To ask the worst behaviour at Christmas you’ve witnessed by an adult?

[SoniaFouler]

Mine is:

Drunk cousin (24 at the time) shouting and arguing with everyone for most of Boxing Day three years ago, then topped it off when someone told her to stop being stupid by standing up and scraping the entire contents of her dinner plate all over the table and made my aunt cry.

@DimplesToadfoot

I was a single parent, on my knees financially, with no family of my own I had no help from anyone, the only presents my DS 9yo got were what I bought and it was never much. I scrimped and scraped to buy a remote control car, DS was playing with it on the driveway, the car was on the cusp of the driveway and pavement and had stopped moving, before either I or my son could get to it a man crossed the road and stomped on it, obviously shattering it into pieces. I shouted after the man but I'm disabled I couldn't give chase :-( my son was heartbroken and there was absolutely nothing I could do :-( eventually months later I had the money for another car, he didnt want one :-( Christmas never was the same for my DS after

Oh that's so sad 😔

I had a vile childhood, and yet I am sitting here wondering why I’m surprised at how many adults are so horrible to their kids - and worse, allow OTHER adults to be horrible to their kids. I know that my own kids have had an entirely different upbringing. They are safe, loved, supported and nurtured, but I still worry what kind of idiot was I to think that it was okay to bring kids into this world?

@ArblemarchTFruitbat - She can have him. I prefer Thermoman. 🤣🤣🤣

Woman colleague squatted and weed on the pavement after the Christmas do 😳

A few to share. Christmas Eve, popped to my local supermarket & a physical fight broke out between two men in the vegetable section. They were separated at length by security, but continued to grab and hurl vegetables at one another until they were out of range.

Second one - New Year’s Eve - traditionally marked in style by my parents falling out & mum telling dad she’s divorcing him.

Thirdly - got shouted at and told to fuck off by my dad on Christmas Day the year before last because the baby was asleep in his car seat (I’d sent DH to sit in the car for 10 mins with him. I just wanted him to have a snooze so that the afternoon went smoothly, I’d been in the car myself before I sent DH out.) Well what a shit storm this created!! Apparently I was ruining the day with my antisocial behaviour & I could fuck off home if that’s how I was going to behave after he’d cooked dinner etc etc etc.

I won’t go round there again on Christmas Day. Not ever.

@Mooscow

My brother came to my house on Christmas day with a vomiting bug but didn't tell us. When one of his kids let the truth slip he got all defensive and said it was fine as he would wash his hands. Made out we were the worst people in the world when we were worried about him giving it to us. They left soon after lunch (he didn't eat anything) complaining that we were unwelcoming.

Spent the next 10 days with each one of us in the house coming down with the vomiting bug one by one, ruining our Christmas plans and all of our time off work, and the kids' holiday from school. He still complains about how unwelcoming we were!

This reminded me of the Boxing Day where a relative brought along her baby as not all of the family had met him yet. After lots of cuddles and kisses etc from most of the family she casually dropped in that baby had a terrible sick bug throughout the last few days but had finally stopped this morning!!

A day or two later it struck down about 5 family members including myself and my mum, it was awful. I remember we didn’t have the strength to go back to our respective beds so spent hours lying on the landing outside the bathroom so we were nearby when the next wave came. I never forgave the relative for being so careless.

I don't really have any stories like these.

Xmas has always been a nuclear family thing with us... fewer people, fewer issues and I couldn't be dealing with drama on Xmas day, it's a day for relaxing to me.

The only Xmas I ever spent with other people I fell really sick (I had a reduced immune system at the time) and I spent all day slumped on the couch occasionally giving a death rattles and groans between exhausted naps. I found out a few days later when admitted to the hospital that it was the flu (use to think that was a glorified cold but I genuinely had no energy to even move).

I'm sure everyone remembers me as the awful and boring guest that ruined Xmas though.

It's another thing that cemented that Xmas should be spent in my own home where I have my own bed to die in if necessary lol.

Boxing Day lunch hosted by DH's aunt and BIL turned up hungover and white as a sheet. Everyone suggested he go home but he stayed, only to vomit all over the dinner table during the soup course. PIL were furious and DH's aunt has never hosted Boxing Day again.

Vegetable hurling competitions on Xmas really could catch on imo!!
Christmas Day would see A & E littered with the victims of marrow mailings and carrot catastrophes!!

Brighten up the mood for the staff I imagine.
*lighthearted obvs..

@Santahatesbraisedcabbage

It was mostly brussel sprouts they threw. I remember looking down at the floor which was just littered with them

Mid 1980's, Mum and Dad falling out (again) and declaring that they won't be buying each other any gifts. Me and my sister had to empty our piggy banks and look around town for the cheapest gifts, just so they had something to open. I remember getting my dad a £3 tie from C & A, and also some Linco beer shampoo.

Usually my parents laid on a lovely Christmas, but the adults always ended up having huge arguments. This was generally my Mum and her 2 siblings, then my Dad getting pissed and causing an argument over literally anything. The dynamic continued on to the next generation, as my sister is aggressive and has taken over the mantle from my Dad (who has mellowed) and she causes a huge bust up at every single family event. It's only really dawned on me in the last few years, that this isn't normal. Any time me, DH and our adult kids get together (without extended family), there are never any rows. I've since gone NC.

[quote CaveWoman1]@Santahatesbraisedcabbage

It was mostly brussel sprouts they threw. I remember looking down at the floor which was just littered with them[/quote]
An evil missile if ever there was one...

