That annoying guest - what is their christmas crime?

[MrsWhites]

So everyone has a guest or someone in the family if you don’t host who will do something seemingly innocent that will piss everyone off? Who is yours and why? I’ll go first -

My sister because she uses all the gravy and doesn’t get off her arse to go and make more! No matter how much gravy we put out she will always use most of it! It’s got to the point now where we put the gravy boars furthest away from her so everyone else gets a go first!

Absolutely this. It's so weird that some folk want it to be touching the wall. I now have a freestanding loo roll holder which makes me very happy (not that I have any visitors to upset the apple cart on this score)

It's a bit like people who peg washing out by the waistband rather than the bottom end / hem of trousers / pyjamas.

Because bottles brought to the house should be a token of thanks for the host. A gift.

Otherwise all the host is left with is dirty dishes and an empty wine rack.

Would the entire dish really have been contaminated?

It was so massively awkward. Everyone started eating, but with the looming threat of boozy partygoers showing up, it felt like we were all in trouble for something. In the end they didn't make it (too much to travel across town, get snacks, and find the house while drunk I guess), and the awful husband ended up leaving to go meet them once he'd eaten......

Yes, i do live with them at the moment due my MiL’s ill health(which is thankfully recovering well) but they won’t be moving out until at least March next year

Many builders are gentlemen of refined taste.

Doubtless, but it’s still not the same thing.

Mine is the person who always brings a new partner who no one’s met and then they’re in all the photos, trying to bond with your kids and then never see them again.
I might sound like a Scrooge but I just find it a red flag if someone has been dating someone for a few months and they want to come to your family Christmas and not their own family (I appreciate if it’s a specific circumstance and they don’t have family) but this happens with the same family member, every year

I thought "builders' tea" meant any old teabag + a splash of milk + multiple spoonsful of sugar.

Builder’s tea tends to be strong Kenyan blends, rather than Ceylon or Assam.

Oh no, that IS how I peg out the washing 😳
What's wrong with that?

That's hilarious😂

Ooh DSIS will not only not lift a finger, she even has the audacity to complain I was getting in the way of her helping and that's why she was doing nothing!

Also not a guest but a host - DMIL who is the queen huffer - but refuses most help. Any help offered is too late or not enough. If you start opening a cupboard to do something for yourself eg get a glass "WHAT ARE YOU AFTER? WHAT DO YOU WANT? A DRINK?" And will start trying to make it for you, while pass agg huffing.

Yes, a sister who, 3 times now (but not consecutive) has said my present hasn’t arrived yet, it’ll be late. Of course it never arrives. Did the same to her last year - it was satisfying to stand my ground but I didn’t really want to stoop so low.

I’ve had that with family members snd i cheerily point to kettle and say we’re close enough they can help themselves! Worked a treat,

Yes, but not on a Christmas dinner

It's a bit like people who peg washing out by the waistband rather than the bottom end / hem of trousers / pyjamas

Things you wear on the top, you hang from the bottom. Things you wear on your bottom, you hang from the top.

In the case of trousers, the excess water would go down to the thickest part of the garment and make it take even longer to dry.

DSS who doesn’t shower for an entire 4 day stay. Also sulks if he is asked to help with dishwasher or tidy up. He is in his 30’s.

My mum used to invite two friends who had previously been in a relationship that ended when he cheated.
Every year the atmosphere was so uncomfortable and they’d bicker and bitch the entire time.

Absolutely correct, I’m surprised that so many people don’t understand this. The wine is a gift for the hosts, who may choose to open and serve it, or if there is already plenty of wine on offer, may also keep it to enjoy later themselves.

There is no convention that states the host must serve the wine, and I’m shocked that some people seem to think they have the right to take their gift home if it isn’t opened. You wouldn’t give someone a nice bottle of bubble bath and take it back if your host hadn’t had a bath before the end of your visit.

A bottle of wine is a minuscule amount to pay for a whole meal with drinks/snacks.

Thought builders' tea just means strong tea? The colour of fence stain, kind of thing.

That would be very rude

It is the chatting nonsense that is really distracting though.

i never mind my dds helping though

My brother .. always "forgets" the food item he was meant to contribute ...never dresses appropriately- always looks sweaty and disheveled-sometimes even smelly - and always makes a happy conversation negative .. Its hard work sitting near him at the table...I just carry on being smiley and polite - and I always buy extra of whatever he was meant to bring.. my other siblings are great - but he is very weird... I feel bad typing that as he is my sibling but I couldnt feel further removed from someone.. it's always a relief when he leaves .. the whole atmosphere changes... he doesn't have children but never buys a single thing - not even a chocolate bar- for any of his nieces or nephews.... at Christmas!! .. and he always eats the MOST .. huge platefuls... without bringing anything ever

Nothing, it's completely right. Tops from the bottom and bottoms from the top.