who wants to trade family members for the holidays?

[C.Ann]

WHAT?!?! 9 pages and no one has offered their DH?!? Let me be the first...He's just like his mother - constantly making other people's business their own, complaining non-stop and dragging all of those around them down, talking about how GREAT they are and how un-great you are.

I think i just made myself a new-years resolution.

Now does this one come with a magnificent health insurance plan that would cover the new spouse?

Would he be willing to not bother with - live with - or even talk with - the new spouse?

If so, I may know someone who is interested..

 

[Worfiedoodles]

Now does this one come with a magnificent health insurance plan that would cover the new spouse?

Would he be willing to not bother with - live with - or even talk with - the new spouse?

If so, I may know someone who is interested..

That sounds like the proposed marriage between the guidance counselor and the football coach on Glee last season!

Maria

 

[sunnyday123]

It won't help. You'll still have Thanksgiving to deal with...and then there's Passover. Oy Vey!!! Don't do it. Trust me.

Shoot. Since my brother and I came thisclose to getting into a fist fight on Thanksgiving ( Helloooo Jerry Springer)last year, I really want to avoid it this year.
Jehova Witness?? Canadian? The Canadian Thanksgiving is before ours, ( past) so I can do Canadian for Thanksgiving, then switch over to Judisim for the holidays. Since I'll be the only Jewish person, I can do those holidays on my own.


Maybe I'll just go into the witness relocation program.

 

[C.Ann]

this is so much fun! I already offered my mom & brother but I thought I will sweeten the pot! My mom now wants me to chip in so that she can afford life insurance to pay her mortgage so my brother will have a house for free. I should help since I can keep a job and earn a decent income and won't need the inheritance. Instead of paying for this life insurance I thought that I would go thru the garage and offer gifts she's given me that I couldn't return: maternity clothes last year (not pg and her way of telling me I'd gained weight), a 4 ft stone statue of a manatee holding a manatee baby (no explanation) dollar store pots, and the half used jc penny gift card-she used it and then gave it to me last xmas.

I'll even offer U at trip to fl(we're only an hour from WDW- although my mom will ask you how an adult could love an amusement park everyhour) in exch for swapping with someone in NY so we can visit dh's family who I actually like more. Any takers???


I love the bingo cards- I am definately going to keep that in mind for Xmas, thank you!

Oooooo.. Now this one sounds tempting.. And I live in NY.. Hmmm.. Can you do a little better on the FL trip part? Like maybe a season pass and onsite accommodations? (Pop Century is fine..) Possibly toss in one meal a day while in the parks? (Counter service will do - I eat like a bird..)

 

[Tarheel Tink]

Please promise me that someone will resurrect this thread after the holidays with updates!!! I am loving it!

My DB passed away last year but before that he made holidays miserable enough that I told my DM that DH and I were done. We would spend Christmas Eve with her and exchange gifts, have dinner and enjoy ourselves. Christmas was our day to stay home, stay in our jammies and do whatever we wanted with no drama.

We do, however, attend a lot of holiday activities with the family of my dear friend who has an "interesting" group of relatives but it becomes just funny when they aren't yours. One of them dresses like Elvis when in public because he can deal with people when he is in costume; late life Elvis with cape, cane, sunglasses, gold lame, heavy jewelry. It made our Alaskan cruise very interesting. I would have given anything to have gone on the latest trip to Italy with them; the pictures were pretty hilarious of him in front of all the statues. Now you know where the "he is still alive" rumours come from.

 

[NVDisMom]

It won't help. You'll still have Thanksgiving to deal with...and then there's Passover. Oy Vey!!! Don't do it. Trust me.

and Hanukkah and High Holidays...BUT, they won't be there! And Thanksgiving you can get out of too. Dairy and meat on he same table...that is a no, no.

 

[spacemountainmom]

I would LOVE to know how you manage this feat??? Please share - if we only see my ILs 1x a year its ALWAYS for the holidays. I'll offer up a MIL and SIL to whoever wants them!

Trust me....it's nothing I/We did! My IL's live in the warm south and we live in the cold north. There is no way in God's green earth that my MIL is going to set foot back here between the months of October and April. They only come once a year and that is usually late August into early September. They stay with FIL's sister while they are here and we see very little of them. Visiting with their friends is far more important that seeing their son and grandkids.

It's actually a rather comical story. The IL's left here 11 years ago exactly one week before DS11 was born. They moved south to follow SIL and family. I was actually 3 weeks away from my due date when they left. I ended up being induced two weeks early because DS was so big. It took us several days to locate IL's to let them know that they had another grandson. My IL's were so very irritated at me for messing up their plans.....it disrupted how they had planned their move and their return to see the new grandkid. Gee, I'm so sorry!