I just don’t believe someone is happily eating their Christmas dinner, never having put a foot wrong in their life and suddenly half the family go mental at them or attack them for doing ‘absolutely nothing’

This is literally what my Sister does, all the time. You'd have to see it to believe it. As soon as she gets to about 5 glasses of wine, she turns in to a monster. On my lovely Mum's 70th birthday, she was fine one moment, and then the next she launched an unprovoked attack at my Mum. It went on for hours, no one could calm her down and we couldn't chuck her out as we were in a rented property miles from home. My Mum's birthday was ruined. My sister says she will never forgive me for that. It makes zero sense, but she obviously (imo) has some kind of disorder. She has had several tribunals at work for threatening colleagues with violence (she's in a very professional role).

@Justilou1

Golly Justilou1, your mother sounds like a treasure!!

You should have seen her when we scuppered her plans for our wedding!

Go on! You can't leave it there!! (Actually, don't if you'd prefer not to...) 🌹

@RaPumPumPumPum

I’d quite like to hear the other people’s side of some of these stories as I just don’t believe people physically attack their family members on Christmas Day ‘for no reason whatsoever’

They've all got a reason, I'm sure!

None of them valid!

Alcohol, that's one reason

Anger, not necessary but some people have such inner rage, that's a reason

Envy, that's a reason

But none of those reasons are in any way valid.

@DimplesToadfoot

I was a single parent, on my knees financially, with no family of my own I had no help from anyone, the only presents my DS 9yo got were what I bought and it was never much. I scrimped and scraped to buy a remote control car, DS was playing with it on the driveway, the car was on the cusp of the driveway and pavement and had stopped moving, before either I or my son could get to it a man crossed the road and stomped on it, obviously shattering it into pieces. I shouted after the man but I'm disabled I couldn't give chase :-( my son was heartbroken and there was absolutely nothing I could do :-( eventually months later I had the money for another car, he didnt want one :-( Christmas never was the same for my DS after

What an utter cunt that man was! I hope he's as miserable as son now.

I think its sad that there are people who can't let their children have one little bit of happiness for just a day. The stories of trashing Christmas gifts and hitting their children on Christmas Day probably sum up what that parent is like the rest of the year, but on Christmas Day it feels worse because you know everyone else is having this wonderful day.
Not my story, but a colleague told of the first Christmas after she finally kicked out abusive husband. She and her children had a lovely day just the 3 of them, and then at night they decided for a laugh to chuck the Christmas tree into the garden, as that's where the abusive ex always ensured it ended up in one of his temper tantrums. They joked it wasn't Christmas until the tree had been thrown into the garden!

My SIL

She came round and was a complete cow.

Some ‘highlights’: was extremely late, demanded her gifts straight away even though people were starving and wanted to eat (and when she did get her way was deliberately slow in opening them and she examined everything in the minutest detail, even pouring over an ISBN NUMBER on one of her books!) and didn’t even bother to say thanks.

She also refused to speak to the other guests, took over serving of the meal even though it was buffet style, ripped the roast turkey apart in an attempt to carve it (there were bone splinters in my food), kept pulling my husband (her brother) into the corner of the room to say nasty things about people, told me to get back in the kitchen where I belonged when I came in the living room to top up drinks and told my best friend she looked like a lump.

I was so angry at both her and my husband for not saying anything to her. I did get immense satisfaction a year later when she asked “what time do you want me around for dinner” and I replied “never”.

MIL being racist to my parents

Nothing too bad. Worse was my brother who invited his girlfriend for Christmas lunch without telling our mum. He then proceeded to drink an entire bottle of port, threw up and passed out. My other brother had to walk his girlfriend home.
Amazingly she still agreed to marry him.

Pales into insignificance beside these but my mother (quite volcanic at times) once looked around on Christmas day and became absolutely furious that the kitchen hadn't had a deep clean before the big day, so made everyone there get stuck in and do it right then! Full fridge and freezer clear out, floor mopped, dusting, etc etc. Even wiping down the cupboards. All had to be done before anyone was "allowed" to start making Christmas dinner. Think we eventually ate about 9pm. She now denies this ever happened! "Don't be ridiculous Foxgloves I would never do that, how rude of you to say so."

Gosh BlueBlossomBlush that is terrible! Thank goodness you have nice In Laws. Wishing you a peaceful and happy Christmas this year!

Reading this thread I have run the gambit of being appalled, saddened and amused in equal measure. Thankfully I've never had a really awful Christmas as my family are all quite laid back and relaxed about who is doing what, seeing who etc. So long as there's plenty of food and alcohol we're all happy!

The one Christmas I do remember being decidedly unimpressed was the first year that DH and I moved into our own house after moving out of his flat. His DM and Dsis were invited for Xmas along with my own DM. They were all invited to arrive Xmas Eve and depart on Boxing Day as DH and I both had to work between Xmas and New Year. My DM readily fell in with our plans and was entirely happy. His DM and Dsis arrived and announced that they were staying until New Year. They also said on Xmas Day that they'd invited cousins and their kids round to ours for lunch on Boxing Day (without actually mentioning it to us previously). And every time one of us had a chocolate out of the tin, or got some snacks either MIL or SIL would say 'ooh, you still hungry? Didn't you have enough earlier?'

Come Boxing Night I was to be found in the kitchen stripping the turkey carcass like some demented woman swearing roundly. I had taken my Mum home earlier as arranged but MIL and SIL were still there. DH had to tell them that we were sorry but they couldn't stay as we were going back to work - they had the cheek to say they'd be ok on their own whilst we were out but did eventually leave muttering about having to find somewhere to get some food shopping as they hadn't envisaged being at home so they'd got nothing in.

Needless to say that was the last time they were invited for Xmas.

[quote Justilou1]@junglejane66@jungle - embarrassed now. I was thinking of Thermoman. 🤭[/quote]
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