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“If you want to vacation with me, these are the rules,” the comedian said in an Instagram post on Wednesday, July 22
NEED TO KNOW
- Chelsea Handler made a strict set of vacation rules for her family after feeling “embarrassed and taken advantage of” on past visits to her homes
- Her rules include acknowledging staff, being mindful with food and drink, and staying present during activities
- Handler said she now vacations separately with kids and adults to create more enjoyable experiences for everyone
Chelsea Handler has a strict set of rules if you want to vacation with her.
During the peak of the summer travel season, the comedian, 51, shared an Instagram post on Wednesday, July 22, to remind followers, “If you want to vacation with me, these are the rules.”
In a carousel of nine slides, the former Chelsea Lately host shared an excerpt from her 2025 book, I’ll Have What She’s Having, in which she wrote a letter to her extended family establishing proper vacation etiquette after she paid to take them on a trip one year. The note comes after Handler observed a “shortfall of manners” and left feeling “embarrassed and taken advantage of” after they visited her homes in Los Angeles, Mallorca and Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
Her first request was for her family to say hello to all the people working in the home. While they don’t need to have “long conversations” with housekeepers or delivery drivers, they “do need to acknowledge their existence out of decency and respect.”
When it comes to food and drinks, Handler asked that her family be thoughtful of others. Cleaning their plates after a meal and putting them in the dishwasher, not consuming “copious amounts of alcohol,” and waiting until everyone’s been served before grabbing another helping of food. But when something does run out, the stand-up comedian said she expects you to replenish it. “When I make a pitcher of margaritas, don’t finish that pitcher unless you’re willing to make another.”
Handler also expects her guests — especially her younger relatives — to remain engaged during family activities like a game, movie or dinner. She says they can sacrifice their phones and video games to be present for “an hour or two at night.” In fact, her favorite memory from the trip was when everybody played a game called Oval Office.
“We only get those moments when we relax, and when we are present with each other,” she said. “They don’t happen when someone is on their phone. Moments like this are what family is and what it must remain.”
Above all else, Handler emphasized that going on these trips is “not guaranteed.” Instead, they require a “contribution” from her guests.
“A contribution does not mean financial. It means: What pleasantness are you planning to bring on vacation? It is not a free-for-all.”
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She went on to add: “I don’t care how much our family annoys you. It’s the only one we’ve got, and we are stuck together for life.”
In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live! in March 2025, Handler shared that she has taken a trip with family since she delivered her letter. However, she says she now vacations with the kids and adults separately. “I split them up, because then I can be an aunt and have fun and the kids can be real … and then the adult, I vacation with alone. So that’s my new thing,” she said.
Handler is the youngest of six siblings, two older sisters, Shoshanna and Simone, and three older brothers, Chet, Glen and Roy. Together, they grew up in Livingston, N.J. Their eldest brother, Chet, died in 1984 during a hiking accident in Jackson Hole, Wyo., when he was just 22.
While Handler does not have any kids of her own, she has eight nieces and nephews. In June 2024, she shared photos of a “children’s ONLY trip” on Instagram.
Read the original article on People
