Brit Reacts to 5 Ways British and American Families Are Very Different 

You forgot to mention the family reunion tee shirts!! 🤣🤣🤣

Same for my family. We don’t do it anymore. Most of us are senior citizens and don’t travel long distances

Yeah my grandmother was one of 8 so family reunions with her side was typically 100+.

My mom is planning a gigantic birthday party for herself,85, my auntie,75, me,65, and my niece,15. There will be around 100 people probably more.

Yeah, my grandfather by my mom came from a family of 20 children and our family reunions would be wild back when I was young. We would have well over 250 or more and it would last from very early in the morning till late at night and most of the family would hang around for at least a few days.

I grew up in a 4 generation household predominantly. My grandmother, great grandfather, uncle, and me.

And the unrelated "family" like parents childhood pal, the friendly next-door neighbor, etc

At one point we had my parents, myself and my boyfriend, my brother, my sister, her grown daughter by her first husband, her husband and two younger kids by him, and an aunt. Stressful af.

@@selfcarewithstephanie3519we also currently live in a 4 generation household 😂it’s a challenge some days but we are family ❤

We lived in a 3 generation household with a granny pod in back for my very ill mother. Care homes are so expensive. My mom would’ve lost all her savings and she saved a lot. The big gift, tho, was our family helping each other, getting to know grandma better and she passed away with all of us there, peacefully. Very blessed. My sons stayed because college was so costly (law school/bar exam). Now? They take care of me, God love em. So I know my granddaughter! It works for us and how it was done decades ago. 😀♥️

Never heard anybody say "pops". Lol

Its regional. I grew up with Daddy or Papa.

My older sister does but I say Daddy

@@Mspiggytmike Just in old movies and TV shows from the 40s through 60s.

Agreed. Or Daddy.

Or adults with children move back in with their parents.

Or one grandparent passes so the remaining one moves in with the kid. I have a co-worker who's husband got covid and after he recovered he was too weak to climb the stairs to their apartment. They ended up moving in with their daughter.

It may also be a cultural thing. Older parents may come live with their adult children to help raise the grandchildren, or be near due to aging and ill health.

There's also the financial aspect with multi generational homes. Which is to help lessen the financial burdens of maintaining a home.

I moved with my daughter,it saves us money, I help with the kids and it seems a lot

Right I’m so glad it’s not just me because huh? They sounded the exact same

I was just barely able to distinguish between the two.

Right though!! 🤣

That’s what I heard too! It reminded me of the Matt Rife bit when the girl was saying Lorna and he kept hearing and saying Lana. So funny!

Ya, he isn’t saying it like an American Mahhhm. Ah, like “ah, I see”. And the Brit didn’t pronounce Mawmaw (Mamaw) or Pawpaw/Papaw (regional variations) correctly, either. But that’s expected with his accent, so he gets a pass. Mama, papa can be anywhere in the US, pawpaw and mawmaw, definitely Southern. All Southern.

😱 Oy Vey!

I have 9 kids...5 girls...4 boys...16 grandkids so far.

here ya there! although we only had 7 kids in ours, 5 boys, 2 girls :)

I have a very small family. Me, my husband, two kids, and my sister. Both sets of hub and my parents are gone. I have a few cousins but they live far away. Our family reunion could be held in a small closet.

9 kids in my fam…5 boys/4 girls….all adults and most with their own grandkids now. I have prepared a “sit-down” Thanksgiving dinner for more than 30 immediate family members!! Grandma, Grams, Grammy, Gams, GIGI, Nanna, Nans, Mimi, Oma….all common names for Grandmother (and I’m sure there are more).

Where? Its a 2 bedroom house!

@@garycamara9955 what do you mean where? God always makes a way.

Kudos to you! I guess the concept of taking care of ones family (parents, grown children in certain circumstances) doesnt exist in some families?

Did the same and all we had was a hunting cabin technically.

Party hearty!

