‘My relatives have turned Christmas upside down by inviting themselves over – I’m livid’

A woman is fuming that unwanted relatives – who have invited themselves over on Christmas Day – are ‘calling the shots’ on plans as they’re keen to celebrate in their own way

Christmas is spent surrounded by your closest friends and family as you undergo wholesome traditions to celebrate the festivities. However, one woman is raging as she claims that relatives have invited themselves over for the special day and are dictating how they want it spent.

In the post on Mumsnet, the woman detailed her rage as she’s welcoming the unwanted visitors into her home for Christmas Day, but they are calling the shots on plans. Captioning the post, she wrote: “To expect uninvited guests to fit in around us?”

The woman explained: “Relatives have invited themselves to spend Christmas with us. I understand why, have said yes, and they will be made very welcome.

She continued: “I’m massively committed in December so am trying to get on top of planning for Christmas now. Had a Zoom [call] with them tonight as one of them has some dietary requirements I needed to be clear about.

“They then asked about what we would be doing on the days they are with us – and proceeded to say they didn’t like x, y, and z, wanted Christmas Day to be done a certain way etc.

“I was proud of myself that I didn’t tell them to F off, but they are under the impression that as they are guests, they get to call the shots.”

She went on: “Don’t want to drip feed so need to add that reason they wanted to be with us is so that they can be near an elderly relative who won’t make another Christmas, which complicates things somewhat.

“Not quite sure how to handle: we’ve already had our Christmas turned upside down to an extent by saying yes to their self-invitation, so I don’t want to have to further change our plans because they want Christmas in our home to be a replication of Christmas in their home.

“Not sure if that makes sense, whether I’m being inhospitable or just over-complicating things?”

Taking to the comment section, users rushed to share their thoughts about the peculiar ordeal as some even shared suggestions on how to proceed with the situation.

One person wrote: “If they’ve invited themselves, then ‘like it or lump it’ is the reply that comes to mind when they try to change your plans.

“Are there compromises that can be made?” A second asked. “I’d make a list of what’s non-negotiable for you and what I’m willing to go with for them, then give them another call.”

A different user suggested telling the relatives: “‘We’d planned our Christmas before you asked if you could stay with us, so that’s what we’ll be doing. Let us know if you want to join in or do your own thing.'”

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