Couple constantly hosts family holidays where in-laws never pitch in or help clean, husband draws a line in the sand: 'They show up empty handed every single time'

When you're a guest in someone's home, you offer to help.

We might not have all been raised the same way, but there are some things that we can agree on as common politeness. If you're invited into somebody's home, then there are certain rules you should care to follow. You don't have to bend over backwards, trying to be the perfect houseguest, which can make everybody a little bit uncomfortable, but you can put in the bare minimum of effort. It takes a lot of work to host. It throws off your whole routine, invites chaos into your home, and creates a lot of housework in the process. And it could be an incredibly rewarding thing to do. It's one of my favorite things to do, and an easy way for me to show my appreciation for my friends and my family. And I'm the type of person who will refuse help even if somebody offers.

But there's a difference between letting somebody host and taking advantage of their hospitality. If someone is constantly going out of their way to make you food, to give you a place to hang out, and opening their doors to you, then the least you can do is make it easy on them. You try to keep your personal mess to a minimum, and you offer to help clean up. The house might not accept your help, but it's important that you offer.

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Especially if this is a regular occurrence. But the family in the story wasn't quite ready to do that. And their family ecosystem, when you are a guest, you're off the hook for everything. Even if it's a family holiday that you're all partaking in. So naturally, the constant hosts started to get a little bit bored with having to constantly clean up after their family members. But the wife in the story thought that that was normal. She was ready to open up their home to her family, no matter how inconvenient it was. But her husband started to get more than a little bit annoyed. Read on to see what they had to say.
Am I in the wrong for telling my wife I'm done hosting her family every holiday because they never offer to help or bring anything?

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via Unsplash+ (Andrej Lišakov)

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