As much as we might get excited for the holiday season, there’s no denying that it can cause plenty of drama too.
This is especially the case when we grow up and get partners, and have to somehow negotiate how to assimilate into each others’ holiday traditions.
And then when you have kids of your own?
A whole new set of traditions to try to fit in.
This is exactly the negotiation process that the family in this story are stuck in.
Read on to learn the full story.
My husband and I disagree on how we should handle Christmas mornings.
For perspective, I am an only child.
Christmas morning was always done at home with my parents, and after opening gifts, we’d head over to my grandparents’ house to celebrate with them.
They all still live local.
My husband is the middle child of three, and they often had family that lived out of state.
So Christmas morning was sometimes at their home, sometimes at a grandparent’s out of state, etc.
We alternate our holidays between Xmas and Thanksgiving with our families.
Before having kids, we’d stay with them for a week or long weekend over Christmas.
Read on to find out how this situation has changed.
After having kids, I want to be home for Christmas morning, and then spend the rest of the day with my family or his family depending on year.
Our kids are still young (aged two and one), but it is still such a special moment for me and I want it to be sacred and intimate amongst the four of us.
We only get so many years of little kids on Christmas morning and I want to soak up every single moment.
His parents live three hours away and are having his siblings come to stay between the 22nd-30th December.
No one else has kids yet.
I told my husband that we should have our kids open up presents on Xmas morning, and then make the drive to their place shortly after.
Let’s see how the husband reacted.
He is calling me selfish and inconsiderate of his parents’ feelings because it would mean the world to them to watch the grandkids open presents from Santa.
His mom has made comments in the past how Santa would always travel for them wherever they went (being passive aggressive towards my feelings on it).
We had the same argument last year.
I told my husband that they had their turn with their own kids, and this is now about us and our children.
I still want to see and celebrate with his family, but only after we have Christmas just the four of us on that morning.
AITA?
The holidays can be hard, with different traditions amongst every family.
Both partners here are trying to hold up their own family traditions.
Let’s see what Reddit thought to their impasse.
This person thought that the husband needed to be more considerate.
On the other hand, some people thought that the wife needed to look at things from her husband’s perspective.
While others thought that a compromise was in order.
And this person encouraged the wife to see the positives in the situation.
It seems like this is a tricky situation that needs some compromise.
Surely so long as the family are together, there’s all kinds of magic and joy to be derived from getting in the Christmas spirit.
Sometimes, Christmas doesn’t need stage-managing; the magic comes from going with the flow.
If you liked that story, read this one about grandparents who set up a college fund for their grandkid because his parents won’t, but then his parents want to use the money to cover sibling’s medical expenses.
