Festivus 2025: A Cacophony of Complaints

Festivus 2025 marked the 28th anniversary of the Seinfeld episode “The Strike,” which first aired on December 18, 1997, and introduced the holiday. Since then, the annual outpouring of Festivus grievances has grown louder each year, with no sign of slowing down. We expect even more complaints in the coming year.

Below is a list of almost 100 Festivus grievances—ranging from minor annoyances to major frustrations—that we collected through our website during Festivus 2025. In the Seinfeld episode, Frank Costanza got distracted while airing a grievance about his son’s boss. Fortunately, most people who submitted grievances to our site stayed focused and completed their thoughts.

This year’s submissions covered a wide range of topics, including inflation, government policies, driving habits, and retail experiences. You might spot one of your own complaints in the list, or even uncover some new gripes you didn’t know you had.

We moderated all submissions to remove anything libelous, inflammatory, racist, hateful, or resembling fake news. We also excluded any entries that mentioned specific political figures or parties. If you disagree with our moderation choices, feel free to send us your feedback—we always enjoy hearing from our fans.

Note: The numbering does not represent any ranking or order of importance.

Retail Rants

1. People who pay a membership to shop at Costco. (Joker)
2. I hate all the requests for a tip. I’ll tip if I like the service. If the service is special I will make the tip special. If you hand me my coffee I might not tip. I don’t tip for fast food. (Bradley)
3. No I don’t need to extend my vehicle warranty. Its old it runs and I am doing my best to keep it that way. (Michael Pituley)
4. After navigating a crowded grocery store and checking out, I discover my car flanked by at least two abandoned carts. If a person can walk 5,000 steps around a supermarket, why can’t they respect others by pushing their cart back to its nearby corral? (Terry Meiners)
5. You didn’t put your shopping cart away and it rolled into my passenger side door. Now I have to pay for a repair. Eff you lazy jerk. (Pissed off)
6. I have got a lot of problems with you people! And now,you’re gonna hear about it! I am getting very sick and tired of people not putting shopping carts in shopping cart corrals when they finish shopping at any supermarket and any other places like WalMart, Target,and some others. Whatever happened to getting some exercise and putting a shopping cart in a shopping cart corral like a good normal human being? Too much laziness,too much entitlement,and too much incompetence along with too much discrimination,too much parasocialism,and too much toxicity,both in real life and online,if I do say so myself. Seriously,people. Please. Do your part, show that you actually care,and stop acting like a lazy, entitled, hateful, parasocial, and toxic human LUMMOX. Happy Holidays, you peabrained Karens. (Richard)
7. Used cars are the same price as a new car. Whats up with that. (Anonymous)
8. Costco. (Anonymous)

Festivus Flak

9. Anyone that decorates a Festivus pole. (4therestofus)
10. The aluminum cartels increasing the cost of Festivus poles while decreasing the strength to weight ratio. It’s criminal. (Anonymous)
11. As the daddy of Festivus Daniel O’Keefe used to say, f$ck fascism. (Walton)
12. Not really a grievance , well, okay maybe it is, but when I’m listening to the 60s xmsirius channel and the Fifth Dimension song , ‘Aquarius ‘ comes on, the word Aquarius gets substituted in my brain for ‘Festivus’. So on December 23rd, in the morning, I hear a chorus of “This is the Dawning of the Day of the Festivus”…. thanks to the brilliant, fun, crazy Seinfeld team, I have that stuck in my brain this time every year. Much love to all my fellow Seinfeld fans and those who love Festivus like I do. Stay safe, stay well, stay awesome. (John Barrett)
13. I used to make a list of family members who I had issues with for Festivus. This year everybody is on my grievances list by default and a select few are taken off. It’s easier that way. (Patrick Lenehan)

War Worries

14. Since when is the US proud of war crimes? (Anonymous)
15. War. What is it good for. Absolutely nothing! Huh! (Elaine)
16. Why is the world so evil? (Anonymous)
17. Someone should use their fake peace prize to end the war in the Ukraine. But they won’t because the prize was no more than a participation medal, like the one given to the fat kid at a track meet. (Sick and tired)

