Mom Explains How Her '50 Christmases' Rule Will Help Her Kids Pick The Best Partners To Spend Their Lives With
She said it can mean the difference between a happy holiday gathering and a horrendous one.
Roman Samborskyi | Shutterstock With the holiday season quickly approaching, many of us are mentally preparing to spend time with our families. Of course, for some people, spending time with their loved ones during Christmas is filled with joyous celebration and love, but for others, it can be daunting and draining.
However, a mom of four named Erin Bruce shared the interesting tip that she's always telling her children about family gatherings during Christmas. Bruce insisted that there's a correlation between a happy family Christmas and the partners adult children pick to spend forever with — and she may be onto something.
A mom explained how using her '50 Christmases' rule could help adult children pick the best life partners.
"I always told my kids that whoever you marry is going to make the family gathering of Christmas morning better for 50 years or worse for 50 years," Bruce said.
"You are not just choosing someone that you are attracted to, that you wanna touch, okay? You're choosing someone who's going to enhance or destroy Christmas for the next 50 years."
Choosing a spouse or life partner who gets along with your family is actually really good advice.
It might seem like a trivial consideration when determining who you want to spend the rest of your life with, but considering how traumatizing going home for the holidays is for a huge portion of the population, it might be something to think about.
A report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that 64% of people with a mental illness say holidays make their condition worse.
The same results were found in a survey of over 1,000 American adults commissioned by BetterHelp in partnership with Material. More than one in four respondents said managing family dynamics negatively impacts their well-being during the holiday season.
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Sure, choosing the best person to bring around your family for Christmas or to help host future family gatherings might not solve your family drama, but it could prevent future problems.
It's also one of those things that people should consider — do I want to spend the next fifty holidays with this specific person?
The mom admitted that for two of her kids, Christmas is better when their spouses are there.
"It’s better when spouses are… peacemakers. They add a lot of joy and fun, and great conversation. They’re great listeners, they bridge things, they ask questions, they bring joy, they’re not moody, they’re positive, they’re helpful," she continued.
Bruce's "50 Christmases" rule can honestly serve as a blueprint for the kind of person that you want to eventually end up with. It's proof that you should want someone who not only fits into your family but also makes those family gatherings less of a hassle and more enjoyable. Someone who you aren't afraid will say the wrong thing or make a situation worse but is a calm addition instead.
"So when you’re looking for someone, you’re looking for someone that does all those things for the family," Bruce advised.
Honestly, there's nothing worse than your significant other just spending the entire time bumping heads with your family members and making the holidays worse than they need or should be.
Christmastime should be filled with lasting and loving memories of the people you hold near and dear to your heart.
Even if you come from a combative and disruptive family, choosing a partner who's the exact opposite can truly make a difference and save you from having to lock yourself in the bathroom just to escape the chaos.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.