12 Holiday Stories With Plot Twists That Will Leave You Speechless

Every holiday season brings its own magic — but also its fair share of surprises. In this collection of jaw-dropping stories, you’ll find twists that range from hilariously bizarre to downright unbelievable. Get ready for 12 tales that show how quickly festive cheer can turn into holiday mayhem.

• My best Christmas moment was when I was young and my family went to the Concord Mall for a meet-and-greet with Santa Claus. My older sister Jennifer was at the age where she no longer believed in Santa.
  So she saw a perfect opportunity to prove to me and all the other little kids that Santa was fake. She sauntered up to the jolly old guy after standing in line. She sat on his lap and said, “I know you’re fake, and I’m going to prove it.” She grabbed his beard and yanked as hard as she could, but to her shock, the beard did not yield. She sat there, mouth agape in awe. “Santa, I am so sorry, I thought you were fake!”
  Best Christmas moment ever. © Michael Baranowski / Quora

• My birthday is 7 days after Christmas. For Christmas, I was given a card. Taped Inside was 10 quarters. All it said was Grandma. No merry Christmas. No Love Grandma. 7 days later. For my 18th birthday, I received another card from my grandmother. It was the same card. Part of a box of 20 or so. Inside, 10 more quarters. What was the total given to me for Christmas and my birthday? $5 in quarters. © Senorpuddin / Reddit

• My ex-fiancée’s mother never liked me. One holiday, she invited me to a family dinner. When I walked in, everyone was staring at me, exchanging smirks with each other. My ex quietly suggested I just go home, but I thought leaving would be rude. Then, my ex’s mom handed me a long, oddly shaped box.
  “This is for you, dear,” she said with a strange smile. When I opened it, my skin crawled. Inside was a fitness tracker.
  I froze, realizing what this was about. Later, I overheard her whispering to a guest, laughing about how it might “finally help me do something about my size.” My ex said nothing. That was the last holiday I ever spent with them.

• My ex told me she was going to stay the night at her mom’s house on Christmas Eve because she missed her. I said yes, that’s your mom, go spend time with her, and that we’d meet up in the morning. Her mom called me Christmas morning, asking to speak with her and that she couldn’t get a hold of her. I said she should be over there, correct? Her mom said nope, she hasn’t seen her all night. That’s how I found out she was cheating on me. © DisengageKL / Reddit

• My mother-in-law decided to overwhelm our 3-year-old son with low-quality gifts in epic quantity. We were adamant in telling her she couldn’t go overboard. He got so fatigued from opening things he got tired by dinner time and he didn’t open any of his (minimal) gifts from us and Santa. It was so disappointing. © I-am-Wesha / Reddit

• When I was little, I had gotten a better toy than my brother, so he chased me with scissors, and I ran out of the house screaming, and made it to my aunt’s house, that was maybe a block or so away. She had heard me screaming so she was outside, and I told her someone chased me with a pair of scissors, not to mention it was my brother. She called the police, and they came to my house. My older brother started crying and then yelling at me for calling the police. I was like 9. © Ok_Combination_3757 / Reddit

• I got sick with a cold on Christmas. My sister suggested I take a medicine, and I did. But I did so right before opening the presents. I turned into the Grinch: cynical about all the presents I got, whining about wanting it to be over so I could sleep. After getting some sleep, I realized how bad it was. I am still apologizing to this day. © formyipod89 / Reddit

• “Grandparents told everyone how they get one person something nice each year and that it was finally my turn. They ’gave’ me the nice big green egg and patio desk I was saving for. Then after they looked real nice to everyone and everyone else was gone they told me it was a loan and I would need to pay them to keep it.” © Forest1395101 / Reddit

• When I was younger my parents would put all the presents in their second closet and lock the door. That door was usually locked throughout the year, for the most part, I still can’t recall what it even looked like inside. Anyway, I remember one day my mom came home from shopping and she was obviously sneaking something in and I just KNEW she had bought Christmas gifts. So when the adults were away I got a wire clothes hanger and tried using the hook part of it to pull things under the door to spy on what I was getting. Needless to say, I got a plastic bag pulled out but nothing of much information. © Unknown author / Reddit

• I got my kid a VR headset. I let him open it last night... I played it for 4 straight hours this morning and left him sleeping in late so he wouldn’t take it away. We were the last to arrive and just barely on time for my family thing. © TrueBreadly / Reddit

• My sister asked for a specific doll for Christmas, and my mother managed to get the exact one she wanted...for me. To add insult, my older siblings all pitched in; one brother bought some accessories, one brother made a rocking cradle in a wood shop, and one sister made a bedding set at home. I had a great Christmas that year. My dear sister did not. © EngineeringQueen / Reddit

• It was Christmas Eve. I was chopping salads and checking the turkey — my husband and I had planned a quiet celebration. Suddenly he said, “I’ve fallen in love with another woman. I’m spending Christmas with her.”
  He got dressed and left. Ten years of marriage vanished in an instant.
  I was sitting there, crying over the food, when the doorbell rang. I opened it to find my neighbor standing there, asking to borrow a couple of chairs. Then she noticed my tear-stained face and asked what was wrong. She invited me over so I wouldn’t spend the evening alone.
  I went — and that changed everything. I met her second cousin, we became friends, and a year and a half later we got married. Now I’m five months pregnant, after ten childless years with my ex.
  A miracle? Definitely. Sometimes life falls apart just so it can come together in a better way.

Don’t miss our other article featuring stories of people who accidentally uncovered secrets they definitely weren’t meant to know.