My Grandparents had 4 children and 4 spouses, 9 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. They lived to see 2 Great-great Grandkids. We didn't all live in the same house but we all lived within 2 miles from my grandparents. We were always together until after my grandparent's death. Some of us started going in different directions. I married a military man so I moved the furthest away from home. Being away from family was difficult, especially during a holiday. We celebrate a little bigger in the US than in Europe. I lived in Germany for 3 years and was able to travel across Europe through the Armed Services rather inexpensively, including the UK. We don't have the pageantry or formality as you do but Americans do know how to throw a good party. We will use what ever excuse we can to throw a party.

…also St Patrick’s day, cinco de mayo, Thursday, leap year… 😂

Ya, and the. There’s Hump Day (party because it’s Wednesday) and weekend bbq’s, and because we feel like partying parties. America likes to party, no question.

It’s about getting together with your family and friends and celebrating anything. Celebrate life! Why not?

My paternal grandfather was "Pops." I know other men who went by Pops. I suspect it may be regional.

I call my dad Pops all the time

I call my stepdad Pop. No “s”. He’s singular. Haha

My daughter calls her father Pops often. She has called him that since she was a teenager. She's 43.

I know a lot of people mostly men who call their daddy pops … maybe it’s a southern thing? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Pretty much lol

Truth. We don't ask if there are crazy people in your family, we just ask which side it's on😂

@@EvoLeil If they don't say "both," bless their heart because they are either lying, or it's them. 🤣

My goal is to be that crazy on the front porch.

@@bobthecone 🤣

That's been going on for decades. Used to be called the " mother-in-law house".

When I was growing up, some people added a "mother-in-law apartment" to their house, but it was an attached addition.

​@@kennethclark9157In the West, these homes are called Casitas....

​@kennethclark9157 Love that size instead of the Nursing home or assisted living that are so expensive.

I grew up in a neighborhood where the average size was 4 children, but i have several friends and people ive gone to church with who have anywhere from 10-18 children. There are a few churches here that specialize in that.

My grandmother was one of 13 siblings....

as kids.. we'd ride our bikes to the park on weekends looking around for huge family bbq's with a lot of kids.. we'd usually find one we could just melt into for a feast and fames after.. we'd get caught occasionally - but everyone thought it was funny and let us keep eating and playing - note: we were not starving or anything - we just liked to 'be in the middle of it' and see if we can trick them

@@blueboy4244 funny!

Funny but a bit sad at the same time. It wouldn't have felt good for him, sitting alone and and everyone acting like he didn't exist. I hope when it was figured out who he was that he was welcomed as family and included in conversations after that.

Poor guy. Awkward for him.

Weird that the relatives he came with then introduce him to anyone else.

I went to school in California and was in kindergarten in 74-75'. We didn't have a graduation for that, but we did at the end of all the others. Unlike the majority of the of the country, elementary here went through 6th grade. Then Jr. High was 7th through 9th and High School was 10th through 12th (it's since changed). It wasn't until I went to "Middle School" in Indiana for a year that I discovered how unusual that was.

Agreed. Little 5 year olds in graduation gowns!!! What is then so special about the real achievement of getting a degree?

Agree. We Americans will take a good thing and overdo it to ridiculousness. 😆

The schools have a ceremonies, I’ve never been to someone’s house to celebrate their kindergartener graduation. There’s are end of school parties at peoples houses sometimes.

@@misslora3896I went to elementary school in California in the 80s and we had a graduation ceremony after completing sixth grade.

Yep, football is a way of life in our town…I have three boys and sports are a culture

Yeah Scottish as well as Irish descendents here is America tend to have 6 plus children but it is changing where millennials are not having many children if any at all so much so that professional jobs offer Pet Insurance rather than family healthcare because more people treat their pets as children.

Wow. I have no aunts, 2 uncles, 1 brother and parents. I have 0 cousins. I have 1 second cousin and then none until 5th cousin. I married into large family and had 4 children myself so I have relatives now.

