Bad Holiday Behavior: Confess your sins here!

[Chocolate Cake]

Just returned from a Christmas visit with my in-laws.   I was very, very bad.   Whenever I'm around them, it just seems like I am constantly sticking my foot in my mouth.  Here are the highlights (or shall I say "low"lights) from my diarrhea mouth:

1)  Saw a female mail carrier walking her route on their block and I said, "She better be careful walking around in this neighborhood. She could become a crime statistic."

Yeah, I totally dissed where they have lived for the last 20 years.  In my defense, it's a transitioning neighborhood (and not for the good).  In fact, the cops arrived down the street and arrested some guy just the night before.  Just as we drove past, three police officers were struggling to get the perp into the back of the paddy wagon while he fought them off (with handcuffs on).  But still......I shouldn't have said what I did.

2)  After spending all day sitting around, I apparently was overly enthusiastic when my husband grabbed the keys and said it was time to head out.   My husband later told me that I shouldn't have made it so obvious that I was relieved to leave their company.

3)  When my FIL mentioned he'd like my son to spend two weeks or so with them next summer, I burst out laughing.   I was responding to the horrified look on my son's face.   

I don't know where my head was on this visit.  That's my confession.  Post yours!

[Pixie]

I didn't send out Christmas cards. I usually send out 75 Christmas cards, this year we got THREE.  I refuse to feel guilty.

 I also didn't leave the house. No, I wasn't sick, I just wanted alone time with my family.

[Clara Bow]

I didn't send Christmas cards and I was a little late with the thank you notes. I just sent them today and we got one of the gifts like two weeks ago.
I also hid on my front porch smoking and talking to my brother in law on the phone when he called Christmas Eve for about half an hour to get a little peace. My in laws drive me a little crazy. I'm also not the world's greatest with overnight company, so I was a little cranky. Not bad, and hubby says no one noticed but I knew I was feeling edgy and tense.
Oh, and my folks made fondue in the new fondue pot they bought me. I hate fondue. My husband and I snuck out for cheeseburgers when we ran to WalMart for supplies. Of course they were none the wiser, but I feel a little bad about it....

[Venus193]

I regifted an item almost immediately, but not in front of the original giver.  I'm trying to figure out what to say to her if it ever comes up.

[Hawkwatcher]

Just returned from a Christmas visit with my in-laws.   I was very, very bad.   Whenever I'm around them, it just seems like I am constantly sticking my foot in my mouth.  Here are the highlights (or shall I say "low"lights) from my diarrhea mouth:

1)  Saw a female mail carrier walking her route on their block and I said, "She better be careful walking around in this neighborhood. She could become a crime statistic."

Yeah, I totally dissed where they have lived for the last 20 years.  In my defense, it's a transitioning neighborhood (and not for the good).  In fact, the cops arrived down the street and arrested some guy just the night before.  Just as we drove past, three police officers were struggling to get the perp into the back of the paddy wagon while he fought them off (with handcuffs on).  But still......I shouldn't have said what I did.

 

I don't know where my head was on this visit.  That's my confession.  Post yours!

Be careful, they might decide to move to a safer neighborhood, such as your neighborhood.


My sins:
I only sent out three Christmas cards but I only got three cards.

My house was not perfectly clean when my parents arrived but they arrived during the busiest time of the year for me. 

[Brentwood]

I honestly believe that I did not make any holiday etiquette gaffes this year.

Several days of several celebrations with tons of people, and I still wore a smile.

[Gwywnnydd]

I only mailed 1/3 of my Holiday cards, and those went out 12/23.
The rest are sitting at home, on my desk, waiting to be addressed. They've got names, and return address, but I forgot my list of addresses when I brought them with me to work (intending to mail them from work).
Maybe my little boy will go to bed early enough I can get that done tonight... Worst case scenario, they'll get out by 12/30. Or rather, *on* 12/30 :}.

[andi]

i made a snarky remark to both my SIL about giving Boo "noisy toys".  

(i did bit my tonge, smile and say thank you for the more bizzare gifts we received - i know my IL love us)

[IndianInlaw]

I will nominate my mom...I gave her a snowglobe that I was quite proud of finding (and on sale!).

She opened the box and gleefully exclaimed "bubble wrap!"  "I can send your sister that picture frame!".

I laughed and laughed.

As for me, no more mistakes than usual.

[Alida]

I don't THINK my grandmother heard us, but... my brother, his wife, DH and I couldn't stop laughing.  Each couple was gifted with the most hideous tall blue vase (we think that's what it is) that the men thought would be great for launching bottle rockets and we women thought needed to be dropped accidentally.

I just hope my grandmother didn't hear us!

[StaciNadia]

In my family, we got up at 6am for opening Christmas presents and pumpkin pie.  In my fiance's family, they opened presents at midnight.  When I moved in with him and his mom, for a few years, we did the midnight thing, but after that, I wanted to do the 6am present opening.  We've done that for years, and my fiance and his mom suggested doing a midnight present opening next year.  Later, I confided in my fiance that I didn't want to.  This discussion led to dear fiance saying there isn't a traditions president of a traditions board, or something totally ridiculous like that.  Ah, he says such funny things...

