Hey_its_me_your_mom As I'm starting to go over my planning for the holidays (food I'm making, which relative's houses we are going to when, gifts I have and gifts I need to get, wrapping supplies), I'm really seeing how much work it all is every year. Last year, as we all opened gifts, I also realized that no man on either side of the family participated in the gift procurement, wrapping, decorations, planning or food preparation. My FIL bought a random necklace for my MIL from a department store and didn't wrap it, and my dad asked me to purchase and wrap my mother's gift from him. The moms, wives and girlfriends did everything else. There were also a lot of jokes the men traded "What did my wife get you?!" etc. This goes back decades and generations, and it's infuriating. I have vivid memories of the men sharing brandy and cigars, while the wives ran around making Christmas dinner.

To combat this, I've instituted mandatory evenings for my husband during the holiday season where we both sit down and buy gifts, wrap gifts, make holiday food, pack the car to see relatives, etc. He's not always a huge fan, as his father never participated when he was growing up, but this crap ends with me.

What are some things we can all do to stop all the women we know from killing themselves to make the holidays happen?