Ahhh, family.
Some we love, some we like, some... let's just say there are usually some family members we'd rather see far less of.
They're often the family members who create chaos wherever they go. Family events with them are rarely going to go smoothly.
But then sometimes everyone is on their best behavior and a family gathering stll goes horribly wrong.
Reddit user youngeuns asked:
"What's the worst thing that's happened at a family function you’ve been to?"
Near Death Experience
"Kid drowned at my mother’s birthday party."
"EMTs shocked him back to life. The whole thing lasted maybe 10 min."
"It was surreal."
~ pabodie
Reprehensible
"Grandma's funeral: my uncle, my grandma's disowned son, came to her viewing in jeans, polo shirt, with his weird wife & and her 'service' dog. My grandpa was so mad that he kicked my uncle out."
"My uncle then went to my grandparents' house and cleaned it out. It took a couple weeks to figure that out because my grandpa was in a nursing home at that point."
"My deadbeat uncle, who walked out on his five kids to marry a psychopath, literally stole from my grandpa during my grandma's funeral."
~ ts1985
That One Uncle
"My cousin was pregnant from a guy who she had only been dating for a few months, but he was a good guy."
"On Christmas Eve she invited him to our family gathering and when we were exchanging presents he grabbed a small box from the tree and was 2 seconds from getting down on one knee when that uncle jokingly says, 'god I hope you're not proposing!'."
"Everyone laughs and this poor guy is in a half bent knee/half standing pose and just looks up at that uncle and slowly powers through it and slowly gets down on one knee and proceeds to ask her if she'll marry him. She said yes and they're engaged, but it was one of the worst 45 seconds of my life."
~ Whimsy_Willow
Turkey Day
"Thanksgiving in the 1950s."
"My dad and my uncle got into a fist fight."
"They were both drunk."
~ Bitter_Prune9154
Surprise
"My dad threw an impromptu birthday party for himself while my mom was overseas—his birthday wasn't until the following month—just so he could introduce his affair partner (AP) to his family behind my mom's back."
"The thing about the AP was she had 'disappeared' in order to avoid a subpoena. My dad had told investigators when they were looking for her that he had no idea where she was and then brought her to this function two days later."
"My dad thought his family would welcome the AP which would force my mom to accept her as a part of our family. Apparently he wanted a whole sister wife scenario."
"For some reason, he didn't think my uncle—a working police detective—would turn him and his affair partner over to law enforcement."
"The spaghetti was good, though."
~ OkWeird80
Cheers 🥂
"Was at my now father-in-law’s wedding reception. They eloped and had a fancy dinner with the family."
"My now wife’s uncle tried to toast the couple several times but no one heard him. My father-in-law quiets his family and says, 'Uncle John is trying to say something'."
"Uncle John says 'to (father-in-law and his ex-wife’s name). Many happy returns'."
"This poor man had nailed it the few times he tried before, but boofed it when it counted."
~ Wafflestarship
For Odin!
"I remember when my brothers and cousins spent two summers building a viking ship and they took it out on a fjord when we had a family reunion.
"Only my brothers and cousins went out on it and after being chased by the Coast Guard, the ship eventually began leaking and it sank leaving them to be rescued by the Coast Guard. It only stayed afloat for an hour before it sunk."
"Luckily they only got slapped with a warning to not build another ship again."
~ Goddessviking86
Let Them Eat Cake
"My alcoholic uncle got so drunk at his own daughter's wedding that he pissed on the wedding cake in front of half the wedding party."
"He quit drinking after that."
~ matbigx
Shower Of Flowers
"At the end of my aunt’s open casket funeral service, I knocked down a floral spray and it dominoed the rest of the flowers around the casket and she was covered in floral arrangements."
~ FeelingSummer1968
Graduation
"It was a high school graduation party for my cousin. My two uncles got into a fist fight."
"Shirts were torn. They were both a bloody mess."
"Cops were called by the neighbors."
"They were both drunk. Party was shut down."
"They didn’t speak for years!"
~ sillylittlebean
Wedding Basher
"My brother-in-law went around telling everyone my sister's—his wife's make-up and dress made her look like a Las Vegas whore… at our other sister's wedding."
"This was before she had to go and stand up in front of a 100 people… she had normal make-up and a normal bridesmaid dress."
"So, not only was her husband embarrassing her to everyone (including strangers), she was genuinely embarrassed to stand up there because she thought she looked so awful."
"Didn’t matter what we told her, either. F’in douchebag. It made my blood boil!"
"It got worse too… my husband told me after the ceremony that he was berating her via text prior to it starting. How did my husband know that, you might ask."
"Her husband was friggin' using voice to text for all the guests sitting around him to hear his insults!"
~ ljd09
Relative Rumble
"Probably the 20 person drunken fist fight that only partially stopped when my grandpa had a heart attack."
"There was also the 20 person drunken fist fight at Halloween.... the one at 4th of July.... the one at Thanksgiving, but at least those had no heart attacks."
~ joleme
Thanksgiving Announcement
"Thanksgiving dinner going around the table sharing what we are thankful for. My brother gives thanks for his wife not kicking him out when she recently found out he had been having an affair."
"It was humiliating for her and embarrassing for the rest of us. For God’s sake, there were children at the table."
"We never went around for thanks at the dinner table again. The children are all adults now, and yes they do remember vividly."
"What the hell was he thinking?"
~ GoodFriday10
What's the most shocking thing you've seen at a family function?
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