Christmas is supposed to be magical, but let’s face it—sometimes it’s more of a train wreck wrapped in tinsel. No matter how much effort we put into creating the perfect holiday, there’s always something that goes hilariously wrong. Whether it’s a Christmas tree that won’t stand up straight, a burnt batch of cookies, or a present so off-the-mark it becomes a family joke, we’ve all been there.
But hey, at least we’re not alone in our festive failures. These Christmas fails will make you feel a little better about whatever holiday mishap you’re currently dealing with. Because if these people can survive the season with stories like these, so can you. Hang in there—Santa’s still coming (probably).
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2. “Someone Has Been Cutting Our Christmas Lights. Today, We Caught The Culprit”
“The first day, we suspected it was Jehovah’s Witnesses (the only people approaching the house that day). The second day, we thought it might be kids just outside the camera’s view. On the third day, we found out who it was. I had no idea rabbits could produce such clean cuts.”
3. “Guess Who Had To Get Special Deodorizing Baths After Getting Skunked On Our Morning Walk Just Before I’m Having 25 People Over For Christmas Eve. The Answer Is Both Of Them”
4. “After Working 3 Positions And Managing 20 Employees, Here’s My Work Christmas Gift”
5. “Mom’s Neighbors Put Up A Million-Watt Crucifix For Christmas”
“This is not across the street. This is the block over. Best of our picture-taking contest, the power of Christ was too great for our phones to depict this behemoth in all its 20 ft glory.”
6. “Merry Christmas, Here’s Your Gift”
I sent my sister a stockpot and claimed other home goods for Christmas (she just got an apartment and has nothing for her kitchen).
She came home to find her package looked like it had been run over. The guy at the front desk who took the package in said the delivery driver seemed supremely uninterested in the problematic package. Getting it refunded and a new one sent over, hopefully in better condition and in time for Christmas.
Bonus cat in the pic too. Say hello to Star.
7. “I Got Up Christmas Morning To Get Some H2O, Fainted In The Kitchen, And Crashed Down To The Floor. Came To With A Split Lip And Spat Chunks Of Teeth In A Pile”
“Thank you, dear Santa, for my new Christmas smile!”
8. “Some Jerk Steals Disabled Elderly Woman’s Christmas Decorations”
9. “After Seeing The Picture Of My Nephew In His New Christmas Gift My SO Thinks He ‘Might Have Ordered The Wrong Size'”
10. “I Bought My Kid A Drone For Christmas, The Wife Doesn’t Love It”
11. “Negative Temperatures In Texas But At Least Our House Stayed Toasty. Merry Christmas”
“The firefighters told us it was faulty wiring. My husband overheard them talking to each other and they were discussing the duplex. They think it used to be one home they split in two, that they updated the other side but didn’t bring our side up to code.
The fire started up in the attic apparently and went down through the furnace. It collapsed the ceiling and put a handful of holes in the roof. Both of the closets got eaten into by flames. Still trying to process it all for sure.”
12. “I Battled Alcoholism For Years. I Quit Drinking 19 Months Ago. Today I Received This At My In-Laws’ Christmas Party”
13. “I Guess I’m On The Naughty List”
14. “What I Was Greeted By This Morning At Work, The First Day After Christmas Break”
15. “Went To My Neighborhood Mailbox To See All Of Them Busted Wide Open. Was Expecting Some Christmas Stuff”
16. “My One-Hour-Late, Stone-Cold Meal. I’m Working Overtime As A Nurse On Christmas Day”
17. “Bought Some Nice Big Christmas Balls”
18. “Merry Christmas”
19. “Shop Safely This Christmas, Folks”
“Public service announcement to be extra careful when purchasing gifts this Christmas time, especially expensive ones. Thought I could trust buying a phone through Amazon directly (not some third party), but I was wrong.
Meticulously swapped and stolen somewhere along the way, then spent a week fighting with customer service in which I was blamed, told I was lying, and threatened to have my account closed before they gave in.
Do not be like me, buy from trusted sources.”
20. “Merry Christmas Everyone”
21. “We Came Home To A Flooded Basement And 3 Deceased Pets. Merry Christmas To Us”
“Ball python, leopard gecko, and some baby mice.”
22. “Our Work Christmas Bonus. Can’t Wait To Pay My Bills With This”
23. “A Pipe Burst And Flooded My Entire Downstairs, Including All The Christmas Presents We HadA Pipe Burst And Flooded My Entire Downstairs, Including All The Christmas Presents We Had”
“This was after I used my shop-vac to suck up some of the water, it was 3 inches deep. The water literally shot a hole through my wall, the outdoor hose spigot is what burst. It went from -36° to 34° in a single night.”
24. “There Was An Attempt To Install A Christmas Tree In My Hometown (Throwback To 2013)”
25. “Pipe Burst On Christmas And Destroyed Our Entire House… Won’t Be Able To Move In For 6-12 Months”
26. “My Bed For Christmas (And The Last 3.5 Days Stranded At The Airport)”
27. “TV Is Completely Broken, And We Won’t Get A New One Till After Christmas. Plus, The Boiler Is Broken, And We Don’t Have Hot Water”
28. “I Invited Around 20 People Over For Christmas. Someone Went Into The Garage And Did A Number On My Car With A Pot Or Other Round Object”
29. “I’m A 24-Year-Old Waitress And Got This Christmas Gift From A Regular 50/60-Year-Old Customer, Who Requests My Section 2x/A Week”
He leaves if I’m not working, has asked me out on a date twice, and said the offer is open if my boyfriend and I split. Creepy yet sad.
The card says:
‘Nina, there is no better gift than you being you! Beautiful in more ways than I can describe. Merry Christmas. Chris'”
30. “Christmas Socks As A Present. Crock Socks vs. Hand Puppets”
31. “Felt A Shooting Pain Down My Leg After Bending Down To Dry Myself After A Shower Felt A Shooting Pain Down My Leg After Bending Down To Dry Myself After A Shower”
“A herniated disc, yeah. Saw a pain specialist recently, and they said it was ‘impressive’.
I threw my back out over Christmas carrying in a bunch of presents while visiting my parents. Felt better after a few days of rest, but it came back in the worst way.”
32. “My Boy Thor Passed On Christmas Day. My Girl Has Been Struggling To Cope Since. She Loves Stuffed Animals So For This Christmas I Ordered Her A Cuddle Clone. I Paid $300 For This”
33. “I Got An Appendectomy For Christmas”
34. “Had A Nice Morning. I Then Broke My Favorite Christmas Bauble. I Made A Brownie Cake To Feel Better. Forgot The Sugar”
35. “Trying To Watch My Son’s Christmas Concert”
“He played on it the whole damn time. Didn’t even get a high score.”
36. “Spent Christmas Day Alone In The ER (I’m Fine)”
37. “Hospital ‘Leadership’ Gave This To Their Nurses For Their Christmas Bonus”
38. “Someone Unwrapped My Christmas Present”
39. “I (A 30-Year-Old Male) Participated In Secret Santa At Work, Asked For Sports Equipment, And Got This Instead”
“A coworker came up to me after and said, ‘I thought it was funny’.”