My Daughter-in-Law Didn’t Invite Me to the Family Thanksgiving Dinner She’s Hosting

When Julie gets uninvited to Thanksgiving dinner by her daughter-in-law due to their rocky relationship, she takes matters into her own hands by hosting her own dinner. But sparks fly when Kayla starts messaging her mother-in-law, letting her know exactly how she feels about the older woman...

I never imagined that Thanksgiving could turn into such a major disaster. Family holidays are supposed to bring people together, right?

That's what I thought, but this year was different. Very different.

To give you some background, my relationship with my daughter-in-law, Kayla, has been rocky from day one. I wish I could say that we got off on the wrong foot, but I don't think there was ever a "right" foot for us.

Tension has been simmering for years. Kayla has been quite a force to reckon with, but I thought that she would calm down once she got into the family proper. That wasn't the case. Especially this past Thanksgiving, when everything boiled over.

My son, Caleb, met Kayla back in college at a bar.

It wasn't quite the relationship that I wanted for my son, and they had a bit of a... complicated relationship. They dated for two months, broke up, then became friends with benefits. Look, I understand that they were both young and wanted to explore.

But, wouldn't you want to have more respect for yourself?

Apparently not.

Eventually, their escapades got Kayla pregnant.

"But I don't even know if the baby is mine," Caleb confessed when he first told me.

I wasn’t proud of it, but there was just something off about Kayla. And honestly, I didn't know if she was seeing other people.

"Get a paternity test, Caleb," I told him while making him something to eat. "It's not ideal, I know. But wouldn't you rather know the truth before getting involved in a pregnancy with Kayla?"

"Wouldn't she be upset about it?" he asked me nervously.

"Yes, but it's better to know the truth now rather than when the baby is born and it becomes obvious that the baby isn't yours."

Caleb nodded and put his head in his hands.

"Won't it hurt Kayla? What about the baby?" he asked.

"I don't think so, honey," I replied. "There's a noninvasive way. It's basically a blood test."

He did the test a few days later, and sure enough, the baby was his. But Kayla hadn't been happy about the request, and she made it clear when Caleb brought her over.

She walked into my house with her arms crossed, her lips tight. I tried to smile, to be friendly with this woman. The mother of my grandchild. But instead of greeting me or just being polite, the first thing out of her mouth shocked me.

"It's really not nice to meet the woman who called me names behind my back."

I blinked, completely caught off guard.

"Names? I've never called you any names, Kayla," I said.

"Oh, sure, Mom," she said sarcastically, dragging her words as she spoke. "So, asking for a paternity test doesn't count as calling me names?"

I didn't know what to say. I mean, yes, I had doubts at the time, but it was because Kayla and Caleb's relationship was strange and just... unhappy. Or that's what it looked like to me. But still, I'd never called her names.

It was clear from that moment that we were going to have problems.

"Mom," Caleb told me a few months later. "I'm going to propose to Kayla."

I couldn't act like I was shocked. I knew that it was coming. I had caught Caleb looking at engagement rings online multiple times. And it made sense. They had decided not to see other people, and they were having a baby together.

At least this way, they could raise their child together properly.

"You're not invited, Julie," she typed back.

After Caleb and Kayla's rushed wedding, things still didn't improve. Our relationship was always strained, to put it mildly. We saw each other at family gatherings, but we never talked beyond a few forced pleasantries.

Every time I tried to reach out, to extend an olive branch and bond with her, she shot me down.

Eventually, I stopped pushing. It was clear that they didn't want me in their lives. At first, I couldn't be around my own granddaughter because Kayla wanted the two of them to spend quality time with her during those first weeks.

But a few weeks into it, Caleb kept bringing little Ella over for a few hours. He would take a nap while I bonded with her. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Despite everything, I always thought that we could come together for the sake of family. Our family had a tradition of rotating who hosted Thanksgiving every year. This year, it was Kayla and Caleb.

I figured that despite our issues, I'd still be included. So, I texted her, casually asking what time I should arrive and whether I could bring anything to help with the meal.

Her response? Cold and cutting. And just ugly.

"You're not invited, Julie," she typed back.

I reread the message about three times, thinking that I'd misunderstood. But those four words were pretty clear. I wasn't welcome at their home.

Moments later, she sent another message.

But Steven is invited! We're looking forward to welcoming him into our home!

What on earth was that?

I called Caleb immediately. Initially, I wanted to keep him out of my troubles with Kayla. But this was just disrespectful on all counts.

"Mom?" Caleb said as he answered the phone.

"What's going on? Caleb, really? Why would Kayla say I'm not invited to Thanksgiving?"

There was a long pause on the other end of the line.

