To not want to be ravenously hungry at Christmas?

[Bubbinsmakesthree]

Staying with DH's family who are a bit weird about food.

We had a one-course Christmas lunch yesterday about 3pm, after which everyone declared themselves too stuffed to contemplate pudding.

It is now 11:30am the next morning and not a mince pie crumb, not a chocolate matchstick has been available for consumption since. There has been some vague talk about breakfast which has been on-going for hours with nothing whatsoever being done about it.

I am so hungry right now I am shaking.

To make matters worse we've just watched Bake Off like some form of torture.

Blimey, these posts are so bizarre, but weirdly fascinating!

I have no better advice than has been offered, making a fry up and not plating you up some?!! EFF that I would have said something, or done as a previous poster did and had a public meltdown!

But I'm placemsrking because I just can't get over how weird some families are about food and want more freaky stories! Are we sure that some of you aren't just making these stories up? don't care still want to read them

Titanias - I left stuff OUT as too identifying - the craziness I mentioned is tip of the iceberg!

Graphista Nooooo!!!! Oh my gosh. I want all the details now!!!

You wouldn't believe me! It goes way beyond food!

Titanias, no definitely not making things up, I genuinely spent the first Christmas at my in laws starving and trying to sustain myself on a packet of orange and lemon slices I had been given. The other strange thing is that with a help yourself type meal I had always be lived the polite thing to do was to take a moderate portion of everything so that everyone had enough and assume you would come back for seconds once everyone had served themselves and eaten what they had. MiL served a Christmas meal like that and was bustling around in the kitchen while we all helped ourselves so that she was the last to serve herself. She then came in and literally emptied the contents of each dish onto her own plate ' as she wasn't going to waste it'. Obviously later on we were all far too stuffed to need any snacks

Not making stuff up here. We've been to a wacky warehouse place for a meal tonight. Mil ordered the burger, took it out of the bun and ate it, left most of the chips. Fil had scampi and cleared his plate. We had puddings while she sat with her coat on, handbag on lap and arms folded waiting to go

You should visit my in laws. Typical Greek parents who make enough food to feed the village instead of table of 8. Mil shoves food in our suitcases we have no idea about them get weird looks at customs

Tatanias I wish I was making this up!

Similar to other posters I have left stuff out (to avoid boring rants) and this is just one aspect of bonkers controlling behaviour. (I am on the Stately Homes thread from time to time).

There was a thread on here in the summer from a woman on the other side who had recently lost a bit of weight, changed the family's eating habits and then received some complaints about lack of food from family who had stayed over the bank holiday weekend.

She then explained what she had served. It was tiny. She was shocked by the unanimous opinion that she had been controlling. Posters were shocked (as on this thread) that nobody had fucked off to the garage to buy some sodding crisps.

So people really can be this clueless, without exaggeration.

I wondered if any of the other posters on here who have family and ILs who do this are otherwise sociable?

I think part of the problem in my ILs case is caused by not having any other friends/family and therefore not having any idea what is normal and acceptable when entertaining?

My ILs are really bad at planning for anyone with a different diet to them (including one of their own DC who is vegetarian). Last get together before Xmas they planned to serve hot dogs for everyone, when I said "oh great, I love hotdogs! But what are you doing for the vegetarians?" they looked confused and then said "well there will be buns and onions" !

They spend SO MUCH money on food & drink when entertaining and massively overcater but they are very inconsiderate of anyone who doesn't eat exactly the same things as them. I was really uncomfortable during first few family meals I went to as everyone would sit down for a big meal, including their vegetarian DC who was expected to sit at empty place setting watching everyone else eat while waiting for their food to finish cooking (mainly because FIL would refuse to give up oven/hob space for a meal that only one person would eat)

I just don't understand it, fine if you want to limit your own food but controlling other peoples is absolute madness.

I'm a bit fat as a result of serious illness and various meds and side effects, and have to put up with the comments from a family of slim and skinny people, I argue back now I don't just take it, some of the families 'solution' is that I stop taking medication my doctor has told me I really need, uh no, yeah I won't be doing that and kiss my fat arse if you don't like it! Will lose weight when I'm ready thanks if I can.

So I honestly thought my family are bad enough with the fat shaming, but they would never dream of actually starving me!

Some proper butters put there. You all have my deepest sympathy. Here have biscuits and flowers, not sending sarky biccys, just actually want to post you all a few packs.

Nutters not butters! But butter is nice too.

My dd gave birth to my gd last night.
Me and dh visited her today taking a big bag of M&S snacks, flavoured waters, just nice stuff that we thought she might fancy.
My dm couldn't understand why she would need all this extra food and refused to add anything to what we were buying.
I bought a couple of rolls and asked for some cheese to put in, she wasn't impressed
I know she has boxes of chocolates, Christmas cake, Pringles all squirrelled away, not to be shared with us.
She won't have anymore visitors so god knows why she's saving it all!

Me too Raffles !!

Getdown I remember visiting my aunty after she gave birth ti twins when I was a wee titania of only 11 and my mum brought me to M@S to get a pressie for the babies, I chose to buy a big fruit salad and snacks for aunty instead, figuring she must be bloody starving after giving birth to twins! If a small child can get that then my gosh what's your woman's problem?

Ethelb and titanias honestly you would think my take so unrealistic as to think ME nuts if I said the HALF of it.

They have alienated almost everyone that was ever in their lives except my ex (golden child) and his sister (runner up golden child) they have genuinely no concept of real life. EVERY expenditure is controlled (even though they are sitting on piles of money) and they think every 'child-in-law' is 'after our money'.

No friends no social life.

Mil leaves house once a week to do grocery shop (of the 2 potatoes for the 2 of us for Thursday type) and once a year to have Christmas dinner at either exs or his sisters (which they will loudly complain about).

*my tale not my take

You sure it was Christmas and you hadn't drifted off into another time or dimensions.

I can't remember a Christmas without immorally copious amountso of food (and we were pretty poor when I was little).

My mum went to stay with her tight arse brother in NZ. On the way to the airport it transpired she had packed a loafs worth of sandwiches in her case

Oh graphista you have seen strange things in your time, and be can't for the life of me work out how well off people think this is acceptable. I mean if you have the money, surely food is an expression of love?

Or am I making it worse?

I can't not be can't

Ethelb, I think your point about sociability is spot on in my case. FiL does not like people coming to the house, never mind staying in it so I think I have been the only regular visitor since the early 1980s.

Not making it worse I'm out of it now one of the side benefits of divorce

Even at the time it didn't really affect me as much as their kids.

Money can't buy happiness, health or love.

They're elderly and yet they haven't learned this, they are lonely and bitter but blame everyone else.

the same meals are served on the same days every week

There's a special kind of hell in some marriages.

I wouldn't be able to sit there saying nothing, I get seriously hangry. I'd make it clear that I'd like some breakfast and would be rummaging in cupboards and fridges to make it if none were forthcoming. How spectacularly rude of them.

Pmsl at some of the behaviours on here.

On a more serious note eating disorders are clearly more common than I thought.

I will never forget Christmas lunch with the vegan ex boyfriend who cooked us marinaded tofu and squash... Weirdo. No desert.