Holiday Houseguest Horror Stories

[SarahS]

Even if you haven't had Cousin Eddie and his RV camping out on your front lawn a la "National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation," we bet you've had a bad experience or two with holiday houseguests -- and we want to hear about them.

Have your in-laws come to visit for one night ... and stayed for five? Have you tried to help with holiday dinner at your friends' house ... and set the kitchen on fire? Whether you were the host or the houseguest, tell us your horror story!

And don't forget to check out Tips for Being a Good Holiday Houseguest to make sure you don't make this list next year.

[tinkerbell]

My boyfriend at the time (now my husband) and I stayed at his cousin's house for about five days over the holidays. She was living alone at the time and she invited us down because she was lonely. Of course, not to impose, we paid for all of her meals and entertainment, plus bought food at the foodstore and made her dinner once or twice.

The entire week was a nightmare. She was inconsiderate the entire five days that we were there, from inviting another couple down w/o telling us beforehand and giving them our room, to ignoring us while we were there (including my husband's birthday -- and since she is my his cousin ... we thought she'd be a little nicer), and plenty more.

The day that we packed up to go home, we decided to leave an hour or two earlier than planned to beat the traffic up north. She was so angry at us for leaving her -- not just that we were leaving early, but that we were leaving her period -- that she ran into another room, locked herself in there and wouldn't come out. We heard her screaming and crying while slamming the vacuum cleaner against the china cabinet and table and chairs. It had to be one of the most embarassing moments of being a houseguest ... and we didn't speak to her again for about two years. To this day, she pretends it never happened, and when she extends an invite to have a reunion at her place, we politely say "we'll think about it" and the Marriott looks better than ever...

[soliteyah]

I stayed at my boyfriend's parents' house a year or two ago over Thanksgiving weekend, and it all went reasonably well until the actual Thanksgiving dinner. We were all sitting around the table, digging into turkey and stuffing and whatnot, when we started to notice a bit of an odor. Hmm.

Turned out that my boyfriend's niece, who was about a year old, had made a bit of a mess in her diaper. And this wasn't just a normal mess -- it pretty well covered her entire body from the belly button down, with as much of a stench as you'd imagine. Then when her mom picked her up to go for a diaper change, the baby puked all over her. She's a cute kid and I love her, but I have to say she was looks less than adorable when exploding at both ends!

Maybe I have a weak stomach, but that was the end of Thanksgiving dinner for me...

[travelmel]

Ha ha! I was at a birthday party (that's a holiday, right? ) and set my friend's brand-new microwave on fire. Why they put "Do not microwave - may ignite" on the BOTTOM of the paper plate is beyond me....

But there's another time I was such a rotten houseguest I literally got thrown out. I was 8 years old, staying at my grandma's baking Christmas cookies (grandma lived in the same apartment building but even two floors down was enough for me to feel I was far away from home). Every year we made apricot hats, and the filling in these cookies contains apricot brandy. Well, this particular time good ol' granny mustn't have cooked all the alcohol out of the filling and unbeknownst to her I got a little tipsy licking the spoon and pot. OK, a lot tipsy -- at 3 a.m. I was still awake, laughing and carrying on and coloring and singing at the top of my lungs. I misbehaved so badly she actually kicked me out of the apartment (remember, my parents lived right upstairs), and called my mom to come get me. I vividly remember standing in the hallway SCREAMING bloody murder until the neighbors came out into the hall. It is funny now, but I'm sure it was not funny then!

The next day when my grandma bit into one of the cookies, she realized she could taste the brandy ... and figured out why I had been such a little witch.

[KimberlyB]

I witnessed one of the world's greatest holiday houseguest horror stories EVER. My aunt's boyfriend (he was 53 at the time, she was 40-ish) was arrested mid-Thanksgiving dinner for knocking over a gas station. Cops knocked on the door of my grandparent's house...said they were looking for so and so...told him right at the dinner table..."you have the right to remain silent..."

CLASSIC.

And he was a total lamoid the days prior to Thanksgiving. We were all staying with my grandparents and this guy was just driving everyone nuts. No consideration, no manners, nothing.

Oh, and my aunt MARRIED him a few years later. Don't even get me started.

--K

PS Not sure this can compete with the 8-year old drunkard, though.