Inflationary Incredulity

18. The price of gas never went down. (Jr)
19. Festivus meatloaf goes up in price every year. I can barely afford the bed of lettuce. (Anonymous)
20. Why are grocery prices so high? Who said they would fix this? They haven’t fixed anything. (Anonymous)
21. Beef prices keep going up. How do I make chicken taste like a steak? (Anonymous)

Government Gripes

22. How do I sue the government for ruining the economy? (WillIAm)
23. The only reason people go into politics is to make millions of dollars for themselves. That type of corruption is supposed to be illegal. Why is it allowed? (Brad)
24. Politicians who are openly corrupt and we are supposed to accept that these days. (Anonymous)
25. I hate the government (Anonymous)
26. For the purposes of transparency the government releases documents to the public. But they’re all blacked out. What’s the point? (Anonymous)
27. I don’t give two craps when a politician airs their grievances. (Anonymous)

Work Worries

28. My department manager is mean to me for no reason. (Donald Kochersperger)
29. Health insurance being tied to employment is a big scam, keeps people miserable and stuck in jobs they hate. (Regina)
30. Why do managers at work treat people like innocent new borns who never worked anywhere before. (PL)
31. Every manager email at work has a FAQ attached and manager meeting meetings include a fireside chat. Why? Plus there’s never a fireplace or stove. (PL)
32. “Does anyone else have that one coworker that drags the staff meeting out to an hour+ when it could last a mere 30-45 min if he would just refrain from opening his mouth & rattling on for countless minutes on end? Does anyone else still have to get in their car & drive to their staff meetings or are your meetings in the comfort of your home, broadcast on Zoom like most all other modern day places of employment? Serenity now! (Elaine’s dance instructor)”
33. Dear Manager, you dragged us back to the office after years of remote bliss, just for team building meetings that could’ve been an email. Zoom fatigue was bad, but traffic is worse! (Anonymous)
34. People who are in a job for a year and blame their lack of performance on the last guy who had the job. (Anonymous)

Driving Dissent

35. Slow traffic stay right. Leave the passing lane for passing. Got it? (Driver8)
36. Electric vehicles are too much money. I want to help the environment but can’t afford it. (Anonymous)
37. Gas prices may be down, but EV charging stations are still a nightmare as half are broken, and the other half cost more than filling a tank. And don’t even mention how inflation turned my coffee habit into a luxury. (I’ve Had enough)
38. People who insist they need to back into a parking stall for easy egress. What are you doing robbing a bank? I’m looking at you pickup drivers. While I’m at it, why does your truck need nuts? Compensating for something? (Burns my biscuits)
39. The person driving an electric skateboard over the bridge in morning rush hour traffic in the rain. I’m not interested in watching you die in a horrifying way. Please ride somewhere else. (Anonymous)
40. I got a lot of problems with you people and now you’re gonna hear about it! To all of the construction companies around here, how about finishing a job before starting another one? Which one of you idiots thought it was a good idea to pour concrete off of an overpass onto an active highway? Just have Kramer adopt the highway. You, car wash guy, you can’t clean a car with a hammer. You couldn’t wash a car if you had a hot date with a babe… I lost my train of thought. Serenity now! Serenity now! (not Frank Costanza)
41. If you think for a moment that cutting multiple people off on the roads is acceptable just because you’re in a hurry to get to the convenience store for your scratch off and pack of cigarettes, then you deserve that road rager you regularly deal with. (Wes W)
42. I live in a fairly large neighborhood with many active walkers. However, you’re to walk AGAINST traffic, not WITH it!!! Don’t get upset with me because you didn’t see or hear me (wearing your damn earbuds!!!); it wouldn’t be a problem if you were walking on the correct side of the road, Karen!!!! (Anonymous)
43. Slow drivers in the fast lane. Drivers who drive slow then speed up when they think you’re about to change lanes. Truckers who drive side by side as a game. Drivers who don’t understand zipper merging. (Anonymous)
44. Cyclists who don’t use the bicycle paths. We spend millions creating special cycling paths but some don’t use them. They insist on staying in the street and clogging the lanes meant for automobiles. (Just a driver)
45. I can’t stand again. ( I aired this grievance years ago and they’re still doing it! George is getting upset!!) Joggers in Pittsburgh keep running on the streets instead of the sidewalks! Are you kidding me?? Running for your health?!?! Get off the road you hipster doofuses!! (Tim S)

