Things tend to go wrong on big days, and Christmas is no exception. And with awkward family gatherings, day drinking and huge expectations, mishaps are almost guaranteed. From ruining the roast to suspicious presents, sometimes our festive celebrations just don’t go according to plan…
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Some of our readers tell us how their festive celebrations turned a little pear-shaped.
Aunty Stingy
My fiancé and I spent Christmas Eve with his family, and when we sat down to open presents, his aunt handed us a big box. I unwrapped it and found a set of wine glasses… and a pretty card addressed to her from someone named Sally. At least his aunt bought us another gift a few weeks later to make up for her stingy, re-gifted move.
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Say my name
One year, I got the most beautiful (and expensive) gold necklace from my boyfriend. It was stunning. The only problem: the name on the card was ‘Claire’ – my name is Michelle. Needless to say, we didn’t spend another holiday together.
Sober fail
Last year I decided to do the responsible thing and stay sober at the office Christmas party to avoid embarrassing myself in front of my colleagues. While dancing, I managed to break the heel of my shoe and came crashing down on the snack table, pulling the punch bowl to the floor with me. Guess who is having drinks at the office party this year…
All wrapped up
My family always gives me a hard time about leaving my gift wrapping to the last minute (read: Christmas morning when everyone’s already waiting by the tree). One year I decided I wasn’t going to give them the satisfaction, so I wrapped my gifts a week before and carried them downstairs on Christmas Eve. I tripped and they flew out of my hands, landing in a destroyed heap at the bottom of the stairs. At least nobody teased me that year.
Dinner’s (well-) done
Last year I offered to cook Christmas lunch for 12 people. I’d planned the perfect menu with starters, sides, a delicious roast, and two puddings. I spent the whole day in the kitchen and, with just 20 minutes to go before the meal, I sat down to enjoy a glass of wine with my guests. I lost track of time and burnt everything. Our Christmas feast consisted of just wine and dessert – yum!
Poison pie
I was invited to Christmas lunch with my boyfriend’s family for the first time so I offered to bake their favourite dessert, pecan pie. I was still too stuffed to have a slice but I served one for everyone else. I don’t think they enjoyed it but were polite enough not to say anything… until an hour later when they all felt queasy – his aunt even threw up! I hadn’t touched the pie so, of course, I felt fine.
Whoever smelled it…
My family and I went to midnight mass at our local church. In the silence between the priest saying ‘Let us pray’ and before he started the prayer, my dad let out an unmistakable fart. Everyone turned to look at us and my dad pointed his finger at me!
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Bad kitties
A few nights before Christmas, after everyone had gone to sleep, our crazy cats tried to climb the Christmas tree and knocked it over. Almost every single ornament shattered, including the ones my siblings and I had made in primary school. We all ran downstairs, and everyone started crying and then laughed hysterically while cleaning up the millions of little pieces. My super-crafty mom somehow managed to repair the home-made ones.
Doggy do
Our dog was old and was starting to go blind earlier in the year and because he couldn’t see well, he got confused by the Christmas tree in the house. While we were all sitting around the tree in the lounge, he peed on the tree and blew all the lights. The tree even started smoking while he walked away completely unaware.
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Lit Christmas
After finishing our delicious Christmas Eve dinner we decided to see who can balance their dessert spoons on their noses the longest. My Dad decided that us goofing around would make a good photo, so he got out his camera and slowly walked backwards to take a full-length photo. He backed up towards the window and knocked over the candles and his shirt caught fire. I jumped up and screamed ‘Dad’s on fire’ and my mother rushed over and managed to put the fire out in time.
