Almost every family has at least one pain in the butt relative nobody wants over for the holidays.my wife and me are lucky that the REAL pain in the butt ones,(drunks) have died off from liver disease,car wrecks,etc.BUT,
we have one left, my wifes step mother.she is a gibbering,bableing nut job that shows up late,never shuts up,and turns into:
THE THING THAT WOULDN'T LEAVE.
Anyone else have a real piece of work they dread seeing over the holidays?

No. But we are the things that won't leave!

I'm the screwball deplorable who voted for Trump in my family.

thanksgiving and xmas can be two of the most stressful times of the year. memorial day, 4th of july, and labor day not so much.

Wife and I are 2,000+ miles from any relations. Have been for a long long time, and damn it's nice. Any time someone comes to visit they are on best behavior because

#1 I am not shy of giving anyone the boot from my place if they piss me off, and

#2 if they misbehave it'll be years before they ever have the chance to see us or our kids again.

I don't subscribe to the thought process that grandparents, aunts, whatever have any right to see my kids or be in their lives. They are mine and my wife's responsibility. We do what we think is best, and that includes not having rude, mouthy, uppity, snarky, or just azzhole relatives around.

Have two brother in laws

1. Has to have his own specially made for him dressing/stuffing....he doesnt like onions or celery or sage in his. JFC

2. The other one- he claims he is allergic to chocolate and frosting. Just wants the cake part of the coconut cake we traditionally serve at family dinners. So one of the women has to make him just fuggin plain white cupcakes.

If the women of the family want to coddle them, they can can- and they have.

3. Mother in law is doppleganger of Edith Bunker. Whiney, OCD bout everything



No real political probs with except the cupcake brother in law. He is a "non voter"- but is a hunter. Doesnt make sense. But he has some fruit loop parents too.

The best thing about joining the Air Force over 21 years ago, was getting the heck out of our hometown. The wife and I are in Alaska now, and my family is in Arkansas, and what family she had left there high tailed it to Ohio this past year. My in-laws never wanted a darn thing to do with our two boys when we got stationed at Little Rock by fluke, and so why mess with it now. On my side of the family, my sister married a low life that has two low life drug head daughters. As my mom said yesterday about my BIL, "the apple doesn't fall far from the tree". My BIL doesn't drink or do drugs, but he is a lazy SOB just like his kids.

Life is far too short to have stressful idiots in your life.

I dont care if they are blood relatives or not.

I've eliminated all of the a s s holes in my life.
I dont like 'em and I don't want 'em.

I've had people sitting at my table dining on my Prime Rib and drinking my booze confront me about my guns, hunting and my big game trophies.

Never again....fuggem.... I'd rather eat a TV dinner by myself.

If there's a better time to tell someone GFY I don't know what it is.

We good ones in our family, lucky we are.

NOPE all my PIA's are dead......

Couple of drunks, one meth head, an aunt who is more dramatic and self centered than any teenage girl I've ever met. Thankfully, we don't see them much.

Everyone on my wife's side is pretty much alright. Her immediate family is great, my father in law is one of my best friends. Would rather spend time with her extended family than mine.

Yep, most of them........

We've managed to separate from all our royal pain-in-da-butts, mostly by death and divorce.

My old MIL used to come over and try to beat my parents dog with her cane and drone on endlessly about how "THEY" were trying to take over. The problem was you could never tell if "THEY" were racial minorities, Martians, or the people from other states. I'm not sure even she knew for sure. She'd haunted the local radio talk shows for years as the dreaded "Helen from Westwood." My buddies in radio hated her.

Before that, I had a great aunt and uncle who would come down for Thanksgiving. The old bat used to snoop in our closets and try to get my mother to give her clothes. The uncle just sat around and told us how much he hated coming all the way to Cincinnati for a lousy meal.

I don't seem to have this problem since I'm hunting during the holidays. Relatives want to come to my house? Nope! I'll be at the deer lease. Priorities.

Always puzzles me how some people can't put their opinions on ice for one day instead of feeling the need to impose them on others.

We are the old folks now, it's all our children, and grandchildren at the family gatherings.

I fully understand the issue.

None here, all my wife's family (except her mother) have passed on and my family all live on the east coast or Idaho. I've asked all of them to come on up for a visit but they've yet to take me up on it. When I feel inclined, I go visit them, makes life easier for all of us.

I cut them out. I get to choose who I hang with.

After my wife's parents croaked, family gatherings have been fun.



mike r

You know what they tell you when you join up, “you changed”.

I have the same problem, folks just can’t stand others progressing and “appearing” happy. An adomidible spirit of fortitude and integrity is a turn off to haters.

My ex. Just always seems to work out that way. Go to youngest sons place and she usually ends up there. Hateful and fake.

Only a couple of psychopath alcoholics,but I cut em out too. Years ago.

I have no family and my wife has her sister and BIL. I will not step foot in their house, so all is golden.

