The holidays are a special time of year, no matter what religion or holiday/holidays you celebrate. This season is a time for joy, friendship, and celebrations, and for many of us, it is the time a year we see people we don't care for. The sad truth is that a genetic bond doesn't always result in a warm. loving, spiritual one. Oftentimes relatives that you have strained relationships with are more of a hassle than they are worth. This is because some people have a special talent for trying and succeeding in crushing the holiday spirit right out of everyone. Thankfully, staying positive around a holiday Grinch or unfriendly attention-seeking ogre is easier than it sounds.
One way to ensure the jolliest outcome is to avoid said person in every possible way. My harsh advice is to not even say hello when you walk past them and to make as little eye contact as possible. Should said nasty individual try to engage in contact with you, don't be afraid to pull out your cellphone and pretend to be texting or emailing. If a more difficult situation occurs, like this person starts to talk to you about politics, or even worse ask you why you don't have a job yet since you graduated about six months ago, my advice is to text a friend to call you so you can pick up and leave the room. Side note, make sure to leave your ring volume on pretty loud because it would be awkward to miss that precious call.
Another suggestion is to find a relative at this gathering that you actually like and try to spend the whole night with them because teams of people will be harder for your Grinch to try and bring down than just one person. My last piece of advice is to not be the Grinch and just be happy that you aren’t as miserable as the person you want to avoid, and try not to let their negativity bother you because you don't have to justify your life to them. You are an adult and you are trying, and they are not walking around in your shoes, they don't know your struggles, and the same applies to you. Sometimes the best thing to do is just to ignore the negativity as best as possible, and grin and bear it.
