The Christmas That Almost Wasn’t: A Tale of Half Siblings, Holidays, and Family Friction
Gather ’round, dear readers, and prepare yourself for a family drama more intricate than a Thanksgiving side dish recipe and with more twists than an ambitious Christmas light display. Our story today hails from the hallowed halls of Reddit’s Am I The Asshole forum—a place where familial grievances are aired like last year’s fruitcake. This tale, my friends, is proof that there truly is no holiday like a potentially horrible holiday.
The Setup
Picture this: a 17-year-old lad caught in the crosshairs of a family feud that predates iPhones and Instagram filters. Our hero, known simply as 17M, had the audacity to say that inviting his estranged half siblings over for Christmas sounded like one of Dante’s forgotten levels of hell. Cue surprised parents aghast at their youngest offspring’s candid declaration.
The Backstory—the Sibling Saga
You’re probably wondering how we got here. Allow me to provide you with the Reader’s Digest version of this family melodrama. 17M has two half siblings, 24 and 22, who haven’t exactly been auditioning for “World’s Best Sibling” awards. From the tender ages of 13 and 15, these charming half-brood chanted their mantra loud and clear: “We want Dad. You’re nothing to us.”
Oh, it gets juicier. See, they were salty over their dad choosing to rekindle things with 17M’s mom, who said, “Hard pass,” and went on to marry 17M’s dad. Then began their reign of terror—ritual proclamations of illegitimacy, and they even went to the extent of planning to make every day a living nightmare for their unwitting half-sibling trio.
The Calm After the Storm or So It Seems
The youngest brother recalls, almost wistfully, the halcyon days post-18th birthday when his half brother stopped coming to torment him. His exact sentiment? Something to the tune of, “Out of sight, out of mind, can we pretend you never existed?”
The Tension-Filled Table Talk
So when Mama Bear decided she wanted to play the reunion card for Christmas, our hero dropped the metaphorical mic: “This sounds like a nightmare.” What kind of reaction did this elicit, you ask? Picture the faces of your least favorite aunt when told she can’t add another cat to her collection.
The parents protested, clutching their pearls and their delusions. They trotted out the classic, “We’re still a family,” rhetoric, and our hero, ever the realist, challenged them to conjure a single happy memory from the Bad Old Days. Spoiler alert: the parents drew a blank, leaving them to lament that the family rehab would never work with his “negativity.”
Roger’s Take: A Festive Reality Check
Well, sugar plums, Roger here has a few spicy takes. First off, bless 17M for having the guts to speak his truth amidst the faux nostalgia. What these parents need is a holiday reality check: forced togetherness does not a happy family make. It’s clear from the gas-lighting attempts that healing isn’t what they’re prioritizing—it’s a Hallmark Christmas illusion they’re desperately trying to capture.
My advice to the parents? Accept the ghost of Christmas past wasn’t friendly. And don’t drag 17M and kin down the same spiral again. Reel back on fantasies of a Hollywood reunion where previously antagonistic half-siblings magically toast marshmallows together. If they want family peace, start by acknowledging the scars instead of pretending they’re snowflakes that’ll simply melt away.
To our bold 17M, you’re not the asshole—it’s okay to prioritize your sanity over someone else’s unrealistic dream. Intentions don’t erase past hurt, and a shared bloodline doesn’t equate to familial love. Also, parents, a vacation might do you good. Preferably somewhere without internet access to scheme holiday plans. Ocean views not included.
Original story
I had this fight with my parents the other night. My mom had been working on convincing her older kids, who are my half siblings, to come to our house for Christmas this year.
When they were talking about it they were telling me how nice it would be for things to go back to the way they were when my half siblings lived here and we were all together as a family. I told them I don’t want to go back to the way things were back then and I told them it actually sounded like a nightmare.
My parents were so surprised I’d say something like that. They told me it was hard to imagine I didn’t miss my older siblings.
I told them it was never exactly happy when they were living here.
To explain what I mean. My half siblings are 24 and 22.
I’m 17M and I have two younger sisters who are 14 and 12. My mom and her ex-husband shared custody of my half siblings but they only wanted to live with their dad.
They never wanted a stepfamily and they sure as hell made sure they said it all the time. Between that and always saying they wanted to live with their dad, they hated my dad, they hated me and my sisters, we weren’t a family, mom should never have gotten married again.
I was never under any illusion that my half siblings actually loved me or that they were happy with us. They were like 13/15 when it got worse because they found out their dad had been dating someone after he and mom divorced and he broke up with the woman to get back together with mom but she chose my dad instead.
That really pissed them off.
They always made a point of saying my sisters and I weren’t their real siblings, that we had a different dad and that meant we weren’t actual siblings. They said siblings share both parents and not just one.
They were corrected that half siblings were still siblings and they said no. They had to keep coming here until they were 18.
Mom wouldn’t agree to let them live with their dad. They didn’t get to have any influence when mom and her ex fought about custody in court and they even told me they would make our lives miserable for every day they had to come here.
I was so glad when my half brother turned 18 and he stopped coming. I don’t think I can explain how much happiness it brought.
I don’t miss them. I’m not sad they’re not here.
Hell, after everything I don’t give a fuck about them any more than they give a fuck about me. But my parents love them.
Even my dad loves them and they can’t say it more clearly how he’s not ever going to be anything to them.
My parents told me after I said what I did, that we’re still a family, and I should leave room for them to grow. And I shouldn’t look at only the bad from before.
I asked them to share any happy or positive memories of them being in my life. I said I would accept just one.
They couldn’t answer. My parents told me I should be more open-minded and our family will never heal with my negativity.
AITA?