British woman tricks American husband with fake holiday tradition

‘But now you just got to bless all that, the mince pie,’ wife tells her husband

A British woman has decided to prank her American husband this holiday season, making him abide by a fake tradition.

Popular TikTok user Millie Hart added a bit of entertainment to her Christmas festivities this year when she made a hilarious plan to trick her husband. Hart, who has 1.1m followers on the app, has gained a large audience by pointing out the differences between living in the United Kingdom and the United States. While she’s typically candid about the contrasts of each country, Hart recently told a massive fib to her husband, Mark, about British culture.

In a video shared on 5 December, she involved her followers in a prank by telling Mark about a “British Christmas tradition” she wanted to take part in this year. “I made up a British Christmas tradition to my American husband,” the on-screen text read.

The footage showed Hart speaking to her partner, explaining how the ritual began by writing down their goals for 2024 on a mince pie. For the next part of the “tradition”, she told Mark that they needed Christmas crackers - only they wouldn’t use them properly. Christmas crackers, or small tubes with a surprise hidden inside, are usually opened by two people on 25 December. Each person pulls at the opposite end to break the cardboard tube open. If you receive the bigger end, per British tradition, you had to wear a crown at the dinner table.

However, Hart had something else planned. When they pulled at the tube, she instructed her husband to say: “God save our King.” Then, the broken handles from the crackers were to be placed over the pie, while they softly recited their goals for the new year.

Unfortunately for Mark, Hart’s “tradition” wasn’t over. The next part involved her scooping out the mince pie filling and using the fruity middle to read the future. She pulled apart the pieces of the filling and told Mark his manifestations were likely to come true.

“But now you just got to bless all that, the mince pie,” she told him, to which a confused Mark replied: “We do that right now? Tell me what to do again.” Hart tried to refrain from laughing as the couple blew on their Christmas crackers over the mince pie.

Amused viewers rushed to the comments section of her video, applauding her for keeping a straight face and acting so serious. Others quoted remarks that they found funny throughout the video.

“The way you can keep a straight face is a talent,” one fan wrote.

Another said: “It’s funnier because you can tell she made this up as she went along.”

“I forgot it was a prank... I was so invested,” another woman added.

“Bless him, he’s so respectful the way he says: ‘Yes, ma’am,’” one TikTok user noted.

Another woman proclaimed: “I say we actually make this a British tradition. What’s better than mince pie manifestation and fruit tarot readings?”

In a follow-up post, Hart confessed she told Mark the whole thing was a joke, but he had fully believed her in the moment.

“You had me completely convinced,” her husband said. Hart gave herself a pat on the back, adding: “That wasn’t a prank, that was a stroke of genius.”

The Independent has contacted Hart for a comment.