My IL's have move twice since then(following SIL) and have gotten further and further away. The kicker is now SIL has moved to NY and MIL and FIL cannot afford to do so. They cannot stand to come back "home" and constantly talk about how much it sucks here. Well....why did you live here for nearly 60 years then???

I really could go on all day, but I'll spare you the agony!

 

[IluvDonald!]

Take my SIL, please!

We bring the 18 lb prime rib and peppermint ice cream bon-bons to her house every Christmas. Last year, she made a $.99 bag of carrots and 10 baked pototoes for 13 people. You guessed it, neither DH nor I got a potato as we were too busy cutting slices of prime rib. UGHHHHHHHHHHHH, I'm already stressing about this year's fiasco!

And no, she is not financially strapped.

 

[leight]

C.Ann....I'm thinking about your bid....


whoever mentioned converting to judaism... that might get you out of attending midnight mass on Xmas eve but in my mother's home not going to our church just gave her something else to $#*&h about. After all, I'm the heathen who won't be a hypocrite and attend church as a 'good christian' then act like a horrible person outside of the church.

 

[EMom]

I'd like to donate my DH's family...except his Dad...he doesn't say much.

Newly-wed, this May, I'm trying very hard to adjust to his family, or at least have some sort of acceptance....it's not working.

When learning that DH and I became engaged, his Aunt and mother took it upon themselves to find someone more appropriate for him...to the point of driving to places of business to find girls that they've heard about in the community.

His two male cousins were employed by the family to convince DH that he should not marry someone outside of his nationality (he considers himself American btw)...and dilute his proud blood line...really??? DH didn't get that either.

So, every holiday, we visit with my family and have an early dinner and then go to his family's house where everyone just pretends to be nice to everyone else. Given the chance, they talk about anyone who happens to leave the room. Usually, I end up sitting quietly at the table and don't say a word...although they all speak English, it's all Armenian at that dinner table and DH tries very hard to translate for me (he's getting better at it ). I since learned the slang word for non-Armenian, so I can figure out they are speaking about me when DH leaves the room.


I will take any, any family that will speak English around me and not look down on me for being American/Korean mix. Crazy or not...I'll take your family!

We have a relative who was adopted as an infant from Korea. As a toddler, he was gorgeous. As an adult, he's handsome. He's married to a woman who is "your basic WASP" and they are expecting a baby. We cannot wait to see what the baby looks like, because we expect her to be a beauty. (Not that we are biased at all. ) If anyone ever slighted him or the baby, they'd get the cold shoulder from us for good. As for speaking another language when around you, that's beyond rude. Truly, this is up to your husband to handle. He must demand that his family treat you with more respect, or at least fake it. No excluding you by speaking Armenian. If they do, you two just get up and walk out. Do that a few times and they'll get the hint. But he must mean it. They have to realize that he will NOT put up with anyone treating his wife so shabbily, not even his family.

 

[superme80]

So I talked to DH and we are so doing the bingo for our next family get together. It will be hysterical! I can't wait.

Oh and DH wants to offer up his boss who seems to think he is family! This is the same man who told me, to my face, that I was overweight BEFORE I got pregnant. Yeah he is on my hit list!

 

[Cindyrellablue]

If my family deliberately spoke a language my husband couldn't understand, even though they could speak English, I wouldn't spend holidays with them. That's simply mean, and how could I ask someone I love to spend his holiday with people who are mean to him?

After dealing with the in-laws family for a bit with all this and politely requesting that English be the primary language spoken in front of me (by both me and hubby), I've told them all that I won't be able to make any holiday meals anymore as I don't feel comfortable being in a room where I don't understand what is going on around me. So this year, I'm hosting Thanksgiving, my mom, sis, niece and nephew will be here with my DH. MIL and FIL broke down yesterday and called me to ask for an invite...sans the rest of their motley crew. They aren't use to women standing up for themselves really, their culture (they are from Lebanon but of Armenian decent) does not really favor the respect that American women demand. It will take some time, but with as DH has been in this country since middle school, he's more American than anything.

