What is the worst Christmas you have ever had?

[Comedyshortsgamer]

I would say one of my first ones I remember being stuck in a hotel as our home was flooded at the time

First Christmas after my Mom passed away. Was supposed to be spent with my dad, bro, SIL and their kids but none of my BILs would have my MIL to lunch as it was "our turn". Spent the day cooking a lunch which I really didn't want to eat and couldn't drink as I had to drive my unwell, grieving grandmother to and from the nursing home. She hated TV as it triggered her MH issues, barely ate the lunch I'd cooked and didn't like sitting anywhere near my puppy who was rather happy at having visitors. It was awful but it turned out to be grandma's last Christmas so at least it was spent with family.

3 years ago when my dd was poorly and we didn't know what was wrong. She was transferred to Great Ormond street hospital on the 23rd Dec and stayed for 2 months.
Christmas day I was with her in hospital leaving my other 2 small dc bewildered miles and miles away at home.
It was such a horrible time.

((((MrsDilber))))

3 come to mind.
When I was in hospital miscarrying at 13 weeks.
When we all had proper flu and nobody could move from their beds.
Last year. The first Christmas since DS1 died.
I dont do Christmas any more.

Endoftheline I'm so sorry.

So many sad stories.
for everyone.

The societal and advertising pressure to have the "best Christmas ever" just doesn't acknowledge the real difficult times that people find themselves in.

I refer to last Christmas as my "worst". DD was home, but was having severe MH issues, which meant every day was spent ferrying her to and from various appointments and counselling sessions. God bless the NHS, and to see them still providing a service over the holdiay period was amazing.

And she's in a much better place now, and I can't wait for her coming over this year. But I have no plans at all, I'm not setting myself up for any disappointments.

Last year when I was nine months pregnant with DC2 and woke up with full blown flu. Spent the day asleep on the sofa wrapped in a blanket while DH and DC1 played and ate Christmas dinner.

DC1 actually got a camera as her Xmas present and was snapping pictures throughout the day, including numerous photos of her DM either passed out and drooling in to a sofa cushion, or waddling back and forth to the loo.

Thankfully I was much improved a few days later and DC2 very arrived shortly after!

Christmas in hospital with ds1, then aged 2. Only the sickest children were on the ward., most of them in isolation rooms, including ds. The nurses tried so hard to make sure everyone had as good a time as possible but we just couldn't do it. The worst thing was when all the local pantomime celebs came round to do their good deed. Poor ds was too sick to be interested and tbh I just wanted them all to fuck off with their cheeriness.

The year my parents had a massive argument and I got sent to bed early for screaming at them to stop.

The year I got rubella.

None of mine growing up were particularly good as my parents are pretty awful. Probably the worst one was when I was 7. My mum had cooked Christmas dinner (which she had never done before and hasn't done since) and the meat wasn't cooked properly. One of my older brother nicely mentioned it and my mum got upset. My dad, who was sitting on the sofa drinking, came over and shouted at all the kids that we were to eat everything on our plates 'or else' - and we all knew what that meant. My dad stood over the table and didn't let us go until we had all cleared our plates. The food was awful and we had food poisoning because of it. The best of it was that my mum had a few mouthfuls of potatoes and dissapered, leaving us with my dad.

Weirdly enough despite having crappy Christmases growing up we acutually quite enjoy the day now!

2012. Standing up to my mum for the first time in my life. By telling her I wouldn't get involved in bitching about my husband, that if she didn't like his parenting of our children, she'd have to tell him herself. She then spent the next few weeks threatening to kill herself or emigrate or or cut me out of her will (who cares?) or never speak to me again or all of the above. We lived with her at that time, so Christmas and New Year were spent reading up on behaviour disorders, finding somewhere to rent and moving out. She did the same, but worse about 18 months later and actually emigrated in a huff. We haven't spoken in 3 years.

My EA mother changed the locks and threw my out about a week before Christmas when I was 17, then my BF broke up with me. My dad offered me his settee and I spent Xmas and NY crying on my own and getting very drunk to cope with how I felt as my DF & DSM would go to bed very early so I was all on my own on NYE.

Nothing compared to some of these

I've never had a bad Christmas, though some have been more enjoyable than others. I remember one when I was about 11 or 12 when my mum had flu and couldn't get out of bed on Christmas morning, so my dad had to try to cook the Christmas dinner. It wasn't too bad, considering that dad never used to cook anything. But it was very a very, very quiet Christmas, as we didn't want to make any noise that would disturb poor mum. We didn't watch the usual Christmas TV. We just read books and played quiet board games all afternoon.

Quite a few really, and all involving illness. So much that we postponed several Christmas days.

The worst was 2 years ago when our GP turned up on our doorstep late Christmas Eve to tell us that our 20 year old daughter's test results showed something nasty and to get her to hospital NOW! Turned out to be a rare reaction to the Glandular fever virus and she'd ended up with hepatitis. Spent Christmas Day in hospital feeling very scared.

Stuck for choice between my last three christmas days. The year my ex broke my tailbone a few weeks before Xmas, I had to lie and say I slipped on ice, was in agony all day. I also ended up with food poisining (which I now think was on purpose, I was the only one who got it. Ex claimed it was "an accident"). The next year, when two of my ex's mates called at around midnight on xmas eve drunk, got him drunk, and wouldn't leave until after 2.00am, when I eventually went nuts and threw them out (I hadn't done santa yet for start, never mind the noise they were making). Ex then proceeded to tell me I was a hateful, boring cunt etc, and he was going and not coming back. Went to bed wondering if ds would believe me if I told him daddy was called in to work because of an emergency. Woke up and he was there come the morning. Last year, he got drunk (on his own) and nasty, and did the same again. Walked out on fucking Christmas eve, I was convinced he wouldn't come back until boxing day. Both years he walked out the night before, he was supposed to be cooking the xmas dinner, and had a family member spending the day with us. Both years he spent the day hungover, and in bad form. This year I'm single, and looking forward to a peacful christmas!