"Mom, I'm not involved in any of the planning. I didn't even know that she'd said that. All I do is go to work and then come back and take care of Ella."

"Not involved? Caleb? It's Thanksgiving! Your wife hasn't bothered to invite me to Thanksgiving dinner, and you're saying that you don't know anything about it?"

"I'll talk to her," he said, but his voice sounded strained, tired.

"Talk to her?" I scoffed. "You need to do more than talk to her. This is family, Caleb. She can't just do this..."

"Mom, please," he cut me off. "I'll handle it."

But I knew he wouldn't. He never did. Kayla's hold on him was too deep.

That night, I told Steve what had happened. He had the audacity to shrug it off like it was no big deal.

"Just let it go, Julie," he said.

"Let it go? It's a family dinner! If she doesn't want me there, fine, but I won't sit at home like I don't matter."

My husband sighed deeply.

"What do you want to do, then?" he asked.

I crossed my arms.

"I'll host my own Thanksgiving. I have three days to pull it off. If Kayla doesn't want me at hers, I'll invite the rest of the family to mine. It's that simple."

And that's exactly what I did.

I reached out to the rest of the family—my daughter, Sienna, my nieces, and even some cousins who we usually saw for the holidays. I told them all what happened, explaining why I wasn't going to Caleb's house for dinner.

I didn't ask them to take sides, but most of them ended up choosing to spend Thanksgiving with me instead.

When word finally got around, Caleb called me.

"Mom, what are you doing?" he asked. "And don't try to beat around the bush."

"I'm hosting Thanksgiving," I said matter-of-factly.

"You know what I mean," he snapped. "You're trying to make Kayla look bad. Can't you just let this go?"

"I'm not making her look bad, Caleb," I said. "She's doing that all on her own. You really expect me to sit at home alone while the rest of the family gathers without me? No. I have every right to host my own dinner."

"This is ridiculous," he said.

"What's ridiculous is how Kayla treats me, Caleb. What am I supposed to do?"

"Maybe stop trying to start fights all the time!" he snapped.

I fell silent, stunned by his outburst.

"Is that what you think I'm doing?"

"Look, I don't want to get into this right now," he said, sounding tired. "Just, don't make it harder than it has to be, alright?"

Soon enough, Caleb and Kayla started messaging me, calling me harsh words and demanding I cancel my dinner.

Thanksgiving arrived, and while the day had started out tense, I felt an unexpected sense of peace as I began preparing the meal.

The house smelled like turkey, mashed potatoes, and warm bread baking in the oven. It wasn't going to be the biggest Thanksgiving I'd ever hosted because I didn't know who was actually going to come over.

But the people who mattered most to me were there. My daughter, my nieces, and a few others who decided to join me.

We sat around the table, sharing stories, laughing, and for the first time, I didn't feel like I was walking on eggshells. Ella wasn't there, and that was a hard pill to swallow. I had wanted to be with my granddaughter for her first Thanksgiving.

But I wasn't going to let that ruin my day.

Meanwhile, over at Caleb and Kayla's house, things weren't as smooth. Only a couple of guests showed up. And to make it worse, Kayla had heard that I was hosting my own dinner.

Soon enough, Caleb and Kayla started messaging me, calling me harsh words and demanding I cancel my dinner.

You're unbelievable, Julie. This is exactly why we didn't want you to be at Thanksgiving dinner.

Cancel your dinner, Julie. Send everyone to Caleb and me.

You're so selfish, Julie. And to think you're my mother-in-law? It's no wonder that I keep Ella away from you.

Caleb called me too, sounding more exasperated than ever.

"Mom, this needs to stop. Please. You're making it way worse than it needs to be."

"I made it worse?" I laughed into the phone. "I didn't ask for this."

"Kayla didn't mean for this to blow up like it did," he muttered. "You could've just let it slide. But no, you had to make it a big deal."

"I'm sorry you feel that way," I said. "But holidays are important to me."

It's been a few weeks since Thanksgiving, and things between us have been tense. He's stopped responding to my calls as often, and when we do talk, it's brief and awkward. I haven't heard from Kayla at all.

Do I regret hosting my own Thanksgiving? Maybe a little. But in the end, it felt better than sitting at home pretending like I wasn't good enough to be part of theirs.

Was I wrong to host my own dinner? Maybe. But I did what I had to.

What would you have done?

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This work is inspired by real events and people, but it has been fictionalized for creative purposes. Names, characters, and details have been changed to protect privacy and enhance the narrative. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.

The author and publisher make no claims to the accuracy of events or the portrayal of characters and are not liable for any misinterpretation. This story is provided “as is,” and any opinions expressed are those of the characters and do not reflect the views of the author or publisher.