You Know Your Sims Family Is Dysfunctional When …

I will never forget this one Winterfest I played shortly after Nifty Knitting came out. My newlywed wife decided to host a Winterfest gathering and invited her mother in-law and father-in-law, her husband's brother, his wife and their children, twin boys and a daughter who had just aged up to a child. She knitted excellent quality sweaters with scarves for the adults, socks for the men and hanging plants for the MIL and sister-in -law, Lil Grim toys for the twins along with matching sweaters for them. The little girl was gifted a pink bear, a pink sweater and a white rug for her newly decorated bedroom. She also made platters of cookies for everyone. The home was beautifully decorated, and the table was set with their best china. The Grand Meal had been prepared the night before so she would have time to devote to being social with her new in laws.

Now, there had been no sign in the past when her new family ever displayed a dislike for her. But as soon as they arrived the poor new bride was treated badly. They played pranks on her almost nonstop and rejected every friendly interaction she initiated. Then the twins wandered into the living room with full plates having raided the refrigerator and the Grand Meal. So, she had no choice but to call everyone to eat. When she grabbed a serving for herself, she went into the master bedroom and sat on the bed while she ate.

And it all went downhill from there when she gave everyone their gifts that she had worked so hard on. No one appreciated what they had received. Their gifts to her were lumps of coal. Even her new husband gave her coal for their first Christmas together!! When Father Winter showed up, his gift to her was also a lump of coal. Her motives fell into the red and no matter what I tried; those other Sims would not stop picking on her. Once the relatives left the husband's bad behavior continued resulting in an argument that went well into the night before the option "Get Divorced" popped up in her list of responses. He did not have that option when I checked so I let her leave. I didn't blame her for wanting to leave him and his family in the rearview mirror after the way they had treated her. She went on to remarry, climb to the top of the teaching career and have a lovely and loving family. Even after all these years I do not understand why that day went so horribly wrong. Was it a glitch or had that family been harboring a deep dislike for her all along? :o

@Paigeisin5 How awful. I'm glad things worked out for your Sim. Obviously, his parents/family disapproved of the match, but they should have been gracious, once the marriage went through. Yikes. She's far better off without them. Glad her second marriage is working out for her. What a story, though.

There've been a number of instances of hurt feelings between Daniel and his dad.. over bad football passes. I've had to have Daniel practice with other students at school rather than with his father, as for some reason the football causes an entirely unrealistic amount of familial strife. (It can also result in a Bonding Moment sentiment, but that's very rare compared to the negative sentiments which pop up far more often.)

During a Winterfest family gathering, a sim made the mistake of asking her (now unplayed) brother about his career, only to discover that he is now a Villain (Secret Agent career track.) She is a Diamond Agent. This was very awkward, given that she is such a secret agent that not even her husband and son know about her real career. (They think she is a salaryperson.)

Considering the skills they developed as children and teens, it's not surprising that he's managed to work his way up to Double Agent, or even that they ended up in the same career, but it's not something I arranged for story purposes.