[starlit4]

We have condo in Florida and spend many holidays at it. It never fails that friends who just happen to be traveling down there seem to think that they can make there own plans to stay with us.. with total disregard for what we have planned. This past holiday season we had friends plan to stay with us for 3 days as our guest.. in other words we asked them.. but my husband knew a couple that was also going to be in the state. They never asked just planned on staying with us.. for two weeks.. and came over and were upset when they found out we had other plans.. now we have to dodge these people every fall because they are always making plans to stay the holidays at our condo. They also treat the condo like they own it and are rude to the maintance people.. and feel like they can answer the phone and do whatever they like. They also expect us to drive them around and take them out to eat.

[KimberlyB]

Hey Starlit4,

That is quite a holiday houseguest horror story! Maybe you should print the Tips for Being a Good Holiday Houseguest article and tack it to the front door of your condo?!

I hope they find somebody else to harass this year!

--K

[Unrulypatchouli]

I went to Australia ( I live in the USA) to visit my fiance's family for Christmas (they do not celebrate Thanksgiving). His mother was soo rude and mean to me, it was unbelievable. I have children who were home, it was understood that we would need access to the internet so that I could communicate with them. She did not have a computer, but agreed that it was important to keep in touch with the kids, and that we were welcome to work out whatever we could to make that happen. So, shortly after arrival (about a week) we bought a G-5 Mac (2,000.00 AUD) and a modem for it (100.00 AUD). Upon hooking it up, I was so excited to be able to talk to my kids, I was online less than 2 minutes talking with my son when she came up to me and yelled " I need my phone line right now", " I need to make a call", her 16 year old granddaughter was there and said " GRAM"!! "How rude, she is talking to her child, use my cell phone", and she simply yelled " no, I want my phone line now". By then, I had explained quickly to my son that I had to go and unplugged the modem. She never even used the telephone..
I have never spent soo much money, to feel soo unwelcome by a woman who begged us to save so we could go...

[Zazie]

Ah yes...the Mother-in-law. I came to visit my then lover, now husband for Thanksgiving. He lived w/ his mum. Whenever I offered to help clean up (dishes, etc) she insisted on doing it herself and then she would complain to everyone that I was taking advantage of her. She would call me names & scream at me most of the time I was visiting. What made it really bad was my husband insisted there was nothing wrong. He was so used to her histerics & screaming fits, that he viewed me as being out of place just by bringing the subject up with him. Thank God he has since changed his opinion of the situation, but back then things were different.

I told him I don't feel comfortable visiting him at his mum's, but he kept insisting that things will work out & be ok if I con't to visit. So I came a few more times for the weekend, only to be screamed at some more. It got to the point where I would only visit when his mum was out of town. Even then, he would literally comb the 2-storey room-to-room (w/ a comb!), to make sure his mum wouldn't find any of my hairs & thus know I was there.

Last time I saw her was when we went to visit his sister. The mother-in-law was there, screaming, as always. This time she was screaming that our then 2 yr old daughter was unimportant to her. At that point, we left the house & never saw her since.

Since then we have had pleasant & lovely holidays at home.

[ldelv22]

This has nothing to do with holidays unless that happens to be the time of year my horrible mother-in-law is visiting. As a house guest, she is the worst kind.

She was warned not to come visit during our house renovations but decided to brave the chaos anyway, of course making sure to complain the whole time about how her son shouldn't have to live in such rubble.

When I told her I was making a delicious dinner from scratch for everyone, she stuck up her nose and made a sound like a child who doesn't like spinach and suggested we go out to eat instead, making us foot the bill.

We gave her a Christmas ornament with our photo in it for a gift one year. She said she cannot put it on her tree. Only Lenox ornaments are allowed on her Christmas tree. I never saw the photo ornament again.

I made plans to take her to a tourist-type place in the area. She sat in the car the whole time. When I gave up making plans of this sort, she ended up sitting on the couch her entire visit saying she was bored!

She met my mother, father and step-mother over an extended trip. The next day at dinner, she blurted out to my husband, myself, and her sister that she much preferred my step-mother because she has nicer jewelry. My husband's jaw dropped and he told her not to make such rude comments. THANKS HONEY!

I hope that none of you end up with a houseguest, or mother-in-law like this one!!!!!

[soliteyah]

Oh boy, I'm starting to feel a bit better about my own future mother-in-law (SO and I aren't married yet even though it feels like we are sometimes!) after hearing your stories. I think many of us would agree that in-laws often make the worst hosts OR guests!

[KimberlyB]

soliteyah, I'll drink to that last statement. (And I often do after MY mother-in-law leaves...!)

