There are few things that help me get through the holidays the way a good glass of wine does. Look, I love my family — most of them . I love hanging out with them — most of them . However, sometimes you need a little vino to lubricate conversations with my nephew’s fourth girlfriend this year .
However, if my drinking were to be disruptive and destructive to everyone else’s holiday, I think I’d need to reconsider my actions!
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One woman is asking for advice after stating that she wants to ban her parents from drinking booze on Christmas.
Venting on the popular mommy forum Mumsnet, she explained that the tensions in her family get exacerbated by everyone’s alcohol consumption.
“We have always has issues with alcohol in my family. I married a man that doesn’t drink and I rarely drink,” she explained.
“My parents don’t get on and with drink taken the tension gets worse, they make snippy comments to each other, argue about when to leave,” she added.
She explained that her usual Christmas routine includes she and her husband and their three children all having Christmas dinner alone at their home. The family of five then heads out to her sister’s house at around 5 pm for a few hours as she only lives a 10-minute drive away.
While this is happening, the woman’s parents are having dinner at her sister’s house.
After the visit, she brings her parents to her place for the evening, and then her husband drives them home around 11 at night. However, this plan isn’t working for the mom anymore, and she tells the forum she’s “fed up with this arrangement.”
“First of all I hate having to leave my house at 5pm to go to sister’s house,” she explained. “By that time we have cleared up after dinner and are just sitting down in front of the fire relaxing. I love going to my sister’s normally but her house is chaos on Christmas day.
She went on to say that since her parents are drinking all day, they’re unable to drive themselves home and aren’t the best guests on Christmas Day considering all the liquor they’ve had.
She’s now tossing around the idea of banning alcohol on Christmas.
“Essentially this will mean that if they want to come to me they cant have been drinking beforehand (as will have to drive) and they cant drink in my house,” she explained.
She revealed that she has been dealing with her parent’s drinking habits for years and has never said anything before, however she has reached her limits.
Moms in the forum were quick to support the original poster while offering up their advice.
“I don’t think I’d ban alcohol but I would make it clear that there will be no lifts given and they need to be sorted if required beforehand,” wrote one woman.
“I’m not sure why you can’t say they can’t drink alcohol in your home. If drinking alcohol makes them argue, then they shouldn’t drink alcohol. Obviously they’re not going to stop, but I’d make it clear that their fights are not welcome at your house but they themselves are welcome,” pointed out another.
“You can’t ban them from drinking,” said a different user, “But you can say you’re not leaving your house and suggest seeing them on Boxing Day instead.”
I hope this mom figures out what will work best for her and her family!