And here I thought having 57 cousins was a big family. Those are rookie numbers.😅

I’m NANA!! 🥰😂

I have 7 siblings and my family on my Mama's side had 8 children and I have cousins on that side who have 6-8 children of their own each. I have 8 children and 2 of my children have 5 and 7 children respectively. I'm called Granny, one of my 3 sisters is called MomMom, and I have cousins who have a MeeMaw and a PeePaw for grandparents. I married into a large family of 8 and a few of their cousins also have large families of 7 or more.

G-diddy is hilarious

I was the first grandchild on both sides, and I called my grandmothers Bombom until I could say "grandma". One grandmother passed away fairly young, but the other lived to 96. I was very close to her. I started calling her Grammy in my teens, and it stuck. My mom is Nana, my dad was Pawpaw. My stepdad was PopPop. My husband is Italian, so we chose Nonna and Nonno for our grandparent names.

We are MereMere and Papa, to our five grandchildren.

That sounds SO wonderful. My parents moved from the Midwest to the West Coast when I was 9 mo's old. We'd take trips to visit relatives every cpl of years for 2 wks when I was a kid, but other than that, I grew up without any extended family. Then I was a Coast Guard spouse for 26 years and we really only had each other and no roots. I wish myself and my girls had that extended family connection. To this day nothing feels like "home" to any of us and my girls live for away... I'm in Southern California (divorced now) while 1 daughter lives in Vancouver, WA and the other in Okinawa Japan. Wanna adopt me? LOL😂🤣😂

We have 9 kids and had 50 for Christmas. Cone on over we'll adopt you, if you can handle the noise we'd love to have you.

I want to be adopted, too.❤

I have 9 sibs, I had 2 boys, they each have 4 kids. Two grandsons and six girls and 1 is engaged and expecting. I wish my family had more people still alive... The 2 who are left are stuck up and cheapskates too. Mama cookouts on special days were about 50 people, fun. Horseshoes, football, baseball, volleyball, taking turns watching the little ones, under 3 y.o., in the blow-up pool. Kids married with gkids living there bc housing prices have just gone too high. Mom and Dad. Mama and Daddy. Grandma and Grandpa. Granny and Papaw.

What an awesome gift to your family.

@rivergirl1969 yes it is. I only have 4 aunts living now. Sadly my Mom and one of her sisters are no longer with us, along with her four brothers. Fortunately my aunt and uncle who have the building are still living. I also have loads of cousins and second cousins and their offspring. We still do our parties though.

That sounds really nice.

@@sarahpalmer411 it really is.

I have the feeling a British person will not know what in the world you're talking about! 😂😂😂⚽⚾🏀🏈🏉🥅📣🎼🥁📯🎺🎊🏟

Less than $20/person, not bad.

And 50 is a big deal! Well done!

When my husband turned 30 I had a live band in the back yard. Invited the entire development bc we were members of a Lake Association (similar to HOA), and figured if the entire association was there no-one would complain about the many...many...rule violations. Worked, too. My daughters 16th was a DJ and karaoke (we'd moved to the boondocks, no-one to complain but the bear, and they had no f's to give).

Tell your mom from me that her family sounds awesome!

Cool! My Momma was 10th of 10.

@@MoonlightSonata214 I think so😆 but I’m biased. Thanks!☺️ My daughter is an only child and I feel bad that she missed out on all of that. 😔

Actually sounds wonderful ❣️

That is a newer phenomenon. When I was in school (Gen X). I only graduated from High School and University. We did not have a party for lower years.

@@marshsundeenyeah definitely a newer thing. I’m gen z and I just had a nice dinner with my mom

@@marshsundeen I’m a Gen X as well but with Gen Z kids l. We started having our kids a little later so we are older parents. Maybe it’s just location based. We are in the Southern part of the US and just wondering now if our part of the country does more parties and celebrations? 🤷🏼‍♀️

I'm sure it's all good fun, but 'graduating' isn't an achievement until University level (or perhaps, A levels). Everyone has to leave one school and go to the next as they get older...it's just what happens. Might as well throw them a party for 'graduating' into a larger shoe size (although I suppose that might be fun too)😉

@@letsrock1729 US citizen here. High School graduation is extremely important. You cannot go to university of any level without it.

