In less than a month, Christmas will come, and Christmas stories are an integral part of this unique festive atmosphere. About a family at the holiday table, shaggy spruce branches, the flickering of lights on Christmas tree decorations, unboxing the gifts... and sometimes, very sometimes - about dealing with entitled kinfolk.
For example, today’s story is about a woman who was first cordially invited by her in-laws to visit them with her husband for Christmas, and then, after the couple left for the two-day drive there, they simply withdrew their invitation due to exceeding the limit of guests.
More info: Reddit
The author of the post and her husband once got a Christmas invitation from their in-laws who lived 2 days away by car
Image credits: Getty Images / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
The in-laws pointed out that the author's family would stay in one of their guest rooms, since they're all family
Image credits: firefly_dance
Image credits: Victoria Romulo / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
Time passed, other guests got added, but the in-laws assured the author that their room was being kept for them
Image credits: firefly_dance
Image credits: Nathan Anderson / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
However, when the spouses drove down, the in-laws let them know about withdrawing their invitation due to new guests arriving
Image credits: firefly_dance
Needless to say, the spouses got incredibly livid and even considered cutting all ties with the fickle in-laws
Our heroine today is a 34-year-old woman who periodically had problems in her relationship with her mother-in-law. No, it's not that it was a classic family feud - it's just that from time to time, the MIL would throw out some unexpected trick, which greatly upset the author and her spouse. For example, intentionally excluding them both from family photos...
But then, on the eve of another Christmas, everything seemed to be fine, and when the MIL invited the woman with her husband and child to come and visit for the holiday (and that's, mind you, almost a two-day drive!), they thought about it and agreed. And when the question of accommodation arose, the in-laws didn't even want to hear anything - only in their house, in one of the two guest rooms!
Okay, time passed, Christmas was approaching, Santa was already finishing his preparations for the long road, and so were our heroes. And when the author's sister-in-law with her family joined as guests, the hosts were anyway adamant - they could squeeze in, but still be under the same roof. After all, they were all family!
And on the very eve of the holidays, the author and her family hit the road - and when they were almost there, some damn unpleasant news awaited them. It turned out that the BIL’s in-laws were also coming to visit, and since the house was not made of rubber and the owners weren’t able to accept more than eight people, their invitation was revoked. Period.
And so the spouses urgently needed to solve the issue of accommodation for Christmas and figure out where they would celebrate the holiday - and the original poster was, of course, burning with anger. So the woman decided to turn to netizens seeking some wise advice - what to do and how to build a further relationship with her mother-in-law. Or whether to build one at all.
Image credits: Blake Cheek / Unsplash (not the actual photo)
"This looks not just like blatant disrespect, but even just like a deliberate insult, especially if the mother-in-law has previously displayed similar behavior," says Maria Kryvosheeva, a psychologist and NLP coach with whom Bored Panda got in touch for a comment. "Apparently, these unexpected guests have already arrived without warning, and the owners simply decided that they have the right to refuse their word."
"It seems to me that this is a reason to at least demand an explanation - or simply come anyway, since they have been promised more than once that they will have accommodation in the house. After all, when the owners plan any family gathering, they need to be prepared to face the consequences."
"From this point of view, by the way, it would be very revealing to find out how the spouses reacted to previous situations when the in-laws offended them. If sooner or later they forgave such behavior - then the offenders could develop an attitude of some kind of impunity. So in any case, now they need to take some decisive measures," Maria concludes.
But people in the comments are simply sure that the original poster with her spouse should cut all ties with the in-laws. “I would literally never visit again. Make sure she knows it’s her fault her own child won’t see her,” one of the folks in the comments wrote.
“It’s absolutely blowing my mind that someone would legitimately uninvite their own child to Christmas for anything short of a damned felony. And even that is debatable,” another really livid person wrote.
In any case, the main thing on the eve of Christmas is to celebrate it happily, in warmth, comfort and love. “Have a safe trip home and enjoy your quiet Christmas!” - these were probably the wisest words from the people in the comments. And what would you, our dear readers, do in the situation in which our heroine found herself?
Most commenters under the post massively supported the author and urged her to go no contact with the in-laws
