Man Upstages His Wife In Cookie Baking, And She Doesn't Take It Well

"I simply had the goal of "maximize cookie production."

Damjan

• Published in Interesting
• January 31, 2023

Family traditions are important, there is no denying it. But what to do when some family members can't attend?

Do you postpone, cancel, or do the whole thing without them? And what if it is just a family tradition of two people, and one of them can't attend?

We have an interesting story about one such incident. Our Redditor has a Christmas cookie-baking tradition with his wife.

Each year she takes on the bulk of the baking duties, only allowing others to help frost the cookies. This time, however, his wife was unavailable to help.

So OP took it upon himself to bake the cookies, running drills and tests to optimize production. And he did well.

"I started rearranging the house in various configurations, running tests on the dough we were using to see how long it took to bake and making appropriate changes while running it by taste testers, substituting ingredients for quicker bake time while preserving taste, making the cookies as thin as possible without comprising frosting ratio, canvas space for creativity, and/or comprising structural integrity, etc."

On the day of baking, OP had everything down to a science, and friends and family were able to help frost the cookies. The production of the cookies was so successful that they ran out of ingredients.

This made OP's wife angry, as she felt he embarrassed her by making too many cookies. She accused him of upstaging her and even called him an a-hole.

Read the full story below:

OP asks:

He has a Christmas cookie-baking tradition with his wife.

Each year she takes on the bulk of the baking duties, only allowing others to help frost the cookies. This time, however, his wife was unavailable to help.

So OP took it upon himself to bake the cookies, running drills and tests to optimize production. And he did well.

On the day of baking, OP had everything down to a science, and friends and family were able to help frost the cookies

OP simply wanted to "maximize the production."

His wife was not happy, and even called him an a-hole.

OP has offered the following explanation for why they think they might be the a-hole

This Redditor said:

It’s sounds like she didn’t think OP could do it

If it’s a tradition you do together...

This Redditor sees no harm:

"OP has not been allowed to do the baking in the last 3 years"

Wife just needed to feel important and impossible to replace.

When some family members cannot attend, it is important to be understanding and to make sure that those who are unable to attend are still included in the festivities. Consider having a video call or group chat to include them in whatever activities are taking place.

Alternatively, you could plan an event that all family members can enjoy, regardless of their physical presence. In this case, it is hard to say if OP did right.

After all, it was a two-person tradition, and if one of them is not there - then it is a serious change. It's not some third cousin no one would miss, but actually an integral part of the tradition.

Damjan