What stresses you out the most during the holidays?

[GreatLakes]

What comes close to stressing me out during the holidays is reading these ridiculous posts about tipping everyone and his brother for jobs they're being paid to do. * I do believe in tipping for services provided in hair salons, restaurants and airports by baggage handlers.

Yea, I don't do this. I'm not tipping my mailman or garbage man or anyone else. That is ridiculous.

 

[Skellingtonj]

What's the thing that usually stresses me out the most during the holidays?

My MIL. It's....

- her expectations that everything be just perfect. Well, nothing is perfect, so she's always disappointed.
- her affected sighing and saying that everything's fine when clearly it's not, but she doesn't have the guts to come out and say it. She keeps everyone guessing. I've chosen to only pay attention now to WHAT she says, not HOW she says it, and I respond in my Suzy Sunshine voice...as a result, much less stress for me. I'm not responsible for her happiness
- her intermittent attention to "manners." Don't put your elbows on the table & only cut your meat a certain way, but it's ok for your other grandchildren to literally lick their plates at the holiday table.
- her all out refusal to call people directly and instead play the game of telephone where her message gets relayed from 1 person to the next. I've stopped participating in that, so that makes things much easier.

And last but not least, the food. On the holidays in which she celebrates w/us instead of travelling to SIL's, DH & I do the cooking because it's too much nowadays for her. But her fretting over the food is really over the top...

• calls both of us starting 3-4 weeks ahead of time asking what time are we going to eat, what are we going to eat, etc.
• wants to know what the meal time is going to be for each meal. Well, breakfast is serve yourself & we have plenty of good options in the kitchen for everyone.
• if Celiac Disease Relative is coming, MIL frets over what CD Relative will eat. Really over the top worrying. Even when MIL is not going to be doing any of the cooking. All that despite our assurances that we know exactly what foods to prepare and what NOT to prepare in order to ensure that CD Relative gets to enjoy a luscious holiday meal that won't make her sick. We handle this buy speaking to CD Relative directly and getting her advice. We now have had practice making meals for people with celiac disease, so we know how not to poison our guests. Yet still MIL frets about it as if SHE is the one hosting.
• attention-seeking behavior about what MIL can't eat since she's diabetic. We always make sure that there are a LOT of diabetic-friendly sides for her and everyone else who is health-conscious. We are not the food police at a holiday meal. It's more about spending time with each other than paying attention to what this person or that person is or is not eating. Yet many many times, MIL goes on and on with her histrionics of "Oh I'm SO sorry I can't have this or that. it's my diabetes!" We really DO NOT CARE if she doesn't eat the potatoes or the stuffing. But the way she carries on about it, you'd think that she was insulting the Queen of England or something.

To the point about the person with celiac’s.... stop answering her. Just don’t respond in any way. My mil is not that bad but will ask random inane questions that have nothing to do with anything. It’s not her issue. I know easier said then done but I’d really just ignore it

 

[jaybirdsmommy]

I'm sorry but your post made me laugh!

Thank goodness, tho, your dog was ok.

Yeah, I think she's really a cat. She has to be on life #7 by now.

 

[luvsJack]

Yea, I don't do this. I'm not tipping my mailman or garbage man or anyone else. That is ridiculous.

I so agree with you on this. With some jobs, tipping is part of their pay. They make a minute amount per hour and need the tips to get to a livable or hopefully livable wage. Mail deliverers make a LOT more than that. The make pretty good per hour so why would I tip them? And our garbage pickup company pays pretty darn good too.

A card, a "Merry Christmas", even a pan of cookies or fudge; maybe. But a tip? No.

 

[luvsJack]

The dog ate our outside christmas lights. We finally got around to putting them up, noticed they didn't work the next night. Went out to see why and found all the cords chewed through. )#$%*)$*)($#*$()%{*${)($%)()#$)(!_@$$_# It's a wonder she didn't electrocute herself. Now I have to figure out it I can replace the cords or trash $75 worth of lights.

I have a dog like that! He is a he but yea, he would be out there sitting amongst the chewed up wires and being quite proud of himself like he just saved the house!

Dd and sil bought me one of those lights last year that turns and puts all the different light shapes on the house. I feel bad because I haven't used it, but I know Draco will destroy it! And think he is doing me a favor! Gotta love him though!