Family Vacation Plans Fell Apart After Parents Promised A Fully Paid Universal Studios Trip, Then Expected Their Children To Cover One Another’s Flights
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A family trip stops feeling like a gift when surprise costs appear months later.
One college student agreed to fly because a 16-hour drive would cause severe motion sickness and anxiety.
Instead, her wealthy parents changed the plan and told the struggling siblings to cover each other’s flights.
Now refusing the trip is being called ungrateful.
AITA for telling my mom I won’t go on the “Christmas gift” trip if my siblings have to cover my flight?
I (20F) am one of five siblings (ages 16-27). Last Christmas, my parents told us our gift would be a family trip to Universal Studios this coming Christmas.
My mom bought the hotel and park tickets and asked if we wanted to go, saying we would all fly.
Of course, I said yes, I was excited, and thought it would be a fun trip.
For some background, my parents are extremely wealthy doctors who own their own business, but none of us kids are financially comfortable.
I’m a broke college student who recently took a year off after leaving an abusive relationship and struggling with depression.
During that time, I had no job or income. I’m starting school again this fall and looking for work, but I currently have very low funds.
Now that the trip is just around the corner, plans have changed.
My siblings aren’t better off. My youngest brother is 16. My sisters (21 and 24) both work minimum wage and already struggle.
On top of that, my mom charges anyone over 18 $600 a month in rent to live in our (very large) family house.
The only sibling doing okay is my 27-year-old brother, who works for my parents.
Fast forward to now (August), a few months before the trip, and the terms suddenly changed. My dad chickened out of flying because of his severe anxiety and wants to drive instead (16 hours vs. a 2-hour flight).
My mom and I both get motion sickness, but for me it’s extreme. I panic about getting sick in cars, so a 16-hour drive is my nightmare.
Because my dad won’t fly, my mom announced, “You kids need to pay for your own flights now. For the two youngest who don’t have any money, the rest of you can pitch in to buy their tickets – or they’ll have to drive in their own cars. This is a test of sibling loyalty.”
Unfortunately, she’s stuck between a rock and a hard place.
I felt awful because I don’t want my siblings, who are already broke, to pay for me. I told my mom I wanted to come, but I probably wouldn’t go if it meant they had to cover my ticket.
She snapped and called me “ungrateful” for not wanting to go on a trip she’s “spending so much money on,” saying if I don’t go, I’m throwing her generosity back in her face.
So now I feel stuck.
If I go, my siblings may be pressured into paying for me.
If I don’t, I’ll be labeled ungrateful for wasting her money, AND my little brother won’t have a ride/my siblings will have to pay for him.
If I drive, I’ll have panic attacks and be sick and miserable, which I definitely don’t want.
AITA?
Yikes! It’s easy to see both sides, but if the trip is a gift, it should’ve all been paid.
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Let’s see what the fine folks over at Reddit think about it.
This person thinks she’s in another abusive relationship.
Here’s someone who suggests flipping it around.
According to this person, she should stop accepting gifts from her mother.
If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about a woman whose family wants her to spend way too much time redoing paintings to make them match.
For this reader, it’s not even a gift.
This young woman isn’t wrong for refusing a trip that suddenly requires her broke siblings to pay for her flight.
Her parents changed the original deal, then turned the cost into a strange test of sibling loyalty.
Nothing says “Merry Christmas” like surprise airfare and emotional blackmail.
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