Miss Manners: Christmas (Only) with the In-Laws

[ermingarden]

Dear Miss Manners: My daughter informs me that after a couple marries, they are required to spend every Christmas with the groom’s family, rather than alternating, as was the practice before the wedding.

Is this an American tradition — or any, for that matter? I am not familiar with this “requirement.”

Neither is anyone else, except your daughter’s in-laws.

Comments

[ermingarden]

I suspect LW's daughter prefers to spend Christmas with her husband's family and is making the "tradition" up herself, rather than this coming from the in-laws.

[lannamichaels]

Translation: your daughter tried to find a nice lie to avoid having to spend every second Christmas with you.

[conuly]

Alternatively, Daughter should run far, far away from those in-laws and her spouse.

[ermingarden]

My sense is that if Daughter wanted to spend Christmas with LW but was being pressured or deceived to do otherwise, LW would mention something about Daughter seeming regretful about the "tradition"; the lack of anything like that is what suggests to me that Daughter is searching for an excuse to spend Christmas with her in-laws instead of LW. Of course, that's a lot of inference, but it seems most likely to me.

[conuly]

I agree that this sounds like the situation, but I don't want to totally ignore the other obvious possibility, y'know?

[tielan]

Is it wrong that I want to see the fallout from this letter?