"Pulling rank" during the Christmas season

[Richard22]

Being a career Air Force man, my dad would sometimes (rarely) use the term "pull rank" for any decision that meant going against the opinion of my mom. Perhaps one of the most well-known examples of a dad pulling rank was in the movie "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie's dad bought him a BB gun for Christmas, despite his mom showing her desire that he not have one. My wife recently demonstrated that pulling rank is an authority that can be extended to grandparents when she went back to an antique store to purchase a doll that caught the eye of our granddaughter. She shared with me how our granddaughter had become strongly attracted to the doll, going back to it several times and commenting to my wife how "pretty" the doll was. Of course, our daughter quickly said "no" when our granddaughter asked if she could have it.

Without saying a word to our daughter, my wife would go back to the antique store later that day and has it now wrapped as a Christmas present under our tree. And I'm sure our granddaughter's reaction will be much like Ralphie's when she opens the present on Christmas Day.

Has there ever been a time when you had to pull rank during the Christmas season?

 

[Rack Daniels]

Told my wife years ago that an 8 year old didn’t need a damned cell phone…. He’s 12 now and still uses it for entertainment way more than communication. Middle son is 8.5 and there’s talk of another cell phone…

Wife “pulls rank” on me daily.

 

[44hunter45]

Our boys got a Red Ryder on their 6th Christmas and an Ithaca M49 single shot .22 on their 9th. MRS didn't like it, but everyone survived with all their body parts intact.
I didn't have a safe in those days. Everything was in the master bedroom closet with no lock on there door.

After Granddaughter Miss T was born, MRS pulled rank and told me I had to get a safe. An order I was happy to obey. Miss T got a pink Red Ryder on her 6th. It was actually hard to find another Ithaca M49 for her. I found one at a show when she was 8. She was with me and I'm pretty sure she knew I was getting it for her, but she played along until her 9th Christmas.

Four Red Ryders and four Ithaca M49's in the back of the safe still. My oldest pawned his Ithaca to make rent after Miss T was born. It had a maple stock and forearm. The only one I've ever seen like it. I later replaced it with a fourth walnut version found at a gun show. He does not know that is in there.