Have you seen this commercial? A young woman is talking on the phone to her mother, saying she wishes she could see them at Christmas. The mom asks if she got their gift. Daughter says “no.” Mom tells her to look outside. She opens the front door, and there’s Mom and the whole family, right on her doorstep, with gifts and everything.
I about leap out of my chair the first time I see this. Sure, she’s happy, but what would it do to me?! I avoid family Christmases like the plague. And a surprise visit? The first question I’d ask, after the haze in my mind cleared up some, is “When are you leaving?” But that would be rude, so I’d only ask it internally.
Mom might make a nice surprise guest, provided she were leaving promptly, but my sister and her spawn? Was that luggage I saw? Are they staying?!
What are your reactions to this commerical? Do any of you think it would be a great surprise? I know that’s what we’re supposed to think.
I don’t mean to highjack your thread, but what is the deal with people not wanting to see their families at Christmas? Is it some sort of stress or is there something I’m missing?
I would hate it. I’d probably rip some ass about how rude and inconsiderate it is to pop in on someone without some sort of heads up.
And yes, Virginia (Big Sam), some people have horribly dysfunctional families. Families who make that whole, “It’s Christmas, so we have to pretend we like each other, family closeness thing” a total joke. Some of us are far happier without them and have more enjoyable holidays when we don’t have to do the dysfunction dance.
It’s posts like this that make me want to hug my family. They are more neurotic than psychotic. I don’t know if it makes me a small person or not, but I feel much better about being pissed off at my selfish sister after I read what some of you have to go through.
It’s similar to the atrial septal defect my oldest daughter has. It’s a small hole between the two atria of her heart. It will be operated on an about a year, we think. We went to a heart symposium at the hospital, and her problem was the smallest of any that people there had. We still are not looking forward to the surgery, but we feel better now about it.
Anyway, I would be happy if they showed up at my doorstep. I would also be happy to get them reservations at a nearby hotel for the time they stay.
Hey, I never said my family wasn’t dysfunctional. I guess I’m not getting it because I dont do the “It’s Christmas, so we have to pretend we like each other, family closeness thing” dance. I just don’t get what these people did to you that you can’t tolerate their presence for a few minutes. The only thing I can think of is some sort of weird molestation shit in which case I can understand, but other than that, WTF?
I haven’t seen the commercial. What’s it for, adult diapers? 'Cause I’d shit in my pants if I saw my whole family on the front porch.
In my case, it would be total fantasy, since my family would damn near kill each other before making it to my house. Also, they apparently expect that I should be the one to visit or call each time, otherwise I’d never see them. So, they’d never show up to begin with. Merry Freakin’ Christmas!
I would consider it an unbelievable treat to have my family turn up unexpectedly. But the commercial bugs me because such a “surprise” takes a ton of planning and you still can assure things will go right. What if your surprisee isn’t home? What if they make plans, thinking they won’t have any guests? What if they take off to Cancun a mere 4 hours before your arrival? What if they are in bed with the postman when you arrive?
Come to think of it, on most days I’d be horrified to have them see my house. I need WARNING so I can clean up.
I love my parents very much, and we spend Christmas together every year. (We live in the same town.) But if I lived somewhere else, and they showed up like that I’d kill them.
All of my immediate family and in-laws lives within 5 minutes of each other so we spend almost all holidays together. If we did live farther apart they’d better give me some notice before popping over. I personally can’t stand the commercial. Each time it comes on my SO and I both say, “Awwwww.” Immediately followed by the obligatory gagging effect.
Well, since nobody’s said it so far, I’d be thrilled if my family would show up on my doorstep.
We can’t get home for the holidays this year because my husband can’t get time off work, and I’d really love to be able to see my 'rents and my grandparents and my sister and her fiance (who I haven’t even met yet!)
However, perhaps part of the warm fuzzy feeling I get imagining this scenario is knowing that my family would never do such a thing to me in a million years . . .
Just as well, too. The state my kitchen is in would probably give my grandmother a coronary.
That is my point exactly. If they made such a comittment to fly all the way there and surprise you, I don’t think they’d really give a crap about what your house looks like. They came to see you, not your house or your things. It’s about people not things. And I have a hard time believing you could be mad for even a second. I’d be overwhelmed if my family just showed up. I’d be so darn happy that it would be the first time in my life that I’d cry because I was happy.
I’m not normally like this, but I wish I would have spent more time with my family while some of the better people were still alive. It just saddens me when I hear that other people are making the same mistake I made and I know they will regret it as much as I already do.
Same with me. I’m 800+ miles away, so I can understand it, but when I lived within 3 hours, they still expected me and mine to make the trek. I invited them for Thanksgiving dinner. “We don’t want to drive on a holiday,” was their warm and loving response. Whatever. After 28 years, I got tired of always being the traveler. If they want to see me, they know how to find me.
And, no, I wouldn’t be all warm and fuzzy and happy to have them or anyone just show up at the doorstep. That’s just rude.
Okay, so it’s not my worst Christmas nightmare. I exaggerated; lots worse things could happen and I hope they don’t.
I don’t even know what the commerical advertises. My guess is cell phones, because I remember that they’re talking on cell phones.
We should probably start another thread if we’re going to talk about how our family relations. As far as the scenario depicted in this commercial, it just horrifies me to imagine anyone other than my Mom, alone, or my Dad, alone, showing up unannounced on Christmas. In the commercial, there are four or five people, and other than the mom, you can only imagine who they are. And it looks like they plan to stay a while.
If my family showed up at my doorstep unexpectedly, I would have to dash around hiding the unpaid bills on the kitchen table and the laundry waiting to be folded in the den, but I would still be happy. I prefer if people call before they come over, but when it’s meant to be a surprise on a holiday from people you don’t see very much, I think it’s rude to not greet them warmly and be happy to see them. When my mother turned 60 my brother, sister-in-law and I flew over to Europe as a surprise visit, and we were all very happy to see each other.
My wife’s parents and siblings (from several different states) all try to spend either Thanksgiving or Christmas as a group. I am very glad to participate in their festivities and I’m glad I married into a family where people are willing to put aside their (small) differences for one day out of the year.
When I read these threads, it seems to me that families that make an effort to get together for the holidays are an unusual thing in the USA. Or am I getting the wrong impression?
First of all, family, especially family from some distance away, showing up on your doorstep implies that the visit is going to last more than a few minutes.
And yes, even if my mother did come just to surprise me, the first thing she would do would be to run her finger disdainfully across a shelf, look at it with disgust, and ask me if I ever thought about dusting. Then she would suggest that if I am too lazy to clean, I should get a maid. Then she would point out that she really doesn’t understand why I don’t have time to clean, since I have no social life. I mean, if I’m not going out on dates, and have no prospect of getting married and giving her grandchildren, then I could at least use my time productively in keeping my apartment clean. Of course, I really shouldn’t be living in an apartment at all, because real estate is an investment, and I’m just throwing my money away by paying for rent each month. And how much do I pay anyway? It must be a huge percentage of my salary, since I don’t have a professional job. I really ought to go to graduate school so that I can make something of myself. I mean, if I’m not going to have a decent social life, I should at least have a decent career…
Nope, no weird molestation shit, just the usual ugly dysfunctional shit. But I’m going to visit them for the holidays, and I’m even looking forward to it. At least this way, my Mom doesn’t get to see my apartment.