--K

[CEDHMH]

My brother and his girlfriend asked to use my house for their wedding reception. My only conditions were that I was not cooking or preparing the dinner in any way. I offered to clean, decorate, and spent many, many hours prettying up my lawn(most of my free time that summer.)
My brother and wife showed up about a week early and spent that week making a huge mess of my house. They did not spend any of that time preparing for the reception, so when the big day arrived we had a big tent on my lawn (the delivery truck drove over my septic tank which i had specifically asked them not to do), chairs, tables, a dj setup in the tent, a dance floor..........and nothing else!!! They had asked the guests to bring potluck in lieu of gifts, but lo and behold...no one brought anything. There was no food, no drink, no munchies, nothing but the wedding cake that my brother had made that morning, and a bottle of wine i had hidden in my bedroom. My brother and wife decided to ask all the guests for money so they could buy some food!!!!!!!!!!! Fortunately my brother Dave intervened and bought pizza and subs for everyone, bless him. My septic tank had a huge crack in it and I wasn't going to let any more damage get done to it. The bride's parents kindly rented a portable toilet which everyone was asked to use. The reason was explained to them. I actually had people become hostile because I wouldn't let them use my bathroom(s). The next day my bro and wife moved all their possesions to another siblings house...get this..Apparently they were mad at ME?!?

[kimrae1977]

I think I have the ultimate, because we have the repeating houseguests from hell.

I live with my boyfriend and his father in a house. His father's brother, his wife, and their 4 children, have dropped in on us several times since we moved here in 2001, and rarely stay less than 5 weeks at a time. Their children are complete terrors that break and destroy everything in their path, as well as being kleptos, and they don't listen to anyone. My BF's father is a complete pushover when it comes to family, and won't say no to them coming over, even though he admits it's a problem when they do. It's a 1400 sq. ft house. We only have one extra bedroom, meaning the children camp out in the middle of our living room floor. My BF ends up stepping on them on his way to the bathroom to go to work each morning.

They don't clean up their dishes, towels, anything....and the parents go off and leave their kids in the early morning, only to have me wake up and come out to unsupervised chaos. Last year, they were here more from Oct. - to Dec. than they weren't. I'm chronically ill, and I was so stressed from the constant noise and lack of sleep, that I lost 8 lbs I couldn't afford to lose. Our cat was so stressed, he ended up with a high fever and infection....to the tune of a $1000 emergency vet bill.

They left last time really mad, so i hoped that they wouldn't try to come again. Well, guess who's showing up for Christmas....

[mnamie2003]

Last Christmas, my husband and I stayed with his parents for a week. It was a long drive and his mother was already angry about her son not coming for Christmas the previous year, even though we tried to explain that since he is married, we are taking turns with holidays with one another's family. She blamed me for this, even though it was a mutual decision. We got in late after a long drive there and early the next morning, all we did was run errands, go here, go there, everywhere. There was no moment of rest our entire visit until nightfall. Early in the morning, we were up again. It was constant. His dad yelled at his mom quite a bit and one time, she began crying. So I said something to her about if she ever needed to talk..... She went ballistic, telling me I don't know anything about marriage and that there is nothing wrong, etc., etc. etc. I apologized and didn't bring it up again. But I guess she still resented it. A trip she had promised to take us on was concelled the night before with no explanation. She went on and on about not getting decent enough Christmas presents, even though we got them plenty of nice presents. We didn't get what was on their "list" (which were expensive items) because we were pretty much broke after being in a hurricane and having to move, to the hurricane wiping out my job, to having to buy for other family members as well, to driving halfway across the country to their house. We had to go with his mom to different stores so she could buy herself nice Christmas gifts. We went in one store and she told the clerk, "This is my Christmas gift to myself. I didn't get anything on my list." She bought a new bed. The next morning, as usual, she wanted us up super early. I stayed in bed for a while, which she considers lazy. My husband got up to help her put the bed together. I heard him ask her, "What do you want me to do with the old box springs?" She said to go throw them on top of me since I was still in bed and then laughed. I came out of the room and offered to help. She ignored me as if I was invisible. My husband looked upset. I asked him what was wrong and she turned and began screaming at me, "The fact that you don't like his father!!!!!!" I had no idea what she was talking about. I asked her what she meant. She said I don't like his father because I said something to her about him yelling at her all the time. I told her that I had already apologized for that and didn't know it was such a sore subject. I told her that I DO like his father. She continued screaming and yelling. I finally screamed back at her, which surprised me. I normally stay calm. I think I felt trapped because I was so far away from home, in a house with someone who resents me and my husband wasn't defending me. When I did that, my husband began crying. Then his mom said, "Now look what you've done." She asked me to leave. I had no idea how to get home. So I called my mom and she wired me plane ticket money. I asked my husband if he would leave with me. He just kept crying. His mother said, "You're making my son choose between you and his family. He should stay right here." So as I was leaving, I got a call from a friend. Her husband is my huband's best friend. I told her the situation. She told her husband. He then got on the phone with my husband and told him that he needed to leave with me because I am his wife. My husband's father came home and his mom was yelling, "Tell him he's not going anywhere!" His father told him he needed to leave with his wife and not be a "mama's boy" anymore. My husband finally left with me but I knew he resented me for it. It put a huge strain on our relationship. After I got home, I sent his parents a thank you card for the gifts and hospitality (although there wasn't much hospitality!) and his mom called and told him that the card was worthless because their names were only on the envelope. I didn't put their names specifically on the inside of the card so it was worthless. Nothing I could do was right for her. It was a nightmare! This is our year to spend with my family but I dread next year already!

