Top Ten Ways Parents Ruin Christmas for Kids
I haven't made a single list all December. Let's change that! What do parents do to ruin Christmas for their young ones?
This year, my family and I were at our friend's house, and my sister and I had to take Christmas photos with their kids. The worst part wasn't taking the photos themselves but our parents constantly begging us to take another one every time we thought we were done.
They should have done it all at once instead of making us get up every time they wanted another picture.
Even as a teen, I still despise this. Literally, the only people in your family who care about taking photos are your mother, grandma, or aunt. Outside of them, nobody cares about taking 20 pictures.
Is it really necessary to take pictures every single year? Seems a bit unnecessary if you ask me.
Let's be honest here. Only old people like church. Not a single kid wants to be in church during a holiday of joy and fun. So why do Christian parents insist on attending church when kids are more focused on being good to get presents?
Not to mention all the crying babies. Do these parents know that kids don't like church, or are they just indifferent to it?
Not to be heartless, but at Christmas, some people go to church to pray or for other reasons. Yes, there might be crying babies in church, but that's because parents want their kids to be there to represent the Christmas spirit. That's something you just have to ignore.
And no, forced isn't the right word. It's more about whether you feel like it.
I mean, you have to be told at some point, but not until you're at least in 5th grade.
This one should be pretty obvious. I'm not going to go into any detail here.
Why do parents even make up stories about Santa in the first place?
Guess what. I don't like most of my relatives. I don't like attending a party just because it's in a certain location. I don't even attend parties at my own home. I don't like seeing relatives because they don't care about me that much anyway.
Sure, Christmas parties may be a bit better than others because you actually get gifts, but still, kids would rather be playing with their new presents instead of meeting family members.
Kids can be naughty or nice, but there's always one present they don't care for - usually some clothes. Old people have this habit of giving kids presents they don't want. Ever see A Christmas Story? Ralphie's Aunt Clara gave him a pink bunny suit. It's an obvious reference to gifts no kid cares about.
More like give them presents they DON'T LIKE AT ALL (e.g., coal, adult diapers, a mean Christmas letter, a knuckle sandwich, etc.).
Well, I'm not really into presents anymore at my age. It's more about exchanging gifts now, so it's better to be safe than sorry.
Sounds like something Timmy's dad would do.
I think this one speaks for itself as well.
Ahh, middle school... In seventh grade, Dad told me to get off my headphones and study biology. In eighth grade, he told me to forget about my video editing and work on my English class instead, even on Christmas Day, even during winter break. That made me mad. And yes, we are an Asian family.
But I'm glad it stopped by freshman year of high school.
This is usually the fault of a teacher or tutor for assigning homework over winter break or scheduling a test right after break. However, some parents will still make you study for finals or give you extra work.
If it's unintentional, it's forgivable. I'm a bass with no musical talent, but at least I try! My parents, however, intentionally sing as badly as they can.
If you can't sing, DON'T. It's simple common sense. Even kids know when something sounds awful.
We did this once and never again...
This ties in with the 4th item. If you're a parent and you force a child to like a gift they don't, it shows a refusal to understand why they don't like it. Please, try to understand how kids behave.
This isn't a bad thing. They're teaching you to save things and not spoil yourself. If you open your gifts too early, on Christmas morning you'll have nothing left to unwrap.
My family makes me and my brother wait, but I'm okay with it because it's only for about an hour or so.
Yeah, this happens in my family. It's so annoying.
Christmas has been so commercialized by big companies. Now, it's all about how many presents we get, how full our stockings are, and how big of a Christmas party we can throw!
Do you know what Christmas was supposed to be about? It's about Jesus, our Christ and God, who created the universe and sent His only son to die on the cross for your sins so you could be His child by believing that you are a sinner and that Jesus died for those sins.
I'm sorry that you had to go to a Christmas party with relatives you don't like, and I'm sorry your parents told you Santa was real and you had a huge letdown. All these things happen because we forget the real importance of Christmas. The real importance is remembering what Jesus has done for us.
I rarely get Christmas presents from my mom anyway...
Exactly! My dad and I argued back and forth the whole time.
It happened to me twice. In 2015, my cousin threw a massive temper tantrum and constantly terrorized me because I told her to turn down the volume on the TV. My mom told me to let her do whatever she wanted. In 2016, another cousin took a blanket, and my sister blamed it on me, and my entire family yelled at me.
My aunt got me a plush Shiba Inu for Christmas last year, and when my mom found out, she wasn't too happy. She did eventually accept the gift, though.
They might not know it's bad... but if you watch channels like Saberspark, then maybe you do.
This ties in with my earlier comment about the party because I don't like the food at the party I'm attending.