Just me this year, plan to hunt till dark and put a turkey pot pie in the oven! Im not a Holidays guy!

just my wife and kids for the holidays. after my parents died, my family is not the type to get together for holidays. other than a christmas party sometimes, we all do our own thing. thursday we'll hang christmas lights and then shoot in the back yard and eat like pigs and pass out. its our tradition.

Roger that.

We thoroughly like to spend time with my family.
"The Warden" used to prefer my family to her own. Anyone of them left are friendly, or stay away.

Life is to short to deal with people I don`t like. The holidays are much more enjoyable since adopting this stance.

None to deal with this year. My daughters and I are headed out tomorrow for their cow elk hunt. My folks (pushing their 70's) will join us in the forest. We'll have Thanksgiving at camp between scouting, then hunt elk beginning Friday. I'll really miss my wife, but we couldn't find anyone to watch the place and all of the animals.

I’m blessed with my family, couldn’t ask for or want better with the exception of 1 sil.
Just one out of many is a pretty good place to be, family wise and my concubine ain’t bad either.
Blessed.

Yup, that would be my youngest sister-in-law.

My sister has two daughters whom I just won't be in the same house with. One is an ultra lib (I've seen standing near Hillary at rallies) and the other is a mudshark. So I just stay away. Probably they like it that way.

I live about 1500+ miles from my family.

I do not go back hardly at all. I had enough of my mother bad-mouthing me to my kids a few years back when I made a special trip with them to spend Thanksgiving with her. I think at the same trip she treated my wife and I like servants while we cooked and tended to everyone there for the holiday meal. Pretty much everyone sat on their asses while we slaved. Including my nephew's wife who is a darling in my mother's eyes yet treats me and my family like she is quite a bit better than us. All the while sitting on her ass while we take care of everyone.

F that. Vowed to never spend a night there again. Don't think I have been back but maybe twice since then. And I will not stay at her house and will never allow my kids to be there without me.

Life is pretty simple now. I do not have to bite my tongue or listen to anyone's drivel.

Not many left to spend it with.....other than distant cousins up north and some scattered here and there...
I'm the oldest of my little clan....wife, son, daughter, sil and grandson...oh, son's live in...and our granddog.
Most will be together for brunch Thanksgiving...no idea if son and +1 will be there or not...would greatly appreciate it if she goes home to her nut case family.....acorn doesn't fall far from the tree there.....

I got a brother in law,I guess X now that my wife passed, that I would not piss on if he was on fire in the road. I have not got a call from them sence she passed . I get a call about 1 time a month when Mom in law needs something done. I went last month to clean the gutters and get the pine straw off the roof on a friday and he was there and had been there sence Wed. His answer was We came down for the Sea Food Fest I did not come to work. I never liked him when she was alive and he is still a POS in my book, my book dont mean much but it makes me feel better

Family is all on the other coast and too cheap to fly so I am free of them....

my wife's cousin always invites his old neighbor.

the guy is pretty funny for about 2 hours, but he always stays 4 hours.

not a bad guy, just lonely, all his friends are dead, or not his friends anymore.

I have got to the point where I enjoy him for two hours and appreciate my wife's cousin for two hours, for giving the guy a place to go.

lot of people suffer on the holidays, if a guy can lighten someones burden just a bit, why the hell not?

my 2 cents

Sycamore

I have had policemen tell me that the holidays are the worst for family arguments, fist fights, and even homicides. Just something about the holidays that brings out pent up emotions, grudges, etc.

I must be damned lucky, I love my family and I enjoy spending time with them during the holidays.



P

35 years.....3800 miles from famdamly......life is grand !

Nope I’m lucky. I love my family and I love my wife’s family. My brother is hosting the holidays this year and that means he invites his wife’s parents and sister. They’re great people and I always enjoy the few times a year I get to see them, they’re conservatives that love Trump so it reinforces my kinship to them. I’m lucky I guess but sometimes life is as hard as you make it.

I'm in Alaska so don't have to worry about any family. We invite folks we want to be around..

I do not have any. They all had tragic deaths long ago.

Guilty as charged! My wife's step mother is a real piece of work. The whole fam damily are yellow dog democraps, but she take it to a whole new level. Did I mention she's a tree hugger too? I always make sure I wear my rattiest camo hunting cap just to pizz her off. We made a big deal out of giving my year and a half old grand daughter a deer rifle while Dad and the Wicked Step Mother were here. She just about threw up she was so aghast that I would do that. Needless to say, we don't take family strolls at sunset with her, but they again, she'd have to get off her broom long enough to do that. Did I mention she wasn't too thrilled about us having a sign in our yard supporting the Republican candidate for County Sherrif?

The Marquess of Queensbury rules are strictly enforced at our gatherings.

Almost all my wife's family are left wing nuts, one sister is a state representative. At least three of them are vegans, one brother in law insists on bringing pre-made salads from Walmart even though my wife goes out of her way to cook for him. The bright side is they might not bless me with their appearance at Thanksgiving, but I'm sure Christmas will be a different story.