Go big or go home, right?”
I had spent weeks choosing the perfect gifts. I bought a limited edition watch for Liam’s dad (he collects them), the latest gaming console for his brother Stephan (complete with three games he’d been talking about), and a custom-made leather jacket for Liam. I even got Paula those fancy cooking tools she mentioned during our last dinner together.
“Remember your first Christmas with Jake’s family?” I asked Sarah. “Were you this nervous?”
“Oh my god, yes! But look at me and my MIL now.
We get mani-pedis together every month!” She paused. “You know, Dad’s words are what made me win her heart. He always told us to give thoughtful presents and be kind and courteous.
I guess that’s what helped me build a strong bond with Jake’s mom.”
That made me smile. Dad’s wisdom had never steered us wrong. A few days later, I loaded all the presents into my car.
I was all set to go to Liam’s place. At that point, I remembered how Sarah, Mom, Dad, and I wore matching pajamas and sang carols in the most hideous way. It made me wonder if Liam’s family had their own special traditions.
The drive to their house on Christmas Eve was picturesque. Fresh snow blanketed the ground, and every house along their street was decked out in twinkling lights. Liam’s family lived in one of those big Victorian homes that looked like it belonged on a Christmas card.
My heart fluttered with excitement as I pulled into their driveway. But the moment I walked through their front door, something felt different. Paula greeted me with a smile that seemed forced.
Meanwhile, Stephan barely looked up from his phone as he greeted me. And Liam’s Dad? He just nodded while watching TV.
“Mia’s here, guys!” Liam announced after noticing how his family almost ignored me. The response was a chorus of half-hearted hellos and fake smiles. What’s wrong?
I wondered, but Paula’s voice interrupted my thoughts. “Let me help you with those gifts,” she offered, eyeing my pile of carefully wrapped presents. It felt odd seeing how she was suddenly so interested in helping me.
I didn’t think much about it and went to bed right after dinner. Christmas Day started awkwardly and only got worse. In the kitchen, Paula kept “fixing” everything I tried to help with.
“Oh, honey, that’s not how we do it here,” became her catchphrase. Moreover, every joke I made while we played board games fell flat, while their inside jokes went over my head. “Remember when Mom got the turkey stuck in the dishwasher?” Stephan had said, and they all burst out laughing while I sat there feeling like an outsider.
“Or that time Dad tried to deep-fry the green beans!” Liam would add, leading to more hysterical laughter and knowing looks. Even watching Christmas movies felt strange. They had apparently developed their own drinking game for “It’s a Wonderful Life,” where they took shots at moments that seemed random to me but had them in stitches.
“You’ll catch on eventually,” Liam assured me during a quiet moment, and I just smiled. “Come on, everyone!” Paula called out after dinner. “It’s time to open the gifts!”
As I entered the living room, I noticed a pile of presents stacked under their enormous tree.
My heart skipped a beat when I realized there were several packages with my name. They were eighteen to be exact. “Ladies first,” Paula announced with that same strange smile I’d been seeing all day.
“And since Mia’s our special guest this year, she should start.”
With trembling fingers, I opened the first gift. My excitement turned to confusion as I pulled out a lump of coal. Actual coal.
I forced a laugh, waiting for the real gift to appear. “Open another one!” Liam encouraged. Meanwhile, Stephan slid out his phone to record my reaction.
One by one, I opened all eighteen presents. Coal. Every single one.
With each package, their laughter grew louder, while my heart sank lower. “Welcome to the family!” Paula exclaimed between fits of laughter. “We do this to all the newcomers!”
“Remember when we did this to Uncle Bill’s wife?” Stephan wheezed.
“She cried!”
I felt my face burning with anger as they continued sharing stories of past “victims” of their tradition. I stood up without saying a word and rushed to Liam’s old bedroom. He followed me a few seconds later.
“How could you think this was okay?” I confronted him. “I spent so much time and money choosing thoughtful gifts for everyone, and they… they did this?”
“Come on, babe, it’s just a joke,” he said, rolling his eyes. “My family’s always done this.
It’s how we welcome people! Even Mom got coal during her first Christmas with Dad.”
“Seriously Liam? You allowed your family to give me eighteen pieces of coal?
Even after knowing I had spent weeks picking out perfect gifts for them?”
“That’s what makes it funny!” he chuckled. “Look, you need to learn to take a joke. This is how we show love in our family.”
“Is this what you call love?”
At that point, something inside me snapped.
I walked back to the living room, where everyone was still chuckling over my reaction. “I don’t deserve to be treated like this,” I announced, my voice shaking but firm. “If you think humiliating me during the holidays is funny, then maybe we should reconsider whether it’s worth celebrating together in the future.”
The room fell silent as I grabbed my coat and left.
That night, my phone exploded with messages. Paula insisted I was being overly sensitive, and Liam’s Dad called me immature. You’re ruining the family tradition!
Stephan texted me. Then Liam called with news that made me pause. “The power’s out,” he said.
“We’re sitting here in the dark and cold. Mom’s Christmas dinner is ruined, and Dad can’t watch his favorite Christmas movie.”
“Sounds like karma to me,” I replied calmly. “How dare you say that?” he exploded.
“After everything we did to make you feel welcome—”
That’s when it hit me. This wasn’t love. This wasn’t family.
This was mean-spirited bullying dressed up as tradition. “Liam,” I interrupted, twisting the engagement ring on my finger, “I think we need to talk about the engagement.”
“What do you mean?” His voice turned serious for the first time that night. “I’m ending it,” I said firmly.
“I can’t marry into a family that thinks it’s funny to humiliate people and calls it a tradition.”
“You’re breaking up with me? Over a Christmas joke?” His voice cracked. “We can fix this.
We’ll give you your real presents tomorrow—”
“There aren’t any real presents, are there, Liam?”
His silence told me everything I needed to know. “That’s what I thought,” I said softly. “I’ll mail your ring back tomorrow.”
I ended the call and felt strangely peaceful that night.
The next morning, he dropped off all the expensive presents that I’d bought for his family at my place I returned them and donated the money to the local women’s shelter. I felt heartbroken, but I was relieved knowing I’d never be a part of a family with such humiliating traditions.
