Christmas is fast approaching, but not everyone looks forward to the festive day. For many, it dredges old painful memories, while some don’t have a family to spend it with. What happens when there’s a family to share the festivities with, but you can’t afford to because of financial differences?
A Reddit user, a lady in her 20s, shared her story on the Am I The A-Hole thread , explaining a dilemma caused by the income gap in her family. The heartbreaking tale puts her at odds with her parents and siblings, causing mixed feelings among Redditors.
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According to the original poster (OP) the family spent last year’s Christmas in her brother’s house as he was a newlywed. The hosts faced some obstacles while preparing the day’s meals because of the OP’s dietary restrictions and unavailability.
Christmas at her brother’s is expensive because she’s required to contribute financially and she can’t since she has limited income as a student. She offered to cook and organize the event since she couldn’t pitch money in but they rejected her offer.
It went well until she sent them a bill for the meal and her brother was the first to object. As a frugal man, he agreed to compromise on the cost but chose to remove her treat and nothing else.
He rationalized it by saying she was the only one eating it so it didn’t seem cost-effective to include the meal in the menu against food that every other person could eat. It wasn’t the first time her brother axed her special meal from the menu so she refused to spend the holiday with the family.
Her mother then joined her and said she wasn’t spending the holiday with them too causing the rest of the family to get upset with her.
The Brother Is Selfish Not Vindictive
People Typically Bring Food Along
Paying For The Festive Meal Is Common In Some Cultures
They Need To Squash The Real Issue
Most of the Redditors in the comments dumped on her brother for targeting her and purposely excluding her from the festivities. However, there’s a different angle – even if the poster couldn’t pay for the full meal, she could’ve afforded her single treat and paid for it out of her pocket.
That way, she’d call her brother’s bluff, and if there’s an underlying issue between them, they should squash it as adults and stop using petty situations to fight proxy wars.
One glaring underlying factor is how the OP’s mother always sides with her so, this power play from the brother seems deliberate to rattle them.
