We gather with family and friends during November and December to catch up, enact family traditions, and celebrate life. Despite the good cheer of the season, not every holiday is cheerful. Choosing the perfect gift, booking expensive flights, and dealing with in-laws can cause people to stress, and, unfortunately, their partners are often the closest outlet for their frustrations. Listed below are ten common holiday fights and ways to avoid them.
1. The mother-in-law fight.
2. The money fight: You want to throw a holiday party; your spouse says you can’t afford it.
3. The travel fight: You missed your flight, because ________.
4. The location fight: The spouse wants to spend the holidays with their family, and you want to spend it with yours.
5. The gifts fight: You got them an iPad and they got you… a $25 Amazon.com gift card.
6. The family fight: You feel smothered by their family
7. The kids fight: Buy the kids the gifts they want. Or you’re spoiling them.
8. The traditions fight: He wants to skip the Christmas carols this year, but you don’t.
9. The time fight: Spouse says you’re working too much; you say you’re trying to pay for all the holiday expenses.
10. The exhaustion fight. One or both of you is exhausted—and you take it out on each other.