AI Angst

46. I’ve got a problem with AI making stupid suggestions and giving false information when I just wanted the weather? And don’t get me started on how AI art flooded my feed, making real artists starve! (Anonymous)
47. AI videos on Facebook and X. It’s just so lame. You’re not fooling anyone. Just stop. (Anonymous)
48. People who forward you videos that are obviously made with AI. Maddening. (Maddening)

Yada Yada Yada

49. I have been locked out of my e-mail account. As a result, I can’t access it. And I need to because I am part of a secret Santa thing. With that said, I have been told to either reset my password or contact an administrator. Absolutely ridiculous. (Anonymous)
50. The password grievance: “Your new password cannot be the same as your old password.” But you just told me my old password was wrong! (Barrios Erick)
51. Streaming services have commercials and it’s always the same damn commercials over and over again. If I haven’t bought it the first time I’m not buying it now. You’re wasting everyone’s time with this crap. (Waste of time)
52. Twitter became X and now it’s a free-for-all, with bots arguing with bots while my notifications blow up over nothing. (Anonymous)
53. I just finished watching season 2 of Squid Game: the Challenge. I’m not going to give away the results in case anyone is planning to watch it, but let’s just say that it wasn’t as good as the first season. I remember after the competition was over in season one, they were catching up with some of the contestants to see what they were up to. In season two, they didn’t do that. They just showed the winner before cutting to people being recruited for the next season. Maybe catching up with the contestants isn’t essential, but it’s sure as hell convenient so that we can see what the most prominent characters are now up to. What the hell, Squid Game? (Anonymous)

Seinfeld Sideswipes

54. You know how to take the reservation, you just don’t know how to hold the reservation. And that’s really the most important part of the reservation, the holding. Anybody can just take them! (Jerry)
55. The carpet sweeper is the biggest scam since one hour martinizing, (Kman)
56. You got any meat? (Kessler)
57. How do we know if the dog food is any good. Who tests it? (No Elaine)

Sad Squawks

58. I lost a family member. Well, not truly a family member, but after he and my aunt divorced over 20 years ago, he became just a family friend. He was killed in a motorcycle accident a couple of months earlier. He was 71 years of age. I miss him, even though I hadn’t seen him in over ten years. It just goes to show that some grievances are serious and not for humourous purposes. (Anonymous)
59. Children are hungry in the USA and that should not be allowed. Governments do nothing. (Anonymous)
60. Why do people react so stupidly when people die? If you have nothing good to say .. say nothing. It’s bad enough someone had to die. You can save us all the additional horror of realizing what a demented fool you are. (Anonymous)

Sports Stewing

61. FIFA should stay out of politics and concentrate on the game of football. (Footballer)
62. FIFA is a joke giving out peace prizes. Stick to football. (Anonymous)
63. The Winnipeg Jets go from the best team in the NHL to one of the worst teams in the league a year later. That’s my grievance. (Anonymous)
64. My grievance is that the Quebec Nordiques have been gone for 30 years now. The fact that Quebec City doesn’t have an NHL team sucks. There are now a generation of Quebecers who have not been around to experience the team, which is sad. What’s even sadder is that Quebec City now follows the Montreal Canadiens, their rival. People in Quebec City rooting for the Habs is not cool. It’s insulting! Disgusting is ex-Nordiques fans rooting for the Canadiens! What the hell? Quebec City needs an NHL team badly. They have the arena to do so. Now they need a team. (Seinfeld fan from Quebec)”

Hate and Lies

65. The American worker may be black, white, Latino, Asian, Native, immigrant, union or not. All were part of building the country and they work hard to keep it running. Stop dividing. Start recognizing. (Anonymous)
66. Just because you’re not homeless doesn’t mean you can’t eventually become homeless. Don’t ever think it won’t happen to you. The way the world is going it just might. (reality check)
67. There is no truth and justice anymore. Money buys the power to skew the truth. Social media spreads the lies that the sheep talk about in the flock. The poor stay poor. (truth)

