It’s often said you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family members. Whether you see your family on a regular basis or you only visit them a few times a year, the holiday season is most often spent with them. Let’s face it; although our family members are some of the most important people in our lives, they can also push our buttons like no one else. How do you deal with annoying family members?

The Jerk Boyfriend

You have a lovely, successful daughter, but you can’t understand why she stays with her loser boyfriend. Throughout dinner, he can’t help but drop the f-bomb into every conversation and is easily offended by the seemingly harmless banter occurring at the table. You notice your normally engaging, vivacious daughter is on edge, quietly attempting to diffuse any situation seemingly through telepathic communication. How can your family get through a few hours with this guy?

Kill him with kindness, but calmly set some boundaries when he gets out of hand. As soon as his string of curse words gets out of hand, kindly ask him to watch his language. Once somebody offends him, break the tension with a joke. Keep in mind that your daughter will probably dump him by next Christmas, so you can get through this holiday season more easily.

The Extremist

You may have someone in your family who feels so passionately about his extreme political or religious beliefs that he treats Christmas dinner as his own personal soapbox. Most likely, he will say something to permanently offend one of your family members. How do you prevent him from ruining another Christmas?

Before inviting him to another holiday get together, ask yourself if he’s really worth inviting in the first place. If you want to invite him, set strong boundaries. Tell him that he’s welcome at your table, but only if he keeps his political and religious beliefs to himself. He may decide not to visit you, and if he does, keep him in line at the dinner table.

If he starts preaching, calmly remind him about your agreement. If he doesn’t comply, you might have to ask him to leave. Although it may be uncomfortable, he shouldn’t be allowed to bring down everyone around him with his dogmatic viewpoints.

The Socially Awkward Aunt

Do you have an aunt who is so socially awkward you don’t even know how to handle her? She’s nice, but she’s loud, overbearing and just generally irritating. She most likely overstays her visit, leaving you and your family on edge. How do you get through another holiday season?

Try thinking about why she stays so long in the first place. She might be lonely and maybe she doesn’t take the greatest care of herself. When you need to take a break from her, go run an errand to spend a little bit of time alone. Make sure that the family gets out from time to time so they are not cooped up together for too long, which could lead to conflicts.

If any of these people seem familiar, maybe our advice can help you can deal with them more easily this holiday season. With so many family visitors, you’ll be working hard cooking family dinners on your propane cooktop, so the less stress you deal with, the better. If you heat your home with propane, you’ll feel even more stressed out if you run out of your fuel source. To prevent such an occurrence, sign up for our automatic propane delivery services at DiSanto Propane today. Since 1937, we’ve provided reliable home propane services in upstate New York. Contact our propane suppliers today to get started.