'I ruined Christmas day and left home because I didn’t get enough presents'

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She has sparked a debate online (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
She has sparked a debate online (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

In some households, Christmas can be stressful, especially amid prolonged contact with family members who’ve never quite got on. People tend to rub each other up the wrong way in close proximity. Squabbles can turn into full meltdowns and can have the potential to ruin the festive holiday.

This is what happened to a now-teenager, who took to Reddit to ask if she was an a** h*** for ruining Christmas Day when she didn’t get as many presents as she was expecting. Some commenters said she was pushed to act out. She explained that following the death of her mother when she was only seven, her dad moved his new wife Dory, and her daughter Kylie into their family home, the following year.

It was a major overhaul of the child's home life, especially given her mother's recent death. She describes the relationship with her new step-mum as fractured. “Dory and I never got along, and Kylie and I only lived together a few years as she was already in high school at the time she moved in and so we were never close.”

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For context, the teen explained her family situation’s history, “My stepmum’s daughter is much older than me who I'll call Kylie.” She said, “My dad's explanation for why things moved so quickly is that Dory and Kylie were being evicted shortly after my dad started seeing her and they needed a place to stay, so I didn't know them very well before they moved in.”

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She said she wasn’t able to settle into a new family unit with her step-mum and sister, “I chose to stay with other family on breaks from school starting in high school and continuing into college due to my poor relationship with Dory.

The teen said she never normally spends Christmas at her dad’s and Dory’s, but her step-mum made a special request for her to be there as Kylie had recently got married and her mother wanted, “The whole family” together.

On Christmas day she explained she only received one present from her parents, “This was not something that was common in my family, as my dad makes a decent amount of money (Dory doesn't work) and so Kylie and I would always get at least a few gifts each.”

She went on to describe how Kylie and her new husband received multiple presents, but when the teen pointed out how little she’d received in comparison - she was hushed with the excuse the newlyweds needed lots of gifts for their new house and marriage. “My present from my parents ended up being a hairbrush,” she said.

She said she was patient about only receiving one present because her step-mum made a big deal about how she’d forgotten the Christmas stockings, “I assumed this meant I was getting another gift in my stocking. When I was handed mine, there was a jewelry box in it. I was very excited but when I opened it, it was a golden K necklace.”

“My name does not start with a K. When I pointed this out, Dory said that the necklace was clearly meant for Kylie and put in the wrong stocking. I agreed that made sense and then asked if Kylie got the one meant for me. Dory said there was not one for me.”

Naturally disappointed with the mix-up only to find that yet again she’d missed out on another present, she asked if anything had been forgotten. “Dory said, "If there's nothing in your stocking, you clearly didn't get anything else," she explained.

“At this point, I was frustrated and hurt and started to cry. My dad ended up yelling at me and saying I was being ungrateful and causing problems on Christmas because some kids don't get anything at all,” she said. “He was mad because he said I caused a scene instead of talking to him after the holiday and that I ruined Kylie and her husband's first Christmas together.”

The teen ended up leaving the house to go and stay with her grandma for the rest of the break. But said, “Dory will still mention how spoiled I am for ruining the holiday over not "getting what I wanted" for Christmas.” So she asked Reddit, “Am I the a** h*** for how I reacted?”

One commenter was quick to point out the teen was pushed to act out, “Dory set you up. This was done on purpose. Shame on her.” Another said, “I've gotta agree. No real proof, but the necklace thing feels really vindictive.” One pointed out how neglected she’d been treated, “Not an a** h***, this isn't about not liking your present, this is about you being a f***ing afterthought.”

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Another agreed, “Not an a** h***. There is no justification for such a wide discrepancy in gift number and quality. Sounds like Dory was in charge of gifting and purposefully orchestrated this event to let you know how she feels about you. It almost sounds as if you were set up.”

Valerie Browne

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