MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Sod off Mike!
I asked her weeks ago 8)
After 18 years together, last year Mrs North and I tried bringing all families together at our house for Christmas Day (this included siblings and a couple of cousins - my daughter is the only grandchild). Within 3 minutes of arrival my mother in law had upset my mother. My father was of no help - after 45+ years of marriage my parents don't really get on. So I spent the rest of the day coordinating seating and socialising to avoid the risk of further upset.
And then we got to the meal. Not only were we eating turkey, which smells and tastes vile, my mother and sister endured a series of professional carnivores questioning their long held motives for being vegetarian.
This year we are seeing them all separately.
I've already made my excuses about going to my mad uncles place on Boxing Day (or st stephens day, as I prefer to call it - my day, so I shall do as I please, i.e. staying at home and drinking myself into a warm slumber.
No in-laws, but I do have a stepfather who requires careful management, due to his tendency to say appalling things when he has had a few wines, then get really upset and accuse people of bullying him when they call him out for it.
His best trick is making racist comments about Maoris in front of my (Maori) BiL. Fun fun fun.
I'd "accidently" let the BiL sit next to him at the table Hels...
This thread has probably saved a few lives over the years. The cathartic value of venting.
Otherwise we could all be living a real-life game of Cluedo:
Frank Sinatra, in the living room, with an iron bar insider a copy of the Daily Mail.
We tend to only put them together in public places, where there are witnesses, and CCTV footage to inform the trial.
My in-laws have informed me my beer-du-jour is Stella.
Could get nasty. 😉
Theres only a trial if someone informs the police of a crime.... 😉
Kryton57 - Member
My in-laws have informed me my beer-du-jour is Stella.
My brother showed me the beer he got last year, I may have insisted in going shopping with him the next day, mostly spent in the best aisle Waitrose has
My in-laws have informed me my beer-du-jour is Stella.
Reminds me of my favourite quote from a pub.
"Pint of Stella in a Fosters glass please".
I love my in laws. They come and babysit whilst we go an play on our bikes and cook the dinner whilst we're out. We then open our presents and all get drunk together....perfect! 😀
All you need are 6 good quality beers to get you started then anything will do (except Tennents).
In laws here tommorow so Im off down the village local for a couple of hours at lunch! That should help ease the pain 😀
So things have already kicked off here. Relatively complicated story but Mil has now been banned, by us, from travelling to see us this Christmas. Epic eastenders style family blow up, before the festivities even started
I'm stuck at work till 8 (for a bit of peace) I would love to hear more of this, can't catch up with Eastenders till after the in-laws sod off because TV was invented by the devil or something
They have been here 10 mins. Already want to commit murder. I'm going to try and feed them to death!!
Half an hour in ans SIL is already helping herself to wine from the fridge. She bought nobe with her!
Well then, why do they keep shuffling around the house eh? I don't think they do that when we're not here, so why now..?
Surely old folk just sit and watch tv all day with the volume up to 63, then complain when the FiLs glasses shatter..
And, what is with all this mumbling and muttering ? Have they forgotten to use English as their primary source of communication??
I have retreated to the spare room to watch pron.
Blimey. Cheery times eh? My in-laws arrive boxing day. MIL is lovely, increasingly batty and passes comment (but not opinion) on anything and everything. FIL is the kind of generational racist bigot of which many examples abound in this thread. They're not terrible but it's s relief when they're gone because it's just an exercise of sucking the joy out of everything. Never done done anything really but enjoy belittling the efforts of others.
The option I suppose would be my own parents. So shouldn't grumble really.
Anyway they turn up, I put up with it for about 14 hours then bugger off to Afan for two days. A man needs a coping strategy 😉
My MIL and FIL stayed with us (separately) until my daughter was about 2, fairly normal for Polish family IME. Whilst I struggled with MIL after the 6 month mark, in general they are good people and I miss them. Just wish we had a bigger place so could accommodate them more often. My sympathies for those with hellish relatives, must be so difficult when you have to refuse societal norms for your own sanity.
My mum is now regalling the MIL and SIL with tales of dead husbands and dog
My father in law is fantastic - love him to bits. We lost my mother in law on 27th December last year and things aren't quite the same.
We won't be seeing my father in law for another few weeks. Looking forward to it.
My mother's Jewish, my grandmother's Jewish.
My girlfriend has you all beat!
MiL has arrived.
Been drinking quality port with cheapo lemonade (I have cheap port for that), flinging cigarette butt ends onto the lawn because "it's raining" and the 3 steps to the bin are too far.
currently giving out about people complaining.
Here until 27th.
Hold me.
