My Bad Christmas: A Holiday Gathering Gone Wrong

It all started with the tree

We had a small tree that we decorated with the traditional ornaments- a candy cane, an angel, and some tinsel. It was our first tree in years, and it was going to be just like old times. We all gathered around the tree on Christmas Eve night and lit the candles on it. I remember thinking how lovely everything looked as we watched the lights flicker off of each ornament in turn.

Auntie got drunk

I knew it was going to be a long night when Auntie showed up with her third drink. I tried to keep her entertained, but she just wouldn't stop talking about her deceased husband. When she told us that she didn't need a man in her life because they just break your heart and take from you, I was ready for the night to end. She got drunker and drunker as the evening went on and by the time everyone left, we had to help her into bed.

The kids were screaming

I had just put down my third glass of wine when I heard the screaming start. It was coming from the other end of the house, where all the kids were. I should have known something was up, but it was only 2 o'clock and I had been at work all day. By the time I found out what had happened, it was too late to fix anything.

Dinner was burnt

I was in charge of making the roast this year. My family always has a beef roast for the holidays, and it's never been a problem before. This time, though, I messed up. It seemed like everything was going fine when I went to check on it. I left it in the oven with the temperature set to 300 degrees for 30 minutes and went back every five minutes just to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong.

Santa came early

I had just finished putting up the tree and decorating the house when I heard the front door open. I didn't think much of it, because we were expecting a few friends to come over for drinks before dinner. We only lived a couple blocks away from one another, so it was a perfect opportunity to have them over without having to worry about people driving drunk. When I walked into the living room, though, I was surprised to see Santa Claus in my living room! It looked like he'd lost his way, since he wasn't carrying any gifts. I tried to tell him that this wasn't where he needed to be, but instead he looked right at me and told me that there's no time like the present. Before I could say anything else, all my guests came in through the front door and piled on top of each other at the doorway. They had followed Santa here for some reason or another--I didn't want this to happen, but there was nothing more that I could do now except put on a smile and pretend everything was okay.

It's been two days since then and everyone is still talking about how strange things went down at our Christmas party last year.

Conclusion

The holidays are a time for family, friends, and good food. I thought my Christmas gathering would be perfect with all of the trimmings. I invited everyone to come over and feast on my famous holiday dishes. What I didn't expect was for a fight to break out or for my guests to leave early because they were so upset with me.

I learned the hard way that it's not about what you cook but how you cook it.