Family Drama: AITA for Wanting to Cancel Family Dinner Due to Siblings Bickering?

Family dinners are supposed to be the one night everyone can pretend they like each other. In this post, a 29-year-old guy is staring down his weekly dinner like it’s a live-action warning label.

He says his large family has always treated dinner as tradition, but lately his two sisters, 26 and 31, have been bickering nonstop. It escalates fast, and last week it turned into a massive blowout over something trivial, ruining the whole meal. Now the tension is draining everyone, including their parents, and OP is so tired of mediating he’s considering telling them to skip family dinner until they “sort out their issues.”

So the question is, does he stop the chaos, or does he make it worse?

Original Post

I (29M) come from a large family where our weekly family dinners have always been a tradition. However, things have been tense lately.

My sisters (26F, 31F) can't seem to get along for more than five minutes without some argument erupting. It's always been a bit like this, but it's getting worse.

Last week, they had a massive blowout over something trivial which ruined the entire dinner. The constant tension is draining on everyone, including our parents.

This week, my sisters are at it again, and I just don't have the energy to deal with it. I'm considering telling them we shouldn't have family dinner until they sort out their issues.

I'm tired of mediating and playing referee at every gathering. I want our family dinners to be enjoyable, not a battleground.

So AITA?

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This is also like the AITA where someone refused to let their dad cook after a disastrous dinner, splitting the family.

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Last week’s blowout, over something OP calls trivial, is exactly why this dinner started feeling like a trap instead of a tradition.

This week, with both sisters already at it again, OP is done playing referee and wants to hit pause on the whole thing.

The real complication is that their parents are caught in the crossfire, so canceling dinner would not just affect the sisters.

And because OP is considering telling them “no family dinner until they fix it,” the stakes shift from sibling drama to family-wide punishment.

We'd love to hear your take on this situation. Share your thoughts below.

OP might be trying to save dinner, but his “until you fix it” plan could blow up the entire family schedule.

Before you bail on dinner, read about the family meal-planning chaos after he refused to plan.