How To Deal With Family During The Holidays
The holidays are a great time to reunite with family. Specifically, the family members that live 3 states away, and came over just to show off their perfectly perfect children for the holidays. (Not that I am speaking from personal experience….) Next to your show-off family members, there is Aunt Mary (and if you know anything about her, you know she’s a nightmare). Of course, there’s only one thing worse than Aunt Mary, which is the small branch of the family that chose not to come to the big family holiday party, because they are ‘too busy’. (They’re really all having a holiday party at their own cabin). Not to forget poor, poor grandma. Stuck in the midst of this holiday drama and so much more. How do you survive this mess? We’re here to help.
You may not want to constantly be around your family, but trust us, you’re only going to be able to see them once a year, and you should probably make the most of it. Who knows who’s coming to the holiday party next year? Plus, if your mother or father has volunteered to host the party this year, chances are you will have no escape, and will be forced to interact with guests.
There are a few ways to make small talk with your family members, and it is all dependent on who you’re talking to. If you are talking to Grandma/Grandpa, or old people relatives (60+); Talk about things such as school, extracurricular activities, etc. This is because these old people may be retired and don’t have much going on in their life, so you have to fill the conversation with things about you (who is hopefully a busy person with actual things going on in their life. No pressure.). Of course, you still have to ask these family members about their lives, or you may sound self centered.
The next family members that you will talk to at a holiday party will be the ‘wee little ones’. These ‘wee little ones’ are all of your younger cousins (ages 2-10). They enjoy laughing about farts and stealing all the pie before dinner. When talking to them, remember to use simple words. If you want to be extra popular, you can crack an immature, childish joke. When talking to your cousins, make sure you are at their height.
When talking to your middle-aged aunts and uncles, ask them questions about their hobbies. Since they have children, they never get questions about themselves, and when you do ask, you’ll suddenly become their favorite nephew or niece. So, be selfless and ask questions about other’s interests when it comes to your middle-aged aunt.
Of course, you don’t have to be talking to your family members the entire time. In order to survive and stay sane during the scariest of all times (holidays with your family) make sure to isolate yourself from everybody else from time to time. This assures that you will not go crazy, and that you will have a chance to enjoy the holidays. Oh! And if all else fails, eat the mashed potatoes…..
You may not want to constantly be around your family, but trust us, you’re only going to be able to see them once a year, and you should probably make the most of it. Who knows who’s coming to the holiday party next year? Plus, if your mother or father has volunteered to host the party this year, chances are you will have no escape, and will be forced to interact with guests.
There are a few ways to make small talk with your family members, and it is all dependent on who you’re talking to. If you are talking to Grandma/Grandpa, or old people relatives (60+); Talk about things such as school, extracurricular activities, etc. This is because these old people may be retired and don’t have much going on in their life, so you have to fill the conversation with things about you (who is hopefully a busy person with actual things going on in their life. No pressure.). Of course, you still have to ask these family members about their lives, or you may sound self centered.
The next family members that you will talk to at a holiday party will be the ‘wee little ones’. These ‘wee little ones’ are all of your younger cousins (ages 2-10). They enjoy laughing about farts and stealing all the pie before dinner. When talking to them, remember to use simple words. If you want to be extra popular, you can crack an immature, childish joke. When talking to your cousins, make sure you are at their height.
When talking to your middle-aged aunts and uncles, ask them questions about their hobbies. Since they have children, they never get questions about themselves, and when you do ask, you’ll suddenly become their favorite nephew or niece. So, be selfless and ask questions about other’s interests when it comes to your middle-aged aunt.
Of course, you don’t have to be talking to your family members the entire time. In order to survive and stay sane during the scariest of all times (holidays with your family) make sure to isolate yourself from everybody else from time to time. This assures that you will not go crazy, and that you will have a chance to enjoy the holidays. Oh! And if all else fails, eat the mashed potatoes…..
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