Holiday traditions can be surprisingly personal, and changing even the smallest detail can turn into a whole ordeal.

So, what would you do if your carefully chosen Christmas cards were rejected and replaced, all because a family member thought they were hideous?

Would you let it go and move on?

Or would you make sure the cards live to see another day?

In today’s story, one man finds himself in this exact situation and uses the cards to pull a hilarious prank on his wife.

Here’s how it played out.

It’s time for my annual telling of the Christmas Card Revenge story

Several years ago a friend of mine was sent by his wife to go and buy some Christmas cards that they would send to all their friends.

He had never bought Christmas cards before, so he just bought a couple of packs of identical cards that he thought were nice.

He returned home, and his wife hated them.

She told him they were hideous and sent him back to the store to buy different ones and return the ones he had bought.

He bought new cards but kept the old ones and hid them until the following year.

The following October, he sent one of each of those cards to everyone he received a Christmas card from the past year explaining he was pulling a prank on his wife and to please use the enclosed card as their Christmas card to him and his wife.

She thought it was weird when the cards started coming in.

Mid-December, the cards started rolling in, all with cryptic messages about the card, hoping they liked the design, etc.

Their mantelpiece was covered in identical cards from friends and family around the world.

He didn’t say anything.

She thought it was a little odd, but commented how much she liked the design.

Finally, at Christmas dinner, it got brought up in conversation by someone in on it (which included everyone in their circle.)

At that point, she knew something was up and wondered why everyone was laughing.

My buddy told her about the prank.

She claimed to have no recollection of sending him back to buy different cards and denied the whole thing.

But later that night, she shot him a nasty look, and they never spoke of it again.

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Wow! That was quite a prank.

Let’s check out what the folks over at Reddit have to say about what he did.

Talk about a power play.

What a great war!

This is one brave husband.

Here’s an interesting prank from a law firm.

He planned that perfectly!

Everyone involved must’ve loved every minute of it.

If you liked that post, check this one about a guy who got revenge on his condo by making his own Christmas light rules.