Has anyone ever had a family blowout?

[BigBrownEyes]

Well, Christmas is over this year and it will be time to put the decorations away again until next year. I had a nice Christmas this year marred only by an ugly famly fight on December 23rd. Right now, the reprecussions are still being felt, and we're in that "I don't know when or if this will ever blow over stage."

Ok, perhaps my family is disfunctional, but I suspect I'm not alone. I'm not making light of this subject. I'm very interested in anyone's opinion, thoughts, ideas, or comments.

Has anyone ever had a family blowout around the holidays?

 

[Haltickling]

Well, it's quite natural, I think: Everybody is nervous about the preparations, and people often are not used to be stuck together for several holidays. Adiitionally, a "peaceful Christmas atmosphere" is almost compulsory... If some supressed fuel for anger already exists, the slightest spark will ignite it. Did you know that by far the most divorces happen after the holidays, or after a vacation?

My stepmom and dad always had their usual shouting match on Christmas, it was almost part of the tradition. 🙄 Thank God, I didn't imitate that custom during my marriage. Nevertheless, I'm divorced, too...

There's a German proverb which hits the nail on the head: Nothing is harder to bear than several good days in a row! (Nichts ist schwerer zu ertragen, als eine Reihe von guten Tagen)

 

[Knox The Hatter]

I think I can top this:
Every year, when I was a kid, we got together with the relatives at my aunt's apartment, into which twenty or thirty people would squeeze in for Christmas. The drive there was twenty minutes, but changed after we moved to New Jersey to something far longer. Anyway, in those days, our Christmas parties were LOUD. Loudest of all was this one aunt in particular, the one I mentioned before, the aunt who was a tickle freak and had field days on me when I was little. In those days, her speaking voice could easily have drowned out the sound of the E train as it turned up the curve under Greenwich Avenue. Everyone had a great time. Well, at least, I thought so.

On the ride home, all my parents talked about was what this one said or what that one's attitude was, and how angry they were and how this one was impossible to be around and why that one acted the way she did. This happened EVERY YEAR. I always waited for the one year when they could have nice things to say. Needless to say...

One time, I kind of stuck it to my mom. We were at my sister's rehearsal dinner, where both families met for the first time. I wound up riding in the car home with my parents, where I got the pre-wedding version of the Christmas spiel. After I got home, my sister asked about what my mom said...
...and I told her 😱

Needless to say, the clean up after THAT storm blew through I remember to this very day!

 

[Deleted member 2452]

and here i thought my family was the only psychos!

we had a doosie of a fight here on christmas eve. my mother, and oldest brother fought over my other brother, who wasn't there.
it got so bad my brother walked out, left his gifts from my parents, and took back (at my mothers insistance) his gift to her.
he called yesterday, and appologised to me (i was the host) but says he don't want to see my mom anytime soon. my mom said "rome will stand with out him!"

earlier that day my kids were fighting in the car so bad, i got out and walked the 3 mile home, in the cold. my sinus infection turned into bronchial pnumonia(no joke). when my parents, and brother arrived that evening, they complained that i was selfish for not canceling the party! that i was "exposing them".

now my middle brother sent gifts to me, and my kids, and my parents.
he is persona nongrata with us(parents and me). this is what caused the fight. my sister hasn't been to a family party in 3 years now. she just doesn't like me, never has since we were kids. and my oldest brother never hosts, so she doesn't want to party with him.

so there you have it. great holiday spirit huh?

steve

 

[natural tickler]

Well last year my two brothers got into a fight over something simple, and it didn't even involve them. One thing led to another and a fistfight from hell took place. They just took turns throwing hay makers at each other, and the funny thing was nobody tried to stop them. We all sat in the living room and watched, while I took side action, and even won a little bit. This year, I bought them both gloves in case something broke off, they thought I was trying to be funny, and everyone gang tickled me for it. I am still recovering😀

 

[Knox The Hatter]

Steve, that's terrible. And, it saddens me.
All I can say is that it has to get better. It's hard to conceive that it could be any worse.