A distraught mother revealed her Christmas was ruined when her husband made the children open all their presents while she was still asleep, leaving her heartbroken and furious.
The mother explained that she woke up around 8:30 a.m. on Christmas morning to the sound of her children, ages five and seven, running around.
She expected to open presents with them, but was devastated to discover that the living room was already covered in wrapping paper and the children were happily playing with their new toys.
“I immediately started crying and ran back into the bedroom,” she wrote on Reddit.
‘My sadness turned to anger and I started screaming like crazy. I was so angry.’
The woman, who has trouble sleeping due to various health problems, says her husband usually lets her sleep every morning while he takes care of the children.
But on Christmas morning, she was furious that he hadn’t made an exception.
‘He knows what time to wake me up if I oversleep. I yelled at him and asked why he couldn’t keep the kids waiting or at least wake me up.
A distraught mum revealed her Christmas was ruined when her husband left the children to unwrap all their presents while she was still asleep
“My husband just said, ‘I never wake you up in the morning.’ I shouted back, “It’s Christmas morning! Didn’t you think I’d want to watch the kids open their presents?” she said.
The mother said her husband apologized but did not try to justify his actions.
Despite his attempt to make up for it by showing her a video of the children opening their presents, she admitted that she was too upset to feel comforted.
“I spent so much time picking out their presents, ordering them or driving around to find them, and wrapping everything,” she added.
‘I feel completely robbed of the joy of seeing their faces light up – it’s one of the best parts of Christmas.’
But her frustration wasn’t just with her husband.
She described feeling disappointed all day, saying, “I don’t even feel like doing anything for Christmas right now. I’m so hurt and I don’t know how to get over it.’
The mother clarified that she retreated to her bedroom to cry and did not scream in front of her children, although she did admit to yelling at her husband and calling him a “son of a bitch” during their heated altercation.
The woman, who has trouble sleeping due to various health problems, says her husband usually lets her sleep every morning while he takes care of the children.
The emotional post has sparked widespread debate online, with some defending the mother’s response, while others suggested her husband may have thought he was being considerate by letting her sleep.
One said: ‘My father worked nights all my life and my parents hated each other. My mother would never have let us open presents without him there.
‘It’s so much worse because she did the shopping and packing and was completely left out of it. So [awful] what to do with your wife.’
One mother wrote, “I have four teenagers and now that they are older, I want to make sure they take the time to show their appreciation and make time for the little traditions that are special to me.
‘I always do most of the shopping and packing. My husband is great, but just doesn’t think about things the same way I do.
‘My daughter asked him what he got for my stocking this year, because I always do all the stockings, including his. He hadn’t thought about it, but after the memory he filled it.
‘I almost cried when I saw it this morning because I haven’t had a stocking since I was a child! Creating magic is exhausting, but looking at everyone’s faces makes it worth it.”
‘Children have no self-control, but as an adult your husband should have set boundaries. This is his fault,” said another commenter.
The emotional post has sparked widespread debate online, with some defending the mother
Some chided the mother for “overreacting.”
‘You ruined Christmas Day with your petulant childish behavior. You need to communicate with your husband. He doesn’t read minds. You know he never wakes you up. If you want him to wake you up, say so sooner,” one woman wrote.
“He even videotaped it so you wouldn’t miss the moment. Cut him some slack, he was trying to be considerate,” another added.
“It’s so easy for me to set five alarms around 6 a.m. when it’s that important,” said one parent.
“Be an adult and don’t rely on someone else to wake you up like a kid going to school,” one person suggested.