It also depends on the ethic group also. A lot of families that I know(my family and friends of family also neighbors) have at least 5 kids. So it's really not that rare.

My uncle had 6 bio kids and then adopted four other kids after fostering them. He and his wife are still a foster family now. We go up to visit them around Christmas every year, and it is pretty crazy in that house. That uncle is a grandfather now, and he still has a little 5 year old running around.

I have 4 children live in US

8 kids here.

@@famseymour busy man 😏

I was going to say it accounts for single mothers living with a parent and their child and that would just be for my experience of being a teacher

Whats a basement?

Oh yeah 4th of July used to be around 100 friends and family but now my neighborhood puts on a $250k show. Everyone donates to it and food and drinks, live music and alcohol are included as well as a 45 minute fireworks show, so it's a huge neighborhood event with all friends and family welcome. There are several watching areas, so I couldn't begin to guess on the number of people. It's my same crew and most other homes also have 25 to 100 people. The next day they share the drone footage for those who couldn't make it.

My folks are building a new house and it is on several acres of land. They are fixing up a shipping container near the pond and keep telling me I can live in it if I want to. I have my own home but it is always nice to know that you have somewhere to go (and be welcome) in a pinch.

If I ever tried to call my Mom "Old Lady" I am sure that she would smack my head off my body! That just would not be acceptable.

I grew up in the late 50s to early 70s. "Old man" and "old lady" were seen as terms from the beat generation or 60s hippies, and the speaker was trying to be cool rather than respectful. I have seen a few (VERY few) families where parents were called by their first names, but if my Dad ever caught one of us calling our own or a friend's parents (or any adult, for that matter) by their first names I can assure you it would never happen again. Adults were called Miss, Mrs., Mr. or professional title such as Dr., Pastor or Coach out of respect, but never by only a first name.

My husband is Ba pa cant say grandpa I'm gram ma

That's awesome... you knew your grandparents' grandparents!

Also, I had a Mamaw and Papaw. It's a southern thing, apparently.

Must be a southern thing?..never heard of those and I'm in the usa

@@femaleKCRoyalsFan I live in New York….. Definitely not a Southerner!! Lol

Yankee Swap is what we call it in New England. There's also the White Elephant where you don't open until the end and what you got, you got. How it's done in a little more detail: * A max spend is decided upon before Christmas. Our house is $20. You wrap it, sometimes using trickery like a brick inside for weight or use a large box. Family rule is no scratch tickets or alcohol (which is ironic giving my siblings' teenage pasts). * A slip of paper with a number on it for each of the gift-bringing participants. We'll say 15 people, numbered from 1 to 15. Each person draws a number and that decides the picking order. * There are two ways to play. Blind pick (White Elephant) as previously skimmed over or opened pick (Yankee Swap). We do opened pick in our household (1 parent (RIP Mom) and my 5 siblings plus their significant other, older nieces/nephews) * #1 is the best number to get other than the last number which gives full view of all the gifts to pick from... but #1 can still take. Anyway: * #1 person picks a gift and opens it. #2 picks and opens a gift. They can swap with #1 or keep/hold onto it. #3 goes and they can keep or swap with #2 or #1 this goes on up to the max number (say... 15 for example). Obviously the higher the number, the more you can see to choose from. The more people, the more stress if you really want to keep the gift in your hands as it progresses. * Once the last person opens and makes their swap selection person #1, who at that point can see all the gifts, can make their swap since they weren't able to initially. It goes up from 1-15 then immediately to #1 person. It doesn't go back down numerically. Just up to the max number and straight to #1 and done. * Everyone gets a laugh or storms out of the house. It's all in fun. Beats buying gifts for 5 siblings, their spouses and nieces/nephews, great nieces/nephews, etc. We used to do name swaps... but being siblings being siblings it really caused derision and division. Siblings can be brutal to each other. :) All the children under 18 are to be given proper gifts directly and thoughtfully... but 18+ can participate in the Yankee Swap.