Stupid idea for 23rd December

[Cornwallinverness]

My husband has decided that today he is going to sort out our bathroom light that hasn't worked for nearly 1.5 years - we have been using a battery operated lantern instead that does the job but yes, the light needs sorting by an electrician. He has no knowledge around electrics but can't see the problem of trying to do it himself today, risking the whole electric supply blowing 2 days before Xmas. We still have no Xmas food shopping done, no menu even planned but this, apparently, is what he is doing today....

My DH always starts doing something when we are already late and need to leave. Like we'll all be shoes on, door open, and he'll decide he must empty the dishwasher.

When I was in labour with DS, we had just moved into our house, bags and boxes everywhere. My waters had gone, I was having strong contractions and I asked him to find a plastic bag or something to put on the sofa so I could sit on it and not ruin the sofa. I expected him to fling the contents of the nearest bag onto the floor so I could sit on it. No, he starts calmly unpacking it; putting things away, trying to organise them. Until I screamed at him. Jesus Christ.

I think they do it because they can and the important stuff still gets done by others.
If women did it then nothing else would get done

Update!
He decided it wasn't a good idea after all and has booked an electrician to come in the New Year.
My comment really was a bit tongue in cheek and I was more worried about him blowing the electrics. I've done 2 x 12.5hr shifts over the weekend and he cleaned the house top to bottom. He's also been to Sainsbury's and done the shopping (he always does it as its my pet hate) and will cook the full Xmas dinner as he is a fabulous cook.
So I wasn't man bashing, I couldn't wish for a better husband, but was more exasperated at his belief he was an electrical whizz and risking blowing the electrics.
Happy Christmas all x

My friend lives in an old house that had a large floor to ceiling cupboard in the kitchen that was built in to the structure of the house when it was built. So solid concrete or whatever walls. Last year she came home from work on Christmas Eve to find that her husband had decided that this was the day to demolish said cupboard that they had been discussing for a while. Every work surface was full of the cupboard contents which together with the floor was covered in a thick layer of dust from the demolition job. He was very hurt that she didn’t appreciate his efforts. 🙄

That’s a lovely update OP ❤️

I think sometimes we get so frustrated around Xmas that the little things can get on our nerves.

I’m glad you’re both still speaking to each other and there was no electric shocks 😁

Happy Christmas x

It's a tacit admission that they're completely irrelevant in the family combined with a ploy for attention.

It's a job for an electrician, not an amateur.

I had to replace my power extension tower that powers my wfh equipment because it started doing crackling noises when I was pressing the on button. I was sincerely hoping it wasn't the socket playing up because that would definietly need an electrician.

Sorry for going completely off topic here but what is a baby naming party?

My ex singlehandedly took the engine out of a car, fixed it and put the engine back in.. The day before our baby was due.

I don't know what it is that triggers this need within men to start mammoth and unrelated tasks during stressful times, but it's a thing.

I wonder if it's down to some interesting anthropological reason that we've evolved out of needing nowadays?

Or that they feel useless in helping with certain things, but still need the ego boost of being good at/useful for something, any damn thing, in the moment?!

I get it OP. My DH does stuff like this all the time. And almost every time we're leaving the house and running late, he decides that's the moment to sort the recycling, or water all the plants in the house...

He also sometimes does this this passive aggressive thing where he "cleans" badly and pretends not to know any better. Once I wemt out after wed had a row, and he "cleaned" every floor in the house with cold, dirty water that had been sitting in a bucket on the patio for two days. I was then forced to spend an hour redoing it all with hot water and disinfectant. Of course his mother was terribly impressed that he'd "done me a favour while I went shopping" and couldn't understand why I was furious at him for simply cleaning...

We were given a large DVD cabinet by my son one Christmas. I offered to have a go at it, as did my son, but my DH said he really wanted to do it. So there it stayed in the box unopened until 9.00pm on Christmas Eve the following year when DH decided to drag it out and cover the sitting room floor with its various parts including glass doors, screws and instructions. It took him until 2am to "finish" it, with lots of hammering and cussing in between. The end result was actually quite frightening. It looked as though it had been involved in a hostage situation.

You are all very passive. I give my DH a list everyday in the run up to Christmas. He then focuses on what needs focussing on (I don't mind the "mental load" of this as he works and I don't due to ill health (hence needing the help). If he started doing random DIY I'd just tell him to stop and what jobs needed doing first. There is no way he'd be fucking about with electrics two days before Christmas. Apart from anything else it would fuck up the cleaning I'd already done. .

But we have this system down to a fine art now and he knows the drill!!!

Not really. It doesn’t take two people to plan a menu and do a food shop.

I was in Waitrose this afternoon (by myself) and there were lots of solo shoppers. It can be done.

That’s true. Since the OP’s husband is obviously twiddling his thumbs at something to do, he can crack on with the whole Christmas food shop/planning.

Ah that’s fantastic, food shop done, he hasn’t blown up the house, merry Christmas to all 🍷.

To be fair, I’ve just spent the afternoon going through the apple store in the basement, cutting up any that were beginning to go off, ready for cooking and deepfreeze, and cleaning and drying all the slatted storage drawers. Probably not the most important job for the day before Christmas Eve

:"A bit of shopping"!!!!! If your user name did not suggest you were female, I'd assume you were some idiot male who has never had to brave the supermarkets at Christmas to do serious shopping in his life. So I must therefore assume you are a woman with a house full of servants.

Come on, serious shopping? Its hardly gathering supplies for a mission to Mars. I went today, several shops, it was fine. Didn't get the meat though. Saving that for a game of turkey roulette tomorrow

My DH has fixed two lights and repaired four chairs in the last two weeks. The tools are still all over the dining room table and the sofa bed (family coming to stay on Christmas Day).

Mine is like this.

He just panics when he can see I’m starting to get stressed and stick to what he knows (which obviously makes me more stressed!) I try to laugh about it because otherwise I’d just be constantly crying.

My fave example is I was so exhausted from breastfeeding our newborn I was literally screaming and crying at him for help. Do you know what he did? We went and cleaned my car. We nearly divorced over that one!

My DH decided to defrost our freezer when my in laws and parents were on route for a big Sunday dinner gathering.

They all turn up and he's there surrounded by frozen food and chopping away at ice.

I swear I was to avoid helping with food? He had to load everything back in and get up and pour drinks and guess what never ever got around to defrosting it..

As an aside may I ask which battery operated lantern you have been using? Thank you.

Mine stayed up until 4.40 this morning cleaning the kitchen cupboards. They were fine… He was then up at 7 with the baby, in the shops for 9am and been out all day and now at work so he’s massively regretting that!!

DHs are strange 😂