The Worst Holiday Stories Ever
For many people, the holiday season can be a massive headache. The stress, the high expectations, the variables.
These people dealt with the worst of the worst family drama, annoying visitors, and travel nightmares, all adding up to a collection of stories about the most miserable holidays ever.
1. Can’t Please Everyone
I don’t spend Christmas with my mother anymore. When I was between the ages of 15 and 17, my parents were in the process of a nasty divorce, so I spent Christmas Eve and morning with my father and then went to my mum’s side of the family for Christmas dinner. Her response was unhinged. She was so upset I had spent half my time on Christmas with my dad that during dinner she didn’t sit or speak to me.
Later that night as we were getting ready for bed in a room we shared, she was typing on her computer, still not having said a word to me up to this point.
I asked her to be a little quieter because I was trying to sleep, and then she blew up at me with no warning. It ended with her telling me I ruined Christmas. My grandpa ended up driving me out to meet my dad at 1 AM that night.
I am forever grateful to my grandfather for taking me out of that horrible situation.
2. The Evil Stepfather
My mother was a narcissist. She got remarried when I was ten or so and her new man was everything. She had always been abusive, but it was always of the emotional, mental variety.
After his unwavering acquiescence of her torment, he came to agree with it wholeheartedly. That's when my life became a real nightmare. For instance, when I was eleven, his three boys came to stay with us over Christmas break from school.
They were showered with gifts. I received none. Their explanation was so messed up. They told me that I was not a good child like his three boys. The eldest of his children, who was around twelve at the time, took pity on me and gave me an RC car that had been gifted to him. When I was caught playing with it, it was taken from me. When the eldest explained he had given it to me for Christmas my stepdad lightly reprimanded him and then took me outside.
I was told to stand still and watch as he ran the RC toy over with his big truck. I then had to sleep on the cold cement basement floor for “taking” presents from his children. I've never celebrated Christmas since.
The whole holiday season makes me very emotionally wrecked with bitter intermittent flashbacks of the way I grew up.
3. A Broken Memento
My late grandmother gave me something of hers, and when I came back from the bathroom, I found that my mother had broken it. I got angry—that's when my mom snapped. She started screaming at me and ran outside after she was done. I was never able to talk back to my mother growing up, but the last few years, my patience with her personality disorders waned, and I just glared at her until she ran away.
I followed her outside and asked her angrily if she wanted to be a part of my family. She said no. So, I turned around and left. She followed me out, screaming the whole time about what a piece of garbage I am.
It’s a tactic used by narcissists to degrade someone’s sense of self in order to subjugate them. I told her the only way I’d talk to her again is if we were in court.
So, this holiday season will be the first time away from my family. I’ll be with my wife’s family, who are nice people.
4. Making It Manageable
One year, two of my brothers got in a fistfight on the front lawn. Another year, two of my brothers got stoned and cut the Christmas tree I bought because they were "trimming it" to fit in the stand.
I always do 90% of the cooking, but I’m left to sit in the living room with two of my brothers’ random friends because there was no room at the table.
I regularly play referee, and I always have to buy or at least wrap my own presents. Yeah, I don't go home for the holidays anymore. Want to know the best part? Since I started not going, I receive yearly calls about how unmanageable the holidays are when I'm not there. Ha! I enjoy them with my husband who gets me gifts and wraps them and appreciates my hard work.
