Am I Wrong for Ruining Christmas after Getting Terrible Presents from My Family?

A young woman looked forward to spending Christmas with her loved ones. However, when the time came to exchange presents, she happened to be the only one who received "joke gifts." Distressed by this, she decided to leave, only to find herself unfairly blamed for ruining Christmas for her family.

On January 2, 2024, an anonymous female poster shared her story in Reddit's "AITA" forum. The Original Poster provided some context, noting that her family had a tradition of incorporating pranks into Christmas and birthday celebrations, typically involving one or two joke gifts.

OP, aged 21, and her five siblings, ranging from 29 to 37 years old, had all experienced such pranks. However, Christmas 2023 took an unexpected turn when OP found herself as the sole recipient of exclusively joke gifts.

For instance, she unwrapped what seemed to be a MacBook from her brother, only to discover it was chocolate, and the actual MacBook was given to her sister. Another misleading "gift" was a book from her Christmas list, which turned out to be just the cover placed on a dictionary. When she inquired about it, her mom mentioned giving the book to her sister-in-law.

This pattern continued with each present from her siblings and parents. AirPods turned out to be a mere charger block or adapter, gift cards had a zero balance, and a card contained Monopoly money, resulting in a total of approximately 12 joke gifts.

Realizing she had gone out of her way to select thoughtful gifts for everyone else and feeling disappointed, she retreated to the living room with her boyfriend. During dinner, when her family praised their gifts, OP remained silent. When questioned by her dad about her lack of enthusiasm, she expressed that there wasn't much to say.

She emphasized that she hadn't done anything to provoke such treatment from her family.

Despite her revelation that all her gifts were joke gifts, her family dismissed it, with her mom insisting it was no big deal, as everyone else had also received some joke gifts. Frustrated, OP explained that the other family members' joke gifts were followed by the actual ones, unlike hers. Her dad suggested she relax, stating that she could acquire the desired items on her list next Christmas.

"Not wanting to go back and forth i told my boyfriend I wanted to leave and we can spend the rest of Christmas break with his family then go home [sic]," explained OP. Despite her family's objections, insisting that her dissatisfaction wasn't serious, she left, activating the "do not disturb" mode on her phone during the drive.

Upon reaching her boyfriend's parents' house, she found numerous missed calls and texts from her family, using derogatory terms like "ungrateful," "sensitive," and "childish." They accused her of ruining Christmas and causing distress to her parents by leaving.

The next day, while exchanging and opening gifts with her boyfriend's family, OP received one of the items she originally wanted — a book her mom had feigned gifting her. Excited about this, she shared it on her Instagram story.

Almost immediately, her sister sent a screenshot of the story to the family group chat, and they criticized her for leaving and accused her of ruining Christmas over mere presents. They asserted that she owed everyone, especially her parents, an apology, as her mom had spent New Year's sad due to her actions.

Reflecting on their messages over the next few days, OP began to question if her initial reaction was warranted. Feeling conflicted, she sought an external perspective, asking if she was the one at fault for being upset about the gifts and for leaving.

She admitted contemplating an apology to her family, acknowledging the possibility that she might have overreacted. In her own words, she shared, "After reading their messages and sitting on this for a few days, I'm now feeling like maybe I was upset over nothing and need to apologize to them."

OP also shared a few clarifications, saying that contrary to assumptions, her Christmas list did not include expensive gifts, and she wasn't upset about not receiving costly items. Her disappointment stemmed from being pranked with every gift she received, making her the only person without a genuine present.

She emphasized that she hadn't done anything to provoke such treatment from her family. The last significant disagreement she had was with her sister over a year and a half ago. Additionally, she disclosed that she had participated in joke gifts during her childhood but had abstained from them for the past 10+ years because she didn't find them enjoyable or amusing, a fact her family was aware of.

OP's narrative amassed an overwhelming response online, with the majority of commenters deeming her "NTA." One netizen expressed the view that OP shouldn't apologize, asserting that her family's actions were unjustified. They suggested a message for the group chat, emphasizing the disappointment of receiving only prank gifts and making it clear that leaving was a response to being hurt.

Meanwhile, another commenter advised OP to send this text to her family: "The biggest prank you played that night was fooling me into thinking I had a family that loved me beforehand."

Another person wrote, "Your family is very mean. They delighted in showing you how little they care about you. No gifts would have been better than the ones you received. It is like giving a starving child a package of food and the package is empty or has rocks in it. I am sorry. Maybe give [yourself] the gift of distance from your family."

"The family are reacting this way because the 'jokes' fell flat and didn't get the reaction they wanted. Who does joke presents and then leave it at that whilst still accepting normal presents. Sorry op but your family are awful. NTA [sic]," a second user opined. "The biggest irony is calling her ungrateful, when they literally gave her nothing to be grateful for," said a third commenter.

What are your thoughts on this story? How would you handle the situation if you were in OP's place? Click here to read another story about a woman whose husband opened his present and then blamed her for ruining his Christmas.