The time of year is upon us where we take time to reflect on what we have to be grateful for and treasure family and togetherness. If your ex isn’t doing so hot, he might start to reminisce over the good old days when he had you to be thankful for. The holidays stir up a lot of emotions and memories, and all that reminiscing and eggnog can trigger some really odd actions. If you have an old boyfriend out there lingering in the world, watch out for these 8 crazy ex behaviors that always end up coming out this time of year.
- Creepy reminiscing. Be prepared for awkward walks down memory lane where he explicitly reminds you what you were wearing, how you smelled, and exactly how many hairs you had on your head that day. What might have been romantic when you were together now sounds strange and slightly disturbing. Sure, things used to be good between you two, but you’d need way more than a little Christmas magic and sappy sentimentality to try going down that road again.
- Desperate attempts to get back together. Cue grand romantic gestures, tearful heartfelt monologues on your front stoop, and an endless amount of calls, texts, and comments about how beautiful you are in your recent selfies. You broke up for a reason and being lonely on Christmas isn’t a good enough excuse to go back on that.
- Returning of old presents. The items you gave him in past years were gifts; they don’t need to be returned if the relationship ends. In a sad and anxious attempt to either get you completely out of his life for good or trick you into talking to him again, the ex will pop up with a variety of old presents you’d forgotten you even purchased. Bonus points if they’re left on your doorstep with no note or heads up.
- Inappropriate offers to cuddle. Yes, it’s cold and yes, cuddles are nice. But you aren’t looking at him for your cuddle sessions this winter. You’ve moved on, and the frequent unsolicited offers in texts and on social media are just creepy. Also, there’s about an 80% chance cuddles would end in him being kicked out for putting the moves on you. No Netflix and cuddles for him this holiday season.
- Wishing your friends and family happy holidays. Holidays are not an excuse for him to weasel his way back into your life. If there’s no reason for him to talk to your squad on a regular basis, there’s no reason to now. They’re going to tell you that he reached out, and you’re going to think that’s weird, and now he’s won because you’re thinking about him.
- Sending you gifts. What are you supposed to do with those? Donate them? You’re definitely not sending a thank you card and now dealing with this crap is another item on your already jam packed holiday to do list.
- Showing up to events he knows you’ll attend. It seems innocent enough when you bump into him at a friend’s Christmas party or a New Year’s Eve pub crawl, but start freaking out when he shows up at a religious service at your church he’s not a member of, your little nephew’s winter wonderland pageant, or the Thanksgiving canned food drive you’re volunteering at without any donations. Hopefully he’ll get the point when you tell him to back off, because nobody likes finding a restraining order in their stocking.
- Posting cropped photos of holidays past. OK, you get it. You were in his life and now you’re not. No need for bitter, passive aggressive pic posting. Best response: posting pics of yourself having your best holiday ever, without him.
