‘All you did was wrap presents’: Pregnant mom of 2 stays up until 3:30 AM creating ‘Christmas magic’ for her kids and calls out inactive husband when he depreciates her efforts on Christmas morning

Christmas mornings for moms are like the Winter Olympics. They're constantly running around cooking, wrapping last-minute gifts, thanking Santa with cookies and milk, all while filming the whole thing with a video camera in one of their free hands—they are the real "Christmas magic".

Time and time again, though, you'll notice that a lot of these stories have a running theme: emotionally (or physically) absent parents. Whether the super parent in question is a mother or father, in these stories, one is out of the picture. When all of the super parent's hard work goes unnoticed or unappreciated, the absent parent is in for a real awakening.

The original poster (OP) of this story stayed up all night, despite being pregnant, creating "Christmas magic" for her and her husband's children. The OP explains that her husband had woken up in the middle of the night but failed to help her make Christmas happen, then refused to wake up and watch their kids open their Christmas gifts. Instead of sitting back and taking his unwarranted criticism, she calls him out. Scroll to read.

Author image for Lana DeGaetano Lana DeGaetano
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  • 01
    This morning when the kids woke up around 7:30 AM, I had tried to wake up my husband by saying "hey! The kids are up. Come down so we can watch them open presents!" Didn't budge. That's where my resentment began to build.
    via Allison Saeng For Unsplash+
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  • 02
    AIO for being upset after my husband said "all you did was wrap presents"
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  • 03
    Husband slept in because he "woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to bed til pretty late." I stayed up until 3:30 AM prepping for
    via Asdfhjklbbbb
  • 04
    "Christmas magic" ie. cookies and milk, carrots for reindeer, note from Santa, Santa's footprints, wrap presents I had to hide for a while, clean up the mess. This morning
    via Asdfhjklbbbb
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  • 05
    when the kids woke up around 7:30 AM, I had tried to wake up my husband by saying "hey! The kids are up. Come down so we can watch them open presents!"
    via Asdfhjklbbbb
  • 06
    Didn't budge. That's where my resentment began to build. So I did all the presents with the kids and filmed everything on my own. Tried so hard to not snap
    via Asdfhjklbbbb

  • The first red flag here is that the original poster's (OP's) husband claimed he woke up in the middle of the night. He failed to help his partner, OP, out even though he was awake and couldn't get back to sleep. Likely, he saw that she was not in bed but decided to let her create all of the “Christmas magic” on her own.

    The second red flag is that he refused to wake up to watch their children open their Christmas gifts. So, not only did he fail to show up for his wife, but he also failed to show up for his kids…

  • 07
    or take it out on the kids, but my anger was slowly building. By the time husband woke up around 11 am and came downstairs, I was already done with breakfast,
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  • 08
    feeding kids, kitchen clean up, clean up present-opening-mess, etc. There were periods of time I would snap and raise my voice at the kids. My patience and fuse
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  • 09
    have been short, mainly in part of my first trimester fatigue, hunger (iykyk), and moodiness. My husband, apparently tired from my yelling, snaps at me and tells me
    via Asdfhjklbbbb
  • 10
    to go upstairs because he doesn't want to hear my yelling anymore. is wrong with you?" he said. "YOU!" I snapped back. "You're what's wrong! You haven't done sh !".
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  • 11
    Then the words that came out of his mouth caused me to cry for the next 3 hours and periodically throughout the day. "All you did was wrap presents."
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  • Though a simple sentence, the notion that the OP did the bare minimum on Christmas (which her husband couldn't even do) holds a lot of weight. She did everything on her own to ensure that her kids had a Christmas filled with cookies, gifts, and everything in between, while her husband caught up on some sleep… I wonder if the OP could've used a few moments to herself in the thick of it all.

  • 12
    All I did was wrap presents. At that moment, it felt like one of the most hurtful things anyone has ever said to me. I don't know if it's my pregnancy
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  • 13
    hormones, trying so hard to make Christmas special for my kids (4 and 2 years old), or it's all of the pent up resentment overflowing (or in this case erupting) not just
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  • 14
    from today, but most days. Maybe it's the feeling of him not pulling. his weight. It's the first year where our kids are understanding the magic. of Christmas. I never had
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  • 15
    this as a child and neither did my husband. AIO for still being upset that he said "all you did was wrap presents"?
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  • 16
    eatshitake 8h ago . I don't know what y'all are doing to end up with these low value males who do not appreciate the sheer effort it takes to run a family. What kind of father doesn't get up on Christmas morning to see his kids open presents?
    via eatshitake
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  • 17
    What kind of husband leaves everything to his pregnant wife without even a modicum of shame? I'm guessing he's difficult to talk to? You could suggest couples therapy so you can both speak and be heard but it sounds like you'd be fighting a losing battle. Do you really want four children?
    via eatshitake
  • 18
    AussieGirlHome 6h ago. • Your husband is a lazy a • Also, you are making this waaay harder on yourself than it needs to be. You still have time to change course, but from next year, some of these high-effort traditions will be baked into what your kids expect at Christmas. time.
    via AussieGirlHome
  • 19
    Dial it back and make everything easier on yourself. It will still be magical.
    via AussieGirlHome
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  • 20
    PsychologyOk7... • 8h ago NOR not being acknowledged for the work you do hurts. This has nothing to do with your hormones and everything to do with his behaviour.
    via PsychologyOk7753
  • 21
    braattyqueen • 8h ago NOR. You put in so much effort to make Christmas special, and his comment was dismissive and hurtful. It's understandable to be upset, especially when you feel unsupported.
    via braattyqueen
  • 22
    ExcitementSad... . 5h ago Your kids could feel that resentment and knew you were getting angrier. Ask me how I know.
    via ExcitementSad3079
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  • 23
    sfcitygirl88 7h ago • It ain't the pregnancy hormones. It's that loser of a husband you've got. NOR obviously. You deserve better.
    via sfcitygirl88

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Tags

christmas relationship advice marriage drama relationship-drama reddit story marriage-drama relationships christmas presents merry christmas relationship feud Reddit toxic relationship
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