Consider Skipping Toxic Family Events During Minnesota Holidays
Thanksgiving is basically the start of the holiday season for a lot of people. It usually goes Turkey Day, Christmas, and New Years depending on what you do or don't celebrate.
Along the lines of holidays usually means hanging out with family and every year I hear people groan about having to spend time with theirs. Sometimes it's one or two people who will be at a dinner or celebration but sometimes it's almost all of them.
Reasons vary on why someone might not want to be around their family, maybe they are condescending or cruel, or maybe they are just negative and toxic people. Despite how family can be, many people still go and hang out with them because they feel they have to. Maybe it's the Minnesota nice kind of thing, or just some guilt obligation they feel.
I'm here to tell you it's okay to duck out on a family event you really don't want to be at. Don't let yourself or anyone else guilt you into being somewhere you don't want to be for whatever reasons.
As an alternative, ask a friend if you can hang with them and their family instead if it will bum you out not being social on a holiday.
I quit hanging out with toxic parts of my family on holidays and at other events years ago and it's actually quite wonderful. They drag me down, most are not nice, and I never have a good time with them. Sure, things like funerals get a little awkward but at least I don't force myself to be around people I don't want to be social with.
If there are one or two people you actually want to see and will miss by not attending a family event, make a plan to see just them sometime around the holidays. That way you won't feel like you're missing out on the good people.
This holiday season don't let guilt because its "family" be the reason you attend an event or party you truly have no interest and will dread being at.