{"id":1169,"date":"2025-12-05T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T08:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2025\/12\/05\/2025-12-05-ex-mas-drama\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T23:11:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T23:11:19","slug":"2025-12-05-ex-mas-drama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/2025\/12\/05\/2025-12-05-ex-mas-drama\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-mas\u00a0drama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dr. Love<\/a> · Love M.D.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was invited to someone’s family Christmas this year, and I’m excited, but there’s one problem: Their ex will be there too. We’re still early in whatever this is, so now I’m overthinking everything. I don’t want to look clingy or jealous, but I also don’t know how to act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love Christmas and want to enjoy it without spiraling about everything. How do I show I care without making things awkward with the ex or embarrassing myself?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Snowed Under in Anxiety<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sounds like your Christmas is going to be way more eventful than it looks like mine will be, and that is FINE by me. I prefer my Christmas spirit unspoiled by drama. I thought the upcoming “Stranger Things” release was the entertainment I should look forward to, but now I can’t wait to see how this situation pans out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If they’re already inviting you to their family Christmas, it sounds like you guys are in a good spot \u2026 for a situationship. Showing up to someone’s Christmas without being a girlfriend, fianc\u00e9e or wife is a bold move, but since they invited you, not going would be rude. Here’s my top 10 list of dos and don’ts to avoid disaster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t: Overthink it. If you do, it will just end up being awkward for everyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do: Dress appropriately. Don’t show up in sweats, but don’t wear a ballgown either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do: Just be yourself. It sounds clich\u00e9, but it’s age-old advice for a reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t: Disappear for an extended period of time. It’s normal to take a breath-er outside! Just don’t linger so long that everyone thinks you’ve left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do: Interact with everyone! Limiting interactions to only the person who invited you would look like you are trying to distance yourself from everyone else, which is never a good look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t: Eat too much ham or fish (depending on what type of food they have). Believe me: I’ve been there, done that. You won’t enjoy yourself if you’re overly stuffed. You’ll enjoy it even less when you wake up with a stomachache after your accidental post-Christmas dinner nap. Being stuffed isn’t a bad thing on Christmas, but being overly stuffed is pushing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do: Be polite \u2026 to EVERYONE. Yes, even that weird cousin Sam who keeps hovering around, and even his ex. Being petty won’t endear you to anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t: Dismiss and act annoyed about family traditions. Each family has its own quirks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do: Bring a small gift for the host! It’s polite and an easy way to get into their good graces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t: Force anything. Let the night flow as it should. Things will work out, I promise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Good luck!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I was invited to someone’s family Christmas this year, and I’m excited, but there’s one problem: Their ex will be there too. We’re still early in whatever this is, so now I’m<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[214],"tags":[40,86,21],"class_list":["post-1169","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-doctor-love","tag-issue-2025-12-05","tag-dr-love","tag-entertainment"],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Ian Schartner","author_link":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/author\/schartnerij23\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"I was invited to someone's family Christmas this year, and I'm excited, but there's one problem: Their ex will be there too. We're still early in whatever this is, so now I'm","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1850,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions\/1850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stuorgs2.gcc.edu\/thecollegian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}