Melanie, childcare worker, single, 34
I remember from when I was little that my mother would pick on one person each Christmas. Now that I am in my 30's I am horrified to find that she is still doing it. I lived abroad from my early 20s and never did Christmas then, so now I am back in the same country I am back into the old routine again. I have had enough. Last year mum picked on my older brother, this year it was me. And it will be the last time, I won't go there again just to be insulted and abused.
Early on Christmas Eve morning mum had a fall and called me to take her to the hospital as she had hurt her arm. It turned out to be broken so we had a long wait for the x-rays and then getting it set and in a cast. While we were in the waiting room she criticised me for not giving her a hug and a kiss when I came over in the morning.
She complained that I hadn't brought the wine for tomorrow's lunch. Then she criticised me for not offering to get the other patients a cup of tea when I went to get one for myself. This went on for 2 hours.
I went for a walk to the end of the hall to stretch my legs and had a chat with an orderly who was waiting for a patient in the x-ray room. When I came back mum sulked because she said how could I go and socialise and have fun when I could see she was suffering.
So I stopped paying so much attention to her which just made it worse and she started to moan, saying it was the pain in her arm. The nurse came and gave her a shot, but it didn't shut her up.
We finally got home and she just kept on complaining at me about how I was doing everything wrong, and she couldn't do it and Christmas was going to be ruined and it was all my fault. I had to sleep on the sofa as she had already made the spare bed up for my aunt who was coming to stay the next day, and she didn't want me to dirty the fresh sheets.
By the time everyone had arrived on Christmas day I was completely over it. At lunch she complained that we had the wrong wine because I hadn't bothered to get it, and there was never a good word about me for the whole meal, a meal which I had cooked.
To top it off she informed the family that I was her least favourite daughter, and she was so pleased she had 3 other children who would do the right thing by her. She also commented on how much dessert I was having and that I shouldn't eat it as it would make me even fatter.
After that she had a go at me because one of the grandkids played more with the gift I gave her than the gift mum gave. Somehow this was my fault. I can't believe her behaviour. How does she get away with stuff like that?
There is so much pressure to do the 'family thing' at Christmas, but I've had enough. I just won't go any more. They can complain all they want but I am never again going to put myself in a spot where this can happen again.