Petty Holiday Vent thread 2022

[Anonymous]

More of a humorous vent— my mom lives with us, is in her late eighties and loves candy candy candy beyond anything. She’s a teeny little old lady in good physical health, so her doctor said she can have as much candy as she wants, as long as she eats proper meals, because we’re trying to keep her weight up. Well, she found my Christmas stash of candy that was going to last her several months, and ate a little bit of everything (I found a bunch of candy wrappers that had fallen out of her pocket, lol) so now I’ll be lucky if she eats two bites of dinner before saying she’s full, and then five minutes later wanting candy to munch on. I love her to pieces and she loves us—and she loves candy candy candy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:To accomodate early afternoon football game we went to a movie at 11a this morning. There is nothing in the house to eat for lunch and mom expects my teens (and husband) to wait until 4:30p to eat (she and my dad only eat two meals a day). No lunch. We stopped for take out on the way home from the movie. Now I'm getting the side eye from mom because I won't follow her plan. I told her she can serve dinner at 4:30p, but, now she is worried we won't eat enough and she'll have too much food left over. I can not deal with her old lady rigidity regarding food and meal times. Vent done.

This is what I come here to read. Legit.

I fought this battle with DW and the inlaws. Our infant, then toddler, then 3-6 year old normally ate three meals and snacks. When the inlaws are here, they want to eat at 5:30am for their breakfast, then starve themselves until happy hour, then dinner at 7. DW gives into this and I'm the one insisting on stopping for lunch (which then makes food issue FIL look at me like I'm a gluttonous fatso who must eat lunch). So fricking over this.

[Anonymous]

DW watching a show. NPR has been on most of the day (so regular news for any sentient creature to hear). FIL hates movies (and joy, and anything happy), and around 4:45pm starts saying little things to DW: "I wonder if anything happened in the world today? Does your cable get the 5pm news?" Mind you, we are in the DMV and have everything imaginable cable and streaming. DW is watching a movie with DC. Instead of just coming out and asking to watch the news, he keeps dropping weird hints like this. Guess what? DW, faithful daughter, shuts off her movie and we're watching the news. I'm going back to hide in the kitchen and finish cooking.

[Anonymous]

Will we turn into people who don't eat food when we're our parents' age??? Why don't old people eat? Why are they so weird about food?

[Anonymous]

My husband is Jewish. I was raised Christian and celebrate Christmas. He pretty much takes Hanukkah and I do Christmas. He took two stocking gifts out of our daughter’s stocking and said they were from him and is now acting confused about how that could have possibly happened. Twice he did it! The first was a seriously specialty gift that there was no way he would know she even had any interest in. I’m like holy cow, how’d you know this is hilarious I got her the same in her stocking, where’d you even find that? I had to order online. He couldn’t remember. I believed him. Then it happened again tonight and I’m like WTAF. Who does that?? This is a first for sure.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My husband is Jewish. I was raised Christian and celebrate Christmas. He pretty much takes Hanukkah and I do Christmas. He took two stocking gifts out of our daughter’s stocking and said they were from him and is now acting confused about how that could have possibly happened. Twice he did it! The first was a seriously specialty gift that there was no way he would know she even had any interest in. I’m like holy cow, how’d you know this is hilarious I got her the same in her stocking, where’d you even find that? I had to order online. He couldn’t remember. I believed him. Then it happened again tonight and I’m like WTAF. Who does that?? This is a first for sure.

You need to set a trap for next year to catch him red-handed. Luckily you have two things in your favor: a year and the collective brain trust of DCUM.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is Jewish. I was raised Christian and celebrate Christmas. He pretty much takes Hanukkah and I do Christmas. He took two stocking gifts out of our daughter’s stocking and said they were from him and is now acting confused about how that could have possibly happened. Twice he did it! The first was a seriously specialty gift that there was no way he would know she even had any interest in. I’m like holy cow, how’d you know this is hilarious I got her the same in her stocking, where’d you even find that? I had to order online. He couldn’t remember. I believed him. Then it happened again tonight and I’m like WTAF. Who does that?? This is a first for sure.

You need to set a trap for next year to catch him red-handed. Luckily you have two things in your favor: a year and the collective brain trust of DCUM.

Yes!! Thank you!!

[Anonymous]

You need to set a trap for next year to catch him red-handed. Luckily you have two things in your favor: a year and the collective brain trust of DCUM.

A jewelry box with a smiley face note to DH inside!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are headed back to my hometown to visit family. They don't live in an area where there is a hotel nearby and my mom's downsized house is too small to accommodate us.

That leaves my useless brother, whose entire existence is managed by SIL. They have never visited us in 20 years, or hosted overnight house guests. Not even their kid's friends.

