My sister just let her kids open the Christmas gifts from us
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Anonymous
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She wants to FaceTime with us tomorrow so her kids can say "thank you" to my kids for the gifts.
They don't live near any area affected by snow, this is just her crazy control and rules. She is a SAHM in a 4K sq foot house who gets stressed and overwhelmed by the holidays. (Her words) My kids, who picked out very simple and small gifts for their cousins, are 4 and 5 and have completely forgotten about Christmas and what they picked out for them. This should be fun. She is a stickler for manners and is in a tizzy that we were not available today and it's very important that they thank us. I'm doing cash in an envelope from now on. |
Anonymous
| What does being a SAHM have to do with being a control freak? |
Anonymous
| You seem unnecessarily worked up over this. What's the big deal? |
Anonymous
| This does not strike me as a big deal. Why is it a big deal? |
Anonymous
| What does the Snow have to do with anything? There is one crazy person here and it isn't your sister! |
Anonymous
| Yikes you sound like a bitch. |
Anonymous
| Huh? What are you pissed about, exactly, OP? That she wants the kids to see each other and that she wants her kids to say thank you? Gee, what a jerk... |
Anonymous
Op sounds jealous and resentful. Oh well. Too bad she's likely the type that never recognizes her short comings |
Anonymous
| So let's see. She gets overwhelmed at the holidays so spreads it out. She wants to FaceTime tomorrow (what does the snow have to do with it) so her kids can sayhi and thank you because that is proper manners. I'm unsure what the problem is |
Anonymous
| OP, I think it's weird of your sister to wait nearly a full month to open presents from you. I also agree that it's hard to explain that to your kids, and they won't really get it. But, it does seem like she really is suffering from an anxiety disorder, in which case I'd feel sorry for her. |
Anonymous
| Wow you Sound awful |
Anonymous
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I understand, OP. She must be a highly anxious person. (And let me add kindly here that you seem a tad anxious yourself. Which is fine, I'm like that too.) |
Anonymous
| I would just face time and get it over with. Maybe she has a surprise for you and is using this as an excuse to get you on face time....you never know. |
Anonymous
| I've been through this with my sister. However, I don't have kids so it's a bit different of a dynamic for us. She gets completely overwhelmed by the holidays/birthdays. Her normally behaved (but needing structure) sons kind of go off the rails with all the extra sugar, crazy amounts of gifts, adult attention/ staying up late, etc. The family is mostly adults who ask what to get the kids, then completely disregard simple requests and opt for loud, destructive, age-inappropriate toys. I can't help her with her in-laws, but to reduce stress (on both ends) we now just don't send bday or holiday gifts. Sometime during the year, I find a time to send each of the boys a special book/toy. They are always so surprised, and it ends up being a favorite instead of being buried in a pile. Another thing my sister does is to spread out taking holiday/bday presents out for the boys to play with, as that helps reduce the immediate overwhelming stimuli for the kids. Good luck! |
Anonymous
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Your reaction seems a little extreme for the situation you posted.
I think it's great she's teaching her kids to thank personally those who give them gifts. And I've saved gifts before, to open as little surprises later. They were more appreciated when my kid had time to actually enjoy THAT present, rather than 42 other presents at the same time. |