Drama ensues when a 28-year-old daughter throws her parents' Christmas decorations in the garbage after she agrees to store a lifelong collection of holiday trinkets and heirlooms: 'The stuff was taking up space'

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Jesse Kessenheimer • Writer and Editor
Dec 16, 2024 2:00 PM EST

This family was rocked to the core when the parents sold their house for a retirement trip of a lifetime, embarking on a 7-month vacation that they would never forget… However, when they returned home from their journey, they found their precious holiday decorations were all thrown in the trash. Betrayed by their very own daughter, these parents realized a grave mistake far too late.

By the time you're a parent or a grandparent, you've had an entire lifetime to collect holiday decorations. With every passing year, your Christmas boxes get fuller, your attic gets more crammed, and you start to wonder if you need 55 wintery gnomes over your fireplace. But despite the impracticality, every time you pull out your big red and green bins, your heart swells 3x the size, and nostalgia floods the home once more. It may seem silly 10 months out of the year, but holiday trinkets are invaluable. 

Read on for the details of this family holiday drama that left this family home with far less cheer than last year…

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  • 01
    Cheezburger Image 10439768064
    via grinvalds

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    I threw out all the family Christmas decorations last year and now my parents are P ED 1 28F was given all the family Christmas decorations and the
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 03
    family tree last year before my parents sold the house and went on a 7 month long vacation. I had told them I didn't want the Christmas decorations as I do
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 04
    not celebrate Christmas and don't put up any decorations. I also do not have the space to keep the decorations long term, I suggested they pay for a storage unit for the stuff but they decided against it. They
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 05
    said it was cheaper to have me keep it in my house even though the stuff was taking up space in my office making it difficult for me to access my things.
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 06
    A few weeks into their trip I had already tossed out the Christmas decorations and sold the tree on FB marketplace. Parents are now asking for the stuff back and I had to let them
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 07
    know I threw it out. This caused major issues and they are refusing to talk to me. If they had listened to me and brought a storage unit or found another family member to hold the stuff this wouldn't have happened but they didn't.
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 08
    I live in a small two bedroom house with basically no storage, I'm pretty minimalist so the lack of storage never bothered me until they decided to drop off the decorations on me.
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 09
    Anything else they wanted to keep was given to my nana (mums mum) to hold on to, but mum didn't want her Christmas decorations to be muddled with my nanas. Hence why she gave them to me
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 10
    Alarmed Horse_3218 Info: How did the decorations get into your apartment in the first place? Why would you have taken them if you intended to throw them away? Did they bring the things in without your knowledge and then leave right after?
    via Alarmed_Horse_3218
  • 11
    Meauxxx1977 My thoughts also. Should have refused them from the get go instead of accepting them and then disposing of them. Op is the AH
    via Meauxxx1977
  • 12
    CanAmHockeyNut I'm willing to bet that a bunch of those family decorations were made by members of the family whether in school or whatever but you just don't throw that stuff away if anybody ever threw away all my hand painted Christmas ornaments it might as well just throw away the keybecause I'm gonna be spending the rest of my life in prison
    via CanAmHockeyNut
  • 13
    EOH1PPU5 Even if they aren't hand made...l have Christmas ornaments that came with my great great grandparents when they fled Poland to start a new life in the US. Little trinkets so valuable that they were special enough to bring across the world.
    via EOH1PPU5
  • 14
    Nearly every ornament on my tree is older than me. A lot are older than my parents! And someday they will go to my kids and my nieces and nephews and to think of them just chucking them in the garbage breaks my heart.
    via EOH1PPU5
  • 15
    Vegetable-Badger-229 OP I said I didn't want to store it and mum wouldn't listen. I failed to say I was going to toss it
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 16
    Iforgotmypassword126 I think if my child did this to me, I'd love them less. How I viewed them and felt about them would forever be damaged. I'd probably be polite for the sake of having a relationship but there would be some love gone.
    via Iforgotmypassword126
  • 17
    How could someone be so cruel. There's got to be more behind it. This was done to get an emotional reaction, because she hates Christmas and states she hates the ornaments....
    via Iforgotmypassword126
  • 18
    JMarie113 YTA. You threw away irreplaceable family heirlooms. That is such a crappy thing to do. You should have at least told them your intentions to throw the things away.
    via JMarie113
  • 19
    gahidus So she lied / went back on her word and couldn't even bother to hold on to some sentimental decorations for Christmas. The fact that she doesn't celebrate Christmas is also highly suspect,
    via gahidus
  • 20
    considering she comes from a family that does. You don't even have to be religious or anything to enjoy Christmas. This was a total a hle move, agreeing to keep the decorations and then just tossing them, especially when they can't have taken up that much room.
    via gahidus
  • 21
    Vegetable-Badger-229 OP I wasn't going to pay to store something I hate The Unknowing182 There it is. Did you do it out of spite then? Just because you hate something doesn't mean things aren't important to others. Yes, your mum is
    via Vegetable-Badger-229
  • 22
    an AH for being pushy, but flinging things out that are usually from generations past is a I move. No means no in my book!
    via TheUnknowing182

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christmas family drama dads christmas decorations famiies drama kids brother siblings decorations moms parenting dad story family sibling sister stories parent mom cousins holidays parents
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