We have a relative who was adopted as an infant from Korea. As a toddler, he was gorgeous. As an adult, he's handsome. He's married to a woman who is "your basic WASP" and they are expecting a baby. We cannot wait to see what the baby looks like, because we expect her to be a beauty. (Not that we are biased at all. ) If anyone ever slighted him or the baby, they'd get the cold shoulder from us for good. As for speaking another language when around you, that's beyond rude. Truly, this is up to your husband to handle. He must demand that his family treat you with more respect, or at least fake it. No excluding you by speaking Armenian. If they do, you two just get up and walk out. Do that a few times and they'll get the hint. But he must mean it. They have to realize that he will NOT put up with anyone treating his wife so shabbily, not even his family.

My mother is 100% Korean and my father is an American mix (blonde w/ hazel eyes)...both me and sis don't look like either, some people ask me straight away if I'm Asian, but I've been asked if I'm Egyptian, French, Portuguese and probably every other nationality under the sun! My niece and nephew are further mixed, with a father who is 50% black and 50% Cherokee Indian...the kids are gorgeous...they look Hawaiian more than anything else.

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

ok all of you -- keep a mental note during the holidays of what things you can "share" with this group of people on the thread and I promise to either keep this thread going until then or start a new one -- and we can share our experiences.
I can't wait. It will give me something to look forward to.

And I appreciate all of you donating family members for this swap! It makes me feel good to know I am not alone.

 

[PrincessParty]

Must I swap or can I just make a donation to someone who needs drama in their lives? Too detailed to get into, but it involves a 27 year old heroin addict and an 85 year old grandma that just won't give up on her. I on the other hand go out for Thanksgiving with my immediate family.

Anyone can join my family, I'll let you know where. We can send all of the "others" to a different restaurant.

 

[sunnyday123]

C.Ann....I'm thinking about your bid....


whoever mentioned converting to judaism... that might get you out of attending midnight mass on Xmas eve but in my mother's home not going to our church just gave her something else to $#*&h about. After all, I'm the heathen who won't be a hypocrite and attend church as a 'good christian' then act like a horrible person outside of the church.

I had changed to Canadian for Thanksgiving (theirs has passed) and Judaism for Christmas, but I think I can miss Thanksgiving because of a dairy/meet rule so I can be straight Jewish for the winter.

Lucky for me, my Mother isn't religious-plus my brother and nephew are the second coming of Christ in her eyes anyway, so no church can compare to her house on the holidays!

 

[timzagain]

My DH doesn't know it yet, but I have no intention of spending time with my in-laws on Christmas Day. We normally split our Christmas days between DH's family and mine, but I'm putting a stop to that.

Had enough of FIL - after nearly 13 years of over exposure to him and his toxic personality, I've decided that Christmas 2010 will be the start of my detox program.

My only regret is that I didn't do this several years ago!

Now on the subject of trade ins, I just remember 2 other relatives I'd like to "donate" I have an uncle who is "priceless" - nosy, gossipy, not very bright, but think he knows it all and has a huge problem with people who are bright and successful. Lacking in moral fiber - will steal the shirt off your back if he could get away with it!

Then there's the cousin's husband - sidekick of the same uncle I mentioned earlier. Also a less than bright know it all! He is absolutely creepy - it's been sickening to watch him leering after another cousin's financee at a family gathering. When he enters the room, I greet him politely and quickly leave the room. By the time he's finished undressing the 45 and under women in the family with his eyes, I feel dirty and violated. Ugh!

When my uncle and Cousin Creepoget together, they drink incessantly which only makes matters worse!

 

[Grumpy's Gal]

He is absolutely creepy - it's been sickening to watch him leering after another cousin's financee at a family gathering. When he enters the room, I greet him politely and quickly leave the room. By the time he's finished undressing the 45 and under women in the family with his eyes, I feel dirty and violated. Ugh!

BLEEHHH! When we draw names I sure I hope I don't get this one!!

 

[sunnyday123]

BLEEHHH! When we draw names I sure I hope I don't get this one!!

We have to draw names???? I thought we could drop them off and run!!

 

[C.Ann]

We have to draw names???? I thought we could drop them off and run!!

Yeah! Who said anything about "drawing names"???

Is someone changing the rules midway through the swap??

 

[nepean]

Back on page 7 of the posting I offered up DD future inlaws. I just want to say that since I posted I have felt much better about this mess. I guess getting it off your chest helps. DD thinks it is so funny that we are giving away relatives and then I told her I offered up her future inlaws. She looked at me and then started to applaud and laugh. She told BF about the postings (not that I had posted) and he wondered out loud if the Dis'ers would take his family even though he is not a member. We had a good laugh. Thinking about this thread has made me smile more often than many things and realizing that I am not in the worst boat has been healing. Thank you for starting this post.