[mlogica]

This was our year for Christmas with my in-laws too.  Overall, I don't think either of us committed any real etiquette faux pas.  However, I did feel a bit guilty about not eating much of the Christmas dinner.  Not because I wasn't hungry, but because I wasn't hungry enough to eat food that I really, really don't like.  Usually my MIL has a menu that pleases everyone, but for whatever reason this year it was almost like she had a list of "foods that DIL doesn't like" and chose everything from that.  Although I know it's just coincidence, because she's too nice to do something like that on purpose.

My MIL did look at my plate and ask why I wasn't eating more, and I covered by saying something about still being full from lunch.  I hope she believed me.

[ButterflieRJ]

I take the cake for holiday poo-poo-er in the family this year (sorta... but the other person who "wins" needs her whole own thread).  Here's my story...

A couple months ago BF and I stopped by a jewelry store in the mall so I could get my ring cleaned.  While we were waiting I saw a ring I liked and pointed it out to BF.  Later on that week I said something about it again, and mentioned that it would be nice to have.  We discussed it but it was left open-ended.  A few weeks later I was at the mall and saw it again, and confirmed that I liked it.  Mentioned it to BF again, even showing him the ring online (and thus confirming that it was affordable).

2 weeks before the holiday BF IMed me at said, "I got you your present and it's the COOLEST EVER!!".  He then let me know "I ended up spending $XXX which was more than I planned but you'll love this!".  I was REALLY excited, and figured I'd gotten that ring.  He continued to talk it up bigtime, getting me more and more excited.  At this point, I was POSITIVE I was getting that ring.

Of course, there was no ring-sized box come gift-opening time.  So I took my time and opened everything but one odd-shaped thing, which I saved till last.  I even made him open his presents between my opening the rest of mine and the strange box.

It got time for me to open the last gift, so I did.  I believe my reaction was:

Me: [obvious dissappointed look] "Wow.  Cool.  Thanks." [immediately consolodate gifts into as few bags as possible to bring out to car]
BF: "Well, let's open it." [takes gift out of bag and starts to open]
Me: "NO!!  Uh... I don't want the kids playing with it and smuging it and stuff.  Plus, it's not like I can even use it right now anyway."
BF: "Oh... fine." [goes and puts gifts in car]

(Edited to add: In reality, I didn't want the kids (ages 3, 3 and 5) playing with it, so there *was* some truth in my objections to opening it right away.  But he knew I was dissappointed and took it to mean, "No!  I don't like it, I'm returning it yesterday!  Don't open it!!"  ARGH!!)

I was SO disasspointed that I actually had to go into the washroom and fight off tears and calm myself down.

I ruined the rest of the day for BF.

I avoided even looking at my present until 2 days later... after I cried to BF for an hour, apologizing for ruining his day, making him feel bad, and not being appreciative and an all-around better sport.

I thought about it long and hard and decided to keep what he got me (we'll get to that in a second), with the plan being to take some of the holiday money I got and (foolishly) buy myself the ring.  Best of both worlds, right?  Yea... they don't have the ring at the store anymore.  Bummer.

I am, however, happy with my gift now, and am glad I kept it.  In fact, I use it almost every day and have bought some accessories for it.

What did I get that was so dissappointing?

A hot pink 4Gig iPod Nano.

I feel like a fool, and no doubt will continue to for years around the holidays.

I have been showing it off though, and have, on numerous occasions, said, "Thanks again for getting this for me, I can't believe I thought I didn't want it!  I LOVE IT!!!"

[edit: fixed spelling]

[Mikayla]

My sin:  My sister and I were opening the box of gifts sent by our other sis, and we did a gift-trade right on the spot!  Then we debated what to tell her.

As background, I have horrid feet and have had about 11 operations on them.  So the dear girl sent me...Champion running shoes.  They were really quite cute, but they were too small and they hit my left foot in a spot that made them uncomfortable.   So I traded down for a cheapo fanny pak with a plastic water bottle 

We debated what to tell her, but I announced she was getting the truth.  It was my PA way of letting her know shoes just.don't.work.

It all ended well, especially since my other sister loved the shoes and I was happy for her to have them since she had gone way overboard on my gifts.  Maybe it's karma.

[Bijou]

I didn't send out Christmas cards. I usually send out 75 Christmas cards, this year we got THREE.  I refuse to feel guilty.

 I also didn't leave the house. No, I wasn't sick, I just wanted alone time with my family.

Maybe some people only send a card when they receive one?  I have a very short list probably because I am bad about getting cards out and only sent to those who sent to me (if I got them sent at all)  I'm not a grinch or anything, I just realize more every year that the holidays are a hard time for me. I don't even know why.