Each family has their own traditions, but it seems that some are quirkier than others.
People from around the world have been sharing their families’ strangest habits – that they thought were completely normal at the time.
Twitter user Georgia Hardstark sparked the conversation tweeting: ‘What’s a weird thing your family did that you thought was normal till you moved out? We kept birthday candles in the freezer.’
The tweet received over 1,000 responses as it became apparent that every household has its whims.
People have been sharing stories about the bizarre things their families did growing up, which they didn’t realise were weird until they flew the nest
The thread was started by Georgia Hardstark, who said her family kept birthday candles in the freezer
Stories about the sometimes strange magic of childhood were a common theme in the thread, including the people who got some very weird gifts from the tooth fairy.
@noshoes039 wrote: ‘Once my brother and I figured out the Santa thing, all of our Christmas presents suddenly started to be from living AND deceased pets.’
@Darkestlittle tweeted: ‘My mum once forgot to play tooth fairy for my sister so she (the tooth fairy of course) wrote her an apology letter the next night saying she had to save a whale and couldn’t come earlier and that’s how my sister believed in the tooth fairy for longer than she maybe should have.’
‘Much like the Easter Bunny or Santa Claus, on birthdays my brother and I were visited by the Birthday Hippopotamus,’ @ErinMalloryLong said.
@cameronsxxx said: ‘We had a ”Valentines Day Frog”. Like the Easter bunny or Santa. My mom just really liked giving us presents.’
Hundreds of Twitter users shared their stories, including one who used their dishwasher for storage
Other Twitter users just had bizarre rituals that were completely unique to them, including the person whose mother kept their religious paraphenalia in the freezer.
One person described how once a month the family would gather around the dinner table to insult each other, but wouldn’t be allowed to swear for the rest of the month.
@DreadedJaws said: ‘My family kept stuff in the oven – nearly every baking pan plus all the snacks like chips and crackers and the bread.
‘We had to unload it all onto the clothes washer to use the oven. We accidentally melted stuff on occasion. Miraculously no fires.’
One person said they had ‘punishment ice cream’ when they were only allowed vanilla when they were naughty, while another person’s parents kept crucifixes in the freezer
‘The dishwasher was used strictly for storage. Not dishes either, just random s***,’ @Strohbo32 wrote.
For many the strangeness of people’s families didn’t become apparent to them until they moved out, and then flatmates or partners told them that it’s completely unique to their upbringing.
@Hannahrreis wrote: ‘We stick our heads under the faucet when we want a quick drink of water. The HORROR on my new college friend’s face when she took me home and I did it in front of her parents.’
@XanaduStar said: ‘My mom would always ask the person at the drive-thru window to throw away for her trash that was leftover from a previous drive-thru visit. I did this once in college & friends told me how rude it was.’
One person said they would argue with each other by writing long letters, while another remembered how her grandma kept potatoes in the clothes dryer