Food Fuss

68. Hamburgers don’t have any ham in em. What’s up with that? (Anonymous)
69. I went to a restaurant this past Thursday and I saw that the item I wanted was not there. From what the waitress told me; they changed the menu. The item was basically eliminated from the menu. For those wondering, it was a sandwich with cheese, bechamel sauce, and oysters, although I would’ve asked for it without the oysters. (Anonymous)
70. Why is it when I get to the self serve wing bar it’s all flats remaining. Some evil glutton has taken all the drumettes. (Anonymous)
71. I never had a really good BLT (Shad Loflin)
72. Where can I find a block of cheese the size of a car battery? (Georgie)

Personal Plaints

73. The merger between Cedar Fair and Six Flags. We’ve lost Six Flags America, other parks could be in danger of closing, and operations at Cedar Point have suffered. (Cedar Vandelay)
74. Sharon is pissed at me and I have no idea why. Worst of all she thinks I care that she’s ticked. Surprise you(Sharon) are a self centered user of people (Anonymous)
75. All the good music was made in the 60s, 70s and 80s. Everything made since then is derivative crap. (Me)
76. The job market and housing market are both absolute shit (Matt)
77. The Beatles “Birthday” song should have replaced “Happy Birthday” as the official birthday song years ago. It’s much more upbeat. (Jeff)
78. Why do Hollywood celebrities still exist? Why do their opinions even matter? I think the world would be a better place if the movie industry just went away. Don’t I have a point? I hear another strike is on the way. That would be nice. Hopefully, it won’t end this time if it occurs. (Independent George)
79. My grievance is religion. also, if your religion is working for you, that’s nice. just don’t think you are better than anyone else or that everyone else should follow your god. (Anonymous)
80. I have celiac disease, I miss normal bread so much.­ (Anonymous)
81. Multiple Sclerosis sucks the life out of me. I hate you MS. (Lori)

Really Burns my Biscuits

82. If my ear was injured wouldn’t there be a scar or even a slight malformation of the ear lobe? Seems like a strange miracle. Are we dealing with divine intervention now? (Stranger things)
83. Airport light rail trains that don’t run past midnight. Passengers arrive/depart at all hours, and airport workers are needed 24/7; it shouldn’t take $$$ (drive/park/uber) or hours (bus) to get to and from the airport! (Bets)
84. People who abandon pets are cowardly and shameful. (Anonymous)
85. I have a brother in law who is a pathetic old man. Does anyone want him? (Anonymous)
86. Builders, plumbers and electricians never turn up when they say they will. (PL)
87. People who have no medical qualifications giving medical advice on television, social networks, and yes, now in the government. If you want to know ask a real doctor. (Anonymous)
88. I’m annoyed by builders who want to be paid in cash but don’t reduce the bill by the VAT amount they would have to pay in tax if they issued an invoice. Serenity now. (PL)
89. Guy left his 40 books all over the floor at my local Barnes and Noble right before the store closed. All different sections and genres, so the staff has plenty of extra work to do at the end of their shift. Ridiculous. Have some consideration! (Disgruntled Employee)
90. My green vents are aired year-round, given that my home’s forced-air ventilation system is used for heating and for cooling. As such, I’m unsure why I’m here. (Hard-of-hearing)

2025 Is Over

91. When will we get Hot Tub Time Machine 3? (Anonymous)
92. Arctic vortex is spinning the wrong way. Brrrrrrrrrrrrr. (Cold)
93. All the technology in the world and the 13g trash bag still doesn’t fit the 13g trash can. (Mel)
94. Mad scientists, hire qualified people to find brains for your reanimation experiments or do the job yourself!  (Abby Normal)
95. Stop asking me questions about lottery numbers, you aren’t going to win. (Ouija Board)
96. There are 1130 days until Jan. 20, 2029. (Exhausted Doom Scroller)
97. Goodbye 2025. Bring in 2026, it has to be a better year. (Anonymous)
98. 2025: 0 stars, would not recommend (Michael Burns)

… the end …