[unhappy mom-in-law]

After being invited over and over again, finally...last January I decided to fly to Puerto Rico to visit my stepdaughter and her husband. Well..this guy was a real jerk. He treated me as though I had a desease. He was rude, crude and totally illmannered. I wanted desperately to tell him off, but I did not want to hurt my stepdaughter. He constantly used the F word. When I asked him if he spoke that way in front of his own mother...he replied that he did and "if she didn't like it..especially in his own house, that she could get the F out" My stepdaughter was there when he said that and never said one word to him. One evening she had to work late and so I was left alone with this idiot who I'm now convinced is a latent homosexual. I was preparing dinner while he sat there playing on the computer and ignoring me. I tried very hard to strike conversation up with him, and so I told him how I write music and at one point asked him if he would care to hear one particular lyric I had written. He looked right into my eyes.....and said NO!. It was my first.... and was... my last visit there.

[Nanposs]

My friend broke her shoulder so I thought I'd help her out & let her stay a week or two with my husband and I....we couldn't get her to leave! She stayed 9 (NINE) months!!! Then she sued us for falling & hurting her knee --a year AFTER her fall!! Talk about visitors for the holidays..... we had her Thanksgiving, Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter, etc. She cooked twice the entire time. We finally got her out via a mutual friend offering her a job & she needed her own phone line (as if she had monopolized ours for hours on end & family would have to call our cell to reach us). I'll never to be able to make it up to my hubby for not shooting me!! And, I'll never invite a person over without firmly telling them when they are expected to leave!!

[calatty]

This happened last year, and it was my own parents. First, they stayed with us for 5 days over Christmas and my mom almost completely monopolized the kitchen. Plus, during the days leading up to Christmas and the day after, they were completely enthralled with various reality court tv shows and insisted that we watch them, saying they were "funny." After 10 hours (I admit I was amazed that there were 10 consecutive programming hours devoted to various iterations of the same show) we said enough. Then my mom complained that she couldn't use our computer mouse because it was a Macintosh and a laptop mouse. Nevermind that she had her own laptop with her that she could have set up. They're coming for Thanksgiving this year, but we've fixed them: all of the court tv shows are locked on the cable system with a code they won't be able to figure out.

[Momster]

People!! Have some self respect. If you are treated badly in a house by inlaws or your parents don't go again.
My father's parents were just plain sickos. They ruined every holiday in my childhood. I swore I would never allow my kids to go through that crap.
Guess what? I don't. They don't.
If people cannot behave no matter who they are we don't go.
We have the best holidays now. My inlaws are coming for Christmas. We invited them. They weren't always good but after they pulled some crap a couple times, we cancelled visits.
Now, we really enjoy the visits. We all have fun. It took some doing and some boundries but we have a nice life with the people we enjoy.
Your kids only have one chance at a childhood. Don't let inlaws or parents or anyone make it an intolerable situation.
Be strong!!
The Momster

[calatty]

Absolutely agree, Momster. I was just so surprised at the lack of consideration last year (although, in hindsight, it was escalating from previous visits) that I didn't know what to do. Now that my husband and I have a plan (and less will be tolerated) I hope things will go better. If they don't, we won't do holidays with them again.

