Even during the season of goodwill, the smallest comments can sow seeds of conflict.

A father’s attempt at humor on Christmas Eve fell flat, leaving his wife to question whether it was really harmless fun.

Read on for the full story!

AITA? Was my husband too sarcastic or is that fine?

I had wrapped all the presents for our children (7M & 9F) and was putting them into the pillowcases from Santa on Christmas Eve.

In came the husband with not much nice to say.

My husband came in and said, “Oh great, so we’re not going to get them too many presents next year then?”

The wife immediately clocks this sarcasm.

I said, “That’s weird, that doesn’t sound like thanks for all your hard work wrapping.”

He immediately tries to evade accountability.

He said, “Oh, come on, I’m just making a joke. Stop trying to start fights with me.”

The wife starts to notice a larger pattern in their dynamic.

I just think there are a lot of “jokes” that end in fights if I don’t say some version of, “Sorry, I did it wrong again,” after them.

AITA, or was this harmless fun I took the wrong way?

Miscommunications are bound to happen in relationships, but what’s the best way to move forward?

What did Reddit think?

This commenter encourages the mom to read between the lines.

Surely there are other, more productive ways the father could have handled this situation.

This Redditor clearly doesn’t think highly of this dad’s hands-off style.

There’s really no excuse for this dad’s poor behavior.

“Holiday magic” isn’t magic at all — it’s a lot of hard work!

Maybe next year, this husband will give the gift of gratitude.

If you thought that was an interesting story, check this one out about a man who created a points system for his inheritance, and a family friend ends up getting almost all of it.