They don't have an extra bedroom, which is fine. They do have a finished basement with a tv, ping pong table, and gym, which is where we will be staying. I asked about sleeping arrangements and he said DH and I and our teenage son could share the sectional sofa. They don't have any plans to set up a mattress or inflatable bed (money is not an issue).

So on top of loading up the car with our luggage, food, and gifts, we will also need to cram in an inflatable bed.

Airbnb?

[Anonymous]

So much cat hair.

My in-laws refuse to plan meals. There are five young kids. My MIL didn’t buy anything to host two families. Also didn’t buy ice salt or a snow shovel. We have 6 inches of snow here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don’t like poinsettias. Every year, my mom arrives with a poinsettia for me and then acts surprised that I don’t like it. I have told her repeatedly that I don’t like them. This year she brought me three small ones because she couldn’t find a big one like usual. Hooray.

My in laws don’t like dogs and every year I tell my MIL we have to keep the poinsettia she gives us out of reach and every year she puts it on the floor for “just a minute while I ________” we call it her annual attempted murder (and don’t worry we watch her like a hawk so we know when to get the dog out of the room)

Ooooh yeah we had this growing up with cats. My grandmother (mom’s mom) was afraid of and didn’t like cats. Lillies and poinsettias are very toxic to cats. What did grandma give us, a family with 2 cats, every Christmas and Easter? A poisonous to cats plant. My mom used to have to keep them (the plants, not the cats!) in the upstairs bathroom with the door closed.

This is a petty vent from last year but I got some poinsettias and my cats who hadn't paid any attention to plants before that went after them. Once I Googled and realized they were poisonous to cats I tried to give them away through a couple of Facebook groups. I specifically said I wanted to give them away because my cats were trying to eat them. I got all these replies and was thinking, wow, that was a breeze.

Nope.

All those jackwads were replying to tell me that poinsettias are toxic to cats. I finally deleted the posts and threw them in the trash.

Extra annoying since toxicity of poinsettias to cats is way overhyped. Vet says they are fine!

During the holidays, poinsettias are a popular Christmas plant. Though they have a bad rap, poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) plants are only mildly toxic to cats and dogs. The milky white sap found in poinsettias contains chemicals called diterpenoid euphorbol esters and saponin-like detergents. While poinsettias are commonly “hyped” as poisonous plants, they rarely are, and the poisoning is greatly exaggerated. When ingested, mild signs of vomiting, drooling, or rarely, diarrhea may be seen. If the milky sap is exposed to skin, dermal irritation (including redness, swelling, and itchiness) may develop. Rarely, eye exposure can result in mild irritation. Signs are generally self-limiting and typically don’t require medical treatment unless severe and persistent. There is no antidote for poinsettia poisoning. That said, due to the low level of toxicity seen with poinsettia ingestion, medical treatment is rarely necessary unless clinical signs are severe.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My parents have a big house. It used to be a small house built in the 1950's but they added several additions over the decades and now it had a large bizarre layout (some rooms have 2 doors, the kitchen is small and closed, there are 3 living rooms). But anyway, my petty vent is that they keep the heat at 66F to conserve energy. Today DH put the kids in long underwear to play inside.

Hah! I am 37 and keep the house at 59-61. If we crank it to 64, we are living large!

Holy crap, I thought I was Ebenezer Scrooge (and my family agrees) by keeping mine at 65 in the winter, but you “win.” Brrr.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom is refusing to host Christmas because I’m not speaking with my sister (we are 32 and 29 years old).

Why aren't you speaking with your sister? What did she do?

If she wanted you to know, she’d have already told you.

Which is why we are team mom. Op knows she messed up and won't provide details because she knows.

No, you’re just projecting and willfully ignorant. Sad.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Will we turn into people who don't eat food when we're our parents' age??? Why don't old people eat? Why are they so weird about food?

We will likely eat less and require fewer calories, because that’s biologically natural, but hopefully, through the yearly reinforcement of having read these DCUM threads, we will remember that younger people, especially children, require much more than we do and not become the Judgmental Food Police.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My husband is Jewish. I was raised Christian and celebrate Christmas. He pretty much takes Hanukkah and I do Christmas. He took two stocking gifts out of our daughter’s stocking and said they were from him and is now acting confused about how that could have possibly happened. Twice he did it! The first was a seriously specialty gift that there was no way he would know she even had any interest in. I’m like holy cow, how’d you know this is hilarious I got her the same in her stocking, where’d you even find that? I had to order online. He couldn’t remember. I believed him. Then it happened again tonight and I’m like WTAF. Who does that?? This is a first for sure.

You need to set a trap for next year to catch him red-handed. Luckily you have two things in your favor: a year and the collective brain trust of DCUM.

I suggest one of those breakable ink packs banks use to catch robbers (or at least they do on TV).