[Sammie777]

My husband would invite mom-in-law from hell over to dinner w/o telling me. So mom-in-law from hell said she'd always check with me first. I had her over on Christmas with my mother too. My mom is heavy and mom-in-law from hell railed on and on about fat people - how disgusting they were etc. My mom was mortified and it was all she could do keep quiet and said "don't ever have her over when Cindy is here(cindy is my sister and REALLY heavy and is not one to listen to trash talk). So I invite mom-in-law from hell over Christmas Day and Mom and Cindy over Christmas Eve. Problem solved. Hubby tells mom-in-law from hell its ok to come over for Christmas Eve too. (w/o asking me). I KNOW there will be fireworks if she comes over. So hubby Un-invites mom-in-law.
Well ...mom-in-law from hell calls EVERYONE and cries and tells them how awful I am. It's HIS money screams and Hubby should be the boss. I have no rights on and on. She just wouldn't let it go.

[unhappy mom-in-law]

As for my stepson-in-law..I will never step foot on that Island again muchless his house. When he first came to our home to meet my husband and I...I treated him as though he were royalty. I literally cooked and prepared days before his visit. He and my stepdaughter stayed for nine days and slept in MY bed. I slept on the couch! And they weren't even married yet. Just living together....which seems to be the fashion these days.

[Cyndy2ys]

Well, it wasn't a holiday, but my own parents were horrible houseguests. They came up from Florida a few days before my sister's wedding to stay with my husband and I for one night...or so we thought. We were less than six months in our new home, and had a pet who was ill & just recovering from surgery. They only stayed two nights, but they are two nights I don't wish to repeat. I'm not close with my family at all, but I was trying to play nice so my sister could have a stress-free wedding...never again!!!

They were annoyed that they couldn't bring their dog to our house. We have cats, one of whom just had surgery, and we don't know their dog or how the dog would act around our cat. We don't want anyone's dog in our home, much less their barely housebroken puppy. They got over it and made the drive up here. We had no idea when they were due to arrive, and they didn't bother to call us and let us know when they were close by. My husband had just finished the night shift, and was woken from a sound sleep by their arrival. My mom lost no time bringing up the past, such as when I had to move rather suddenly due to an abusive ex. She likes to do that. Way to let me move on, mom.

They commented on the carpet, which we bought new because the former owner had dogs. They thought we should have tried to salvage the old carpet. Believe me, it was beyond saving between the crusty dirt, the smell, and the fact it was more than ten years old & had never been steamed. We apparently didn't deserve anything NEW, evidenced by the housewarming gift they brought us-their old, used towels! Yuck! Well, we DID need some rags. Mind you, we did not ask for a gift, want a gift, or drop hints about a gift. My mom thought we needed some towels, and thought their old, used, ratty towels wouild make a great gift. GROSS! They made fun of the paint job-my husband painted BY HIMSELF since I have allergies & could not help, and we couldn't afford to hire someone. They were taken aback because they had to sleep on a pull out bed; did they think they were sleeping in OUR bed?? Ewww! They made fun of the fact that we hadn't bought curtains yet (couldn't afford them & didn't have time), we hadn't painted the middle room or the second bathroom yet (again, no time), and that we hadn't done anything with the yard. HELLO! We moved in October, it was now March, you do the math!! They were full of suggestions on how we should have had hardwood floors, new windows, and different paint. We finally said something to the effect of when the skies open up & rain money on us, we'll THINK about these things, and they finally shut up.

They barely spoke with my husband while they were here, and I don't even think they could make eye contact with the man...and this is HIS HOME. We asked them several times if they would like to go anywhere or do anything. All they wanted to do was sit on the couch or at the dining room table. They are avid golfers, and my husband thought they all might go golfing, since he likes to golf, too. But no, they didn't want to golf with him. They informed us that there had been "a change in plans" and they were now staying two nights. They kept us up til all hours (we both work early), and refused to eat when we normally ate. My poor husband was starving when he came home from work, but because they had just eaten lunch (at almost 4PM), they didn't want dinner. In fact, they didn't want dinner until close to our bedtime. When I served dinner, which was a nice meal of pork chops, rice pilaf, and green beans, my mom made some crack about how she hoped the meal "didn't break the bank." We finally fell into bed, exhausted, and my poor husband had to get up early for work the next morning. He woke my mom, who of course was all pissed off. When I woke up about an hour after my husband left, I saw her standing down at the end of the hallway, glaring into our bedroom. I guess she was waiting for me to get up? I don't know, but it scared the hell out of me.

