Happy Thursday to all the hot gay men of ManPlay! I hope you are all gearing up for the weekend (it’s a LONG weekend in case you someone forgot!) and are hitting up the chat rooms on ManPlay to find someone special to spend at least part of the weekend with. This holiday weekend is a time when many people are heading home to spend time with their families. If you’re already in a relationship this might be the time when you finally have him meet your parents or vice versa. If this is the case, you’re likely panicking. I totally understand. It can be a ridiculously stressful event to have him meet your parents, even if they are the most awesome parents around. You can’t predict how everything in this situation is going to go – no matter how prepared you feel you are. Here are some tips to make sure things go smoothly.

First of all, recognize that the holiday is not going to be all about you, so if you feel like this is going to turn into a big production or it is going to significantly hamper the amount of fun everyone in the family has, then it might not be the best time to introduce them to a boyfriend. Remember that if they are your parents, you are going to know them better than anyone and what they can handle and what they can’t. It’s important to keep this in mind when you prep your boyfriend for what he can expect and vice versa. Don’t just show up and surprise them. That’s going to make everyone (yourself included) feel uncomfortable and increase the odds of something going awry. It’s wise to talk to your parents beforehand and make sure they are comfortable with the idea of him coming over for the holiday and if they think everyone else in attendance will be as well.

It’s not just the comfort level of your family that you should consider, either. Make sure before you mention anything to any of them that your boyfriend is on board with the idea and – hopefully – excited by the prospect of meeting them. If he’s anxious about it, then it just might not be the right time and you shouldn’t try and force him to do it if he’s not wanting to. It will be obvious to everyone if one of the parties is being forced to be there or are not wanting to be there. It’s also not wise if you are bringing him as some sort of statement after a fight before. You don’t want this to be a statement about your sexuality. Even worse, don’t let this be your way of coming out. That’s not fair to anyone there, especially your boyfriend, because the focus will not be on him or your relationship, but instead you bringing up some potentially surprising news.

I advise that once you are there, to have some icebreakers in mind, whether it is opening up a bottle of wine that you (or your boyfriend) brings and making a toast to the holiday or making a joke if it seems like the situation has the potential to become awkward, or already is. If the parents are not entirely comfortable with the situation but are making an effort, then you have to be appreciative of that even if it is not everything you hope it can be. It can be hard to remember that even if it seems like they are making all the mistakes they could, they are at least making the effort and doing the best they can in the situation. If things truly get out of hand and uncomfortable, I would advise keeping your cool and leave as soon as possible but thank everyone for having you over and for making the effort, even if it didn’t go according to plan. Remember that this is not how your parents would have wanted the evening to go, either. Propose that you can all hopefully do it again or discuss how the evening went at some point in the future. But hopefully nothing will go wrong and your parents will like your gay Romeo and the holiday will go off without a hitch!

How has this situation unfolded in the past for you, men of ManPlay? Ever had a horrible experience or one that you weren’t looking forward to and then it surprised you by being a fantastic one? Let us know in the comments and mention if you have any other tips you would suggest. No matter what your plans are this holiday weekend, everyone at ManPlay hopes you have an amazing time and that you’ll write and tell us how it all went after!

Terrence

Categories: Gay Men Gay Romeo Terrence