback from my husband. He will not address his child’s bad behaviour because he is embarrassed by it but would not like to admit it has anything to do with him. It has.

My sister is one of the nastiest, most spiteful people I've ever met, and I truly hate her. I think she's actually a sociopath. She takes the opportunity to be especially nasty to our cancer-struck parents and divorced sister at Christmas. But I make nice because she has the niblings.

Oh, the advent calendar thing is getting out of control. We loved opening the ones with pictures because it meant that we were another day closer to Christmas. And on the 24th there'd be a big one with double doors! A bit later when the chocolate ones came out, we enjoyed them but there were no pictures. 😢