My mom was angry that we didn't have "her" beer, "her" food, or anything "for her." She was rude about it, too. We offered more than once prior to their visit and when they got here to go out and get things for her, but all she would do was sigh loudly and say "no, it's OK. I'm fine."

I had to run to my neighbor's house to check on their cat since they were away. My mom wanted very badly to come with me for some weird reason, but I said I didn't think it was a good idea. It wasn't my house, and I didn;t have their permission to let anyone else in. Boy did she get pissy. I have no idea why she was so gung-ho to go to some stranger's house, but she was ticked for awhile.

When they finally left to go up to my sister's, it was such a relief. However, it was very hurtful to us to find out that they went out shopping with my sister & her husband, went golfing, and out to dinner. Remember when they wouldn't go golfing with my husband? Or go anywhere with us?

Maybe they weren't the world's worst guests, but it will be a cold day in hell before they are welcome in my home again.

[unhappy mom-in-law]

Sorry to hear about your parents in that light. However had it been my husband and I...I don't think they would have been allowed a second night. But! who knows what one would do in the same situation. It's easy to say when one isn't actually in that situation.

[KarCol]

Last Christmas, my husband and I stayed with his parents for a week. It was a long drive and his mother was already angry about her son not coming for Christmas the previous year, even though we tried to explain that since he is married, we are taking turns with holidays with one another's family. She blamed me for this, even though it was a mutual decision. We got in late after a long drive there and early the next morning, all we did was run errands, go here, go there, everywhere. There was no moment of rest our entire visit until nightfall. Early in the morning, we were up again. It was constant. His dad yelled at his mom quite a bit and one time, she began crying. So I said something to her about if she ever needed to talk..... She went ballistic, telling me I don't know anything about marriage and that there is nothing wrong, etc., etc. etc. I apologized and didn't bring it up again. But I guess she still resented it. A trip she had promised to take us on was concelled the night before with no explanation. She went on and on about not getting decent enough Christmas presents, even though we got them plenty of nice presents. We didn't get what was on their "list" (which were expensive items) because we were pretty much broke after being in a hurricane and having to move, to the hurricane wiping out my job, to having to buy for other family members as well, to driving halfway across the country to their house. We had to go with his mom to different stores so she could buy herself nice Christmas gifts. We went in one store and she told the clerk, "This is my Christmas gift to myself. I didn't get anything on my list." She bought a new bed. The next morning, as usual, she wanted us up super early. I stayed in bed for a while, which she considers lazy. My husband got up to help her put the bed together. I heard him ask her, "What do you want me to do with the old box springs?" She said to go throw them on top of me since I was still in bed and then laughed. I came out of the room and offered to help. She ignored me as if I was invisible. My husband looked upset. I asked him what was wrong and she turned and began screaming at me, "The fact that you don't like his father!!!!!!" I had no idea what she was talking about. I asked her what she meant. She said I don't like his father because I said something to her about him yelling at her all the time. I told her that I had already apologized for that and didn't know it was such a sore subject. I told her that I DO like his father. She continued screaming and yelling. I finally screamed back at her, which surprised me. I normally stay calm. I think I felt trapped because I was so far away from home, in a house with someone who resents me and my husband wasn't defending me. When I did that, my husband began crying. Then his mom said, "Now look what you've done." She asked me to leave. I had no idea how to get home. So I called my mom and she wired me plane ticket money. I asked my husband if he would leave with me. He just kept crying. His mother said, "You're making my son choose between you and his family. He should stay right here." So as I was leaving, I got a call from a friend. Her husband is my huband's best friend. I told her the situation. She told her husband. He then got on the phone with my husband and told him that he needed to leave with me because I am his wife. My husband's father came home and his mom was yelling, "Tell him he's not going anywhere!" His father told him he needed to leave with his wife and not be a "mama's boy" anymore. My husband finally left with me but I knew he resented me for it. It put a huge strain on our relationship. After I got home, I sent his parents a thank you card for the gifts and hospitality (although there wasn't much hospitality!) and his mom called and told him that the card was worthless because their names were only on the envelope. I didn't put their names specifically on the inside of the card so it was worthless. Nothing I could do was right for her. It was a nightmare! This is our year to spend with my family but I dread next year already!

Oh my.. You sound absolutely "saintly" -- it is so unfortunate this woman can't seen how lucky her son is. Don't be abused by anyone though -- and don't allow anyone to steal your "Joy"