Lucy Devine
Cooking and hosting Christmas dinner for the family can be stressful at the best of times.
But one man has explained how his festive celebrations turned to chaos after he refused to cater for his 'picky' nieces.
Taking to Reddit to ask others if he was out of order for refusing to accommodate his nieces, he explained his family usually celebrate Christmas with their mum's side of the family during the first weekend of December.
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"My sister has two daughters who are incredibly picky eaters at 18 and 15 years old. My sister would come to family parties with a box of pasta and a bag of frozen chicken tenders that she will make for her daughters," he began.
"I want to know if I’m an a**hole for what I did here. I knew that is her drill with them, but I’ve always found it to be very annoying especially when I’m trying to cook and she’s taking up space making the pasta and chicken tenders.
"This year I told my wife we will not be letting my sister in the kitchen this year and the girls will have the choice of eating what I prepared or not eating. My sister accused me of being a cynic and getting joy from watching the girls be uncomfortable. I told her they are old enough to eat like adults."
Although the man told his sister in advance, he explained that during the meal, they sat and ate bread and butter instead.
"Well the girls sat and ate bread and butter while telling me that my food looked gross. I looked to my sister to calm them down but [she] told me I deserved this and it’s not their fault for being picky eaters," he added.
"I know I could have just let my sister do her thing but it was the principle of the situation. I’m not sure if I was being a petty a**hole or if I had a legitimate reason to be upset."
Other users were mega sympathetic towards the host, with one person writing: "They are 18 and 15, not little kids. They can be picky, you don’t have to accommodate that. It’s very annoying to have someone come into the kitchen and taking up space when you’re cooking a big meal."
While another said: "Not only that, you do not allow your children to sit at the host’s table and insult them."
And a third pointed out: "You told your sister ahead of time that you would not allow her to use your kitchen. If she was that concerned, she could have decline your invite or fed her kids before showing up. Her kids being rude was uncalled for."
What would you do in this situation?