No arguments as such, but my wife and two teenagers are upstairs with me, whilst my wife's family are downstairs. Nothing said, just happened naturally.
I'm grabbing dishes to wash just to escape to the kitchen.
I feel for you all - I really do.
Me? I'm pissed because the weather reports that have been bang on for the last 10 days are wrong today and its wet.
Really wet so the 200+ ride the long way up to the midlands I had planned has gone out the window.
Textiles it is and the fast way - at least it'll be clear and she's left me a massive dish of fresh pulled pork, sauce and brioche buns to demolish tonight. 😀
Just me, the cat and no neighbours so the stereo will be going on loud seeing as there'll be alcohol - sometimes being able to feel your legs has downsides....
So help me I'll be building a patio tomorrow. FiL has already skidded his car to a stop on the lawn(despite being told not too) and one more wisecrack and so help me...........
4 x 440ml Stella's. Ffs they've only known me for 16 years...
i go to my inlaws twice a week, it's great. I don't like
anyone coming to my house though.
Apparently we're being spared the in-laws. That's an unexpected but most excellent Christmas present. I don't know the reasons and I'm not asking in case that somehow disturbs the karmic balance.
This has cheered up all members of the household. Sad really. Still... YIPPEE 🙂
Inlaws been here a few days. It's great in short doses the whole house has been cleaned top to bottom. 🙂
My day: stayed at my parents house, got up at 10am, opened presents, sister and her kids came for dinner which we had at 2pm, I fell asleep until 3pm, then watched a movie.
Not an inlaw in sight and no conflict.
Exiled in my study away from the in laws but also from wife and kids which is peeving me. They did the usual, came over and took over.
My Outlaws just gone. Had a good day and they're no trouble at all and very grateful and easy going. A good laugh! And they done the washing up, so all good, can't complain 😀
We are staying at my in-laws, I love them to bits as they are kind caring & very supportive. The MiL & I do all the cooking & I have to say we turn out some bloody good meals & the FiL does a great job of looking after my wife.
My Step Mother on the other hand acts like a spoiled toddler if she isn't the center of attention. Its got so bad even her daughters get jobs abroad over Christmas!
FiL has just had us in stitches as he managed to fart for at least 5 seconds continuously while bending down lighting the woodburner!
When we meet our in-laws for the first time we are reasonable mature adults which gives us a good chance to build a working relationship with them if we/they are a minimum willing. Our own parents followed us through childhood and our formative years and the adult to adult thing can be harder.
So unless your in-laws are psycho/plain evil (gaidong style) and their relationship with your spouse isn't completely broken, a little tolerance and seasonal good will pay dividends. Anyhow I miss mine, especially today.
Think of my poor stepdaughter, she's been living with us for the last 4 months as she's a little homeless so with her, her boyfriend and their 3 children plus others we've got 9 of us in the house.
I may be a grump but I'm sick of grandkids running over my sofas!
Gorrila tape PePPeR - lots of it...
Am hiding in secret lair (loo) at present for peace and quiet, also waiting for my muderous Harvey Wallbangers to take effect so FiL has to get MiL home! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
My sisters take on it:
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It's All About.
,
,
The Baby Cheeses...
Food for thought Edukator.
I quite liked my inlaws. Up until 17th October when we announced we'd got wed. Her stepmother stormed out and hasn't spoken since. OH has been ostracized no comms with her father. The stepmother blanks all attempts to reconcile and her father is retry much too weak willed to sort it. He was also diagnosed with cancer so there's another strain.
So plus side no inlaws this Christmas on the down side OHs father hasn't had the strength to call.
Where do I start?...weirdest Christmas yet. Mil arrived on Tuesday. 87,slightly batty with a mania for eating at the local farm shop. That can be controlled, as the kids and Mrs Scape have taken it in turns to take her out for lunch, but the traditional trip to the panto was a bit of an endurance test. The tickets were for the circle, and the foyer was busy, and she wanted my daughter to go and buy sweets, and, and, and,and.... When I suggested we could all calm down, get Nanna seated and then sort out the maltesers away from the whirlpool of panic that we were rapidly descending into you would have thought I had teamed up with Krampus to ruin the day.
Next, the new puppy is in a biting phase, and needs a firm hand to get the better of her. Experience tells me she needs to be either distracted, or if she gets too rough to be disciplined with a mother dog style pin and growl,whereupon she calms right down. Mil can't understand that the dog must learn its place in the pecking order, and so when it wants to play there's a great palaver of shrieking and flapping,which of course just winds the dog into a frenzy.
Christmas day has to be forced. She thinks she has to drive it all, and can't understand that sitting her down out of the kitchen so Mrs Scape can concentrate isn't shunning her. She announced that she only bothers coming because she's expected to open her purse and help with the costs, which has gone down well.
