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AITA for Not Decorating 🎄

· 3 min read

The Remote Decorating Dilemma​

Picture this: you’re a remote worker, living in a world where your biggest holiday decoration is the coffee mug that says “I love my job.” Then your boss, the brand‑new manager who’s still figuring out how to use the “mandatory overtime” button, asks you to submit a photo of your holiday décor for the upcoming Office Holiday Guess‑Who game.

You’re the type of person who thinks that putting a string of lights around your living room is a waste of both space and time. The garbage truck will come, the lights will flicker, and you’ll be left with a pile of plastic ornaments that will probably end up in a landfill.

You also have the luxury (and the burden) of being neurodivergent, which means you’re already good at ignoring the social cues that say “please bring the Christmas spirit to the office.” So, you tell your boss, in a tone that could be interpreted as “I don’t decorate and I’ll stay silent about it.” She responds with a sigh, a “you’re ruining the game” emoji, and a reminder that you’re not Christian.

And if that wasn’t enough, she just discovered that the 13‑hour “mandatory overtime” session was actually a manipulation tactic.

Bottom line: you didn’t send a picture. The question is, are you the AITA?

The Comments (Because Reddit Is Life)​

Send her a picture of your lack of decorations, the team can guess who doesn’t decorate if she shows your picture.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be sharing pictures of my home. They can see whatever is on the screen during video calls and that’s it. Nta

NTA. Send in a picture of your not‑decorated space.
It's the most honest to the prompt. Or go ahead and use a stock image. Or maybe an obviously publicly decorated space.

You can still participate in the mandatory fun without compromising your space & values. Or really do ask to just not participate.
Personally I think including a fully average undecorated living room in the mix would be funny.

Lmao, imagine trying to force someone to celebrate a religious holiday.

That's insane.

NTA. Not everyone decorates, nor celebrates, nor even participates in Christmas.

NTA.

A key part of being a manager is being inclusive when planning things like this. They should have considered, at the very least, that there might be people on the team who don’t celebrate the particular holiday and just never thought to mention it, and should have had some alternative way to participate.

TL;DR​

You’re not the AITA. Your boss probably just needed a new “how to use the office calendar” tutorial. Sending a photo of your bare‑bones living room (or a stock image of a single, lonely Christmas ornament) is the most honest, least manipulative, and probably the most entertaining thing you can do. And if she still thinks you’re ruining the game, just tell her you’re a non‑decorator and let the rest of the team enjoy the guess‑who spectacle.