I am horrified at all these really nasty violent husbands.
My worst was when my mother was close to death (she died new years eve) and I just didn't know what to do with my elderly father, who was beside himself. They didn't live close to me. I ended up visiting my mother for some time, and then trying to produce some decent food (at their home) for my dad, (who couldn't cook to save his life) which neither of us really wanted to eat. It was truly miserable and unseasonal.
The moral to me is that one shouldn't try and pretend things are okay and jolly and 'normal' just because it is Christmas, sometimes life events are just more important than that.

Last year. Just broke up with the asshole guy I've been with for 4 years AND ended up in ER with a terrible stomach bug on Christmas day. I felt much better by boxing day, but still.

If you ask me, the only problem with last year's Christmas was the ER part. The fact that I broke up with ex should have been a party reason. God, I was so lucky

When I was studying and couldn't come home for Christmas because i was late for my supposed flight and there were no more tickets in time for Christmas.

I think I'm blessed that I couldn't think of any worst Christmas in my book. There were some lonely ones but definitely could not think of the worst.

The year I had a miscarriage Christmas Eve and Only Fools and Horses ran the Cassandra miscarriage story line. Haven't been able to laugh at that program since.

The Year youngest DD got food poisoning at a KFC. Vomited up the contents from her bowel. Spent Christmas Eve in hospital with her.

But without doubt THIS CHRISTMAS IS THE ONE FROM HELL. Same dd is in a mental hospital for adolescents . She is in on a Section 2. She will not be home for Christmas. She is scared , she doesn't understand. Her mind is in a place I can't reach. She has been failed by so many people and I include myself . Looking back the signs were there I just didn't spot them. I can't eat without feeling sick. I have cried so much. I just want her back

I had some grim Christmases after my parents divorce. There was too much alcohol and my step dad often caused big rows (still does), my sister would get wasted and argue and my mum would be paralytic in the corner. We’re not visiting at all this Christmas thank goodness.

Christmases are lovely now. We have a slightly boring (but very sober) visit to the inlaws and spend the rest of the time with me, my husband and children.

2005 - lost my mum in late November. We spent Christmas day with my dad and it was just so surreal being at her house without her there, making an awful attempt to cook Christmas dinner in her kitchen.

2012 - I'd been looking forward to announcing a very unexpected pregnancy to family over Christmas, had planned to make a card of the scan pic with a Santa hat, but miscarried on 17th December. I had to suffer in silence, as apart from DH, nobody (including 6-year-old DS) had a clue and I didn't want to ruin everyone's Christmas. I had to stay at the in-laws' house, still bleeding unbelievably heavily and trying to deal with it all secretly in their downstairs bathroom. Then DH and I both came down with flu - proper, official, full-blown flu - and that on top of the miscarriage was just miserable.

2014 was pretty heartbreaking as well - our dearly, dearly beloved dog was diagnosed with a very aggressive cancer on the anniversary of my miscarriage and had to be put to sleep on 22nd December. I spent most of that Christmas crying because she was such a huge presence in our family.

Xmas at the ILs. Checked what time to arrive and if we could bring anything, food, drink, chairs and told no. Showed up with baby and toddler with horrific colds at 10am after a 2hr drive on xmas day. Kids had opened Santa gifts but saving family gifts to open with everyone.

Arrive, kids excited to see GPs. GPs had opened all their presents before our arrival and tossed the kids theirs. Then had to wait for another family member... 2 hrs later, the kids largely ignored and FM turns up. More chatting until 2pm when dinner was served (luckily I had snacks to keep DC going).

Not enough chairs, so DP is sat on a ladder and baby is strapped via portable high chair to occasional table dinner is soggy.

The next 12 hours are spent in freezing bed room, kids taking a turn for the worst with colds (and now wearing every item of clothing bought with us to warm up!) and co sleeping in small double. I was crying at 3am desperate to go home but DP was drunk with ILs being loud and trying to do the washing up.

I packed and had everyone ready to go by 8.30am. Woke DP up and told him leaving now with or without him and woke up ILs to say bye. (These are people who tell everyone they don’t get to spend time with their DCs). I have said I will NEVER stay over again.

It was even worse than when Santa forgot I was staying at my GPs house when I was 8 and left my presents at my house

Such sad stories. My worst actually happened after Christmas when exH refused to bring DS back. I had to wait till 3 Jan for the courts to open to get an enforcement order to get him home. I was also given a residence order to stop ex doing it again, but he then did it again the following Easter!

Some really heartbreaking stories on here. for all of you who have suffered such tragedies, abuse and just awful times. The expectation that Christmas is a special time of year and that we should all just forget our troubles makes it sadder and lonelier than any other time of the year for so many.

I haven't had anything like the horrors in many of these tales. Just shit Christmases really as a DC of divorced parents forced to have two consecutive days of Christmas every fecking year, alternating between parents for Christmas and Boxing Day. Step-parents being arseholes - SF getting drunk and yelling at everyone, SM not speakig and making it abundantly clear that she wished we weren't there, DM run ragged and pissed off, DF trying lamely to keep the peace and pretend it's a lovely day and everyone is having a great time. We don't go to my parents at Christmas now. 2012 was the final straw for me. So now it's just me, DH and our two DC. We have a lovely, calm, peaceful happy day - just the four of us. No horrible atmospheres, no drunken ranting, no being told what to do, no being yelled at - bliss.