Got all upset when I suggested she could sit nearer the TV rather than watching strictly come ****ing nonsense at a volume which I was afraid would ruin the soundbar from twenty feet away across the lounge.
My brother has learning difficulties and is an early riser, so we've just had a latte whilst watching a recorded carol service he was looking forward to. Peace at last. Until mil came in, described her piles in great detail, got bitten by the dog and is now snoring at full volume.
Ok its been lovely now please just **** OFF!
Scapegoat wins the thread. Or at least an award in the many categories.
MIL has spent Christmas at her house in Oxford after being told by us not to travel to us, for many complicated reasons but can be summed up by her being a massive **** acting in a ****tish manner. 300 miles away and still too close for my liking. I can confidently say that I will not need to contribute to this thread next year though as there is no chance at all of her ever being invited again. Happy days.
I get on fine with mine, but then we see them regularly as they live 10 minutes walk away now - so they just come and visit rather than stay with us or anything silly like that (though when they lived further away they always used to stay in a hotel or b&b if they stayed for more than a day). They came yesterday afternoon, left at kids' bedtime, joined in and were generally pleasant. Not sure why some people have to be unpleasant - though I guess it helps that they're not at all right wing like some appear to be.
Mum and Dad came to see us for Christmas, first time they have ever come overseas to see us. Mrs Q adores them, and they got to meet my MIL who is pretty unwell with leaukemia.
A nice two weeks with them, a few moments of stress, but overall well worth the effort. MIL is happy she got to meet them, MrsQ is over the moon having spent time with them again, and they are over the moon to have met MIL, spent time with Little Q and MrsQ.
A fairly positive MIL/Parents story for Christmas.
FiL has just had us in stitches as he managed to fart for at least 5 seconds continuously while bending down lighting the woodburner!
A risk taker. I like it. I'm another one fortunate enough to have great inlaws, who this year have looked after our kids and dogs so we could go on holiday together, provided a lovely Christmas Eve and morning, then kept the dogs for another day while we all went to my brothers inlaws, who are also lovely, for Christmas lunch/evening and Boxing Day. The 'worst' person in my extended family is one of my sister-in-laws, who has remained at home in Portugal this year, and while her main crime is thinking that the world revolves around her and her lovely but undisciplined children, she is not at all nasty and is still quite good company, and is just oblivious to others rather than deliberately selfish. On balance I have quite a decent crowd.
THEY HAVE GONE, PRAISE THE LORD!
I feel for you all!
We stayed at my parents overnight on Chrristmas day (thay doesn't really make sense...), so it's Mr Mule who has to tolerate the in-laws. Fortunately he loves them as much as I do.
There was a very touching moment this year when Mr Mule (who has disowned his own father - for good reasons), had a few drinks, forgot himself, and started calling Mr Mule Senior "Dad" - totally spontaneously.
I nearly shed a tear 🙂
Not long back from driving the inlaws home.
That's a 320mile round trip(I drove them over here last week) and I would do it all again in a heartbeat,they are amazing.
If you have the good ones,hold them close.
I love them like my own,Iam very lucky.
MiL is great and i have a lot of time for her.....shes a lovely woman.
FiL on the other hand is a pretentious, snobbish bore with nothing to back it up with. He's not a very nice man and he knows that i know it. Plus, just to add insult to injury he's the sort of fella who ALWAYS disappears as soon as there is ANY work to be done. We don't like each other, its obvious, but i aint arsed!
Still he provides me with hours of entertainment with his bull5hit and hot air.
I didn't used to understand the in-law troubles until my sister remarried. And what a vile, nasty bore he is. My sister's great, as are her kids from a previous husband. I just do not know what she she's in hin and he makes every family meeting an absolute chore while managing to quietly go about offending everyone. If I never saw him again I'd be quite happy. No, very happy.
Slow burner this one, but finally exploded this morning, after comments received on Christmas Day resulted in the 'least hospitable Christmas since I was divorced, my brother died and (can't remember the final insult)'. So apparently my SDIL 2 hr rant about Muslims and 'foreigners' on Christmas Day was fine, as he is from an older generation. After the nonsense he spoke on Christmas Day (in front of a table with children from 5-15), I will not be speaking to him again, but hope the MIL can come around as she's actually ok (in small doses).
My MIL came round Boxing day , so went out on the bike for a few hours. Not that I have a issue with the MIL, just was bike time. FIL lives in Sunderland, so that's good too. Its more my current wife and her MIL that's the issue. Still that was only a half day and back to normal. Oh and back out on the bike again and again. Loving the mild weather , although a bogfest locally.