A woman recently shared her holiday feud with her mother-in-law that carried over to the next Christmas. According to the Reddit poster, her MIL insisted she make lasagna after the latter ruined it the year before.
Often, being the bigger person in a tough situation is a big challenge. It is no easy feat, especially when those around you are pressuring you to do better and give way. Sadly, one Reddit user was stuck in this exact situation.
According to the woman, who shared her story on the platform, she and her mother-in-law had a holiday feud that carried over to the following year’s events. Unfortunately, she was asked to be the more understanding one.
An elderly woman seated at at table | Source: Getty Images
The Special Lasagna
The 30-year-old woman had been with her husband for seven years, three of which were spent married. Since their dating years and through to their married life, her mother-in-law would host Christmas in her house, a tradition that has stayed the same.
The woman often made lasagna for the holidays and would bring it over for everyone to enjoy. Besides Christmas, she would also make the dish on other occasions, so she became the assigned lasagna maker in the family.
One Christmas holiday, the woman’s mother-in-law decided that she too would make her own version of lasagna, using a recipe from the internet. The woman didn’t care much about this until her MIL’s lasagna was served alongside hers. She did not say a word and even had a slice of the savory dish to enjoy. Unfortunately, it did not meet her expectations, not even close.
Favoring One Dish Over the Other
“It did not taste good,” the woman said. “And it was barely touched whilst mine had almost half gone near the end of the dinner.” Upon comparing the two lasagnas, the mother-in-law was unhappy. She even assumed that the family liked her daughter-in-law’s lasagna more than hers and said it out loud.
Annoyed, she attempted to throw her DIL’s lasagna into the trash bin but failed. However, it fell to the floor and became waste. According to the woman, her mother-in-law did not feel any remorse for her actions.
Shortly after, the woman and her husband left his mother’s home without an apology from her. Even after the incident, the in-law remained quiet and refused to say sorry.
The Following Christmas
The following Christmas, the mother-in-law messaged her about the holiday menu, attaching a list of dishes to be prepared, and among them was the woman’s famous lasagna. However, the woman kindly and politely said that she would not be making lasagna for the holidays because of what had transpired the year before.
The woman’s answer upset her mother-in-law, who called her “vindictive” for choosing to make a big fuss over her mistake the year before. Despite her efforts, the woman still refused to include her lasagna on the menu.
In response, her mother-in-law gave her an ultimatum: either she shows up with her lasagna for Christmas, or she wouldn’t be allowed into the house for the holiday celebration at all.
A variety of dishes on a table | Source: Getty Images
When the woman told her husband about his mother’s ultimatum, he asked her to cook the lasagna to maintain the peace within the family. He also asked her not to hold a grudge against his mother for her mistake.
Moreover, her husband’s sister and brother also agreed with him, saying she should just make lasagna even if it is less than the usual batch she makes for the family.
Meanwhile, several Reddit users shared their thoughts about the woman’s situation, including one who claimed the mother-in-law was trying to upstage the woman. Others said that the husband was pretending nothing happened because his mother was at fault.
Do you think the woman was right in choosing not to make the lasagna? What would you have done in the woman’s place?
In a similar story, a woman’s daughter-in-law refused to invite her to the annual family Thanksgiving dinner but invited all the other family members. According to the mother-in-law, they have always had a strained relationship that seemed beyond repair.