Family and Holidays

JoJo716

Do you spend all holidays with family? If so, how do you decide who you are spending it with? DH and I decided a while ago that we would alternate. However, with his job, it is not possible. My family lives close and his family lives far, so we usually spend most holidays with my family. However, since ds was born, my in laws have been visiting every holiday and they usually come with us to my family get togethers. I guess this should be the ideal arrangement, since everyone gets to see ds. However, it is hard for me to relax around my mil (suuuuppper passive agressive) and now I am envisioning tense holidays from here on out.

CNJ4EVA

Holidays work out okay for us.

On Thanksgiving my family eats early (2pm) and his eats late (8pm), so we're able to split the day. Christmas Eve is with my family, mostly because DH's never plans anything. Christmas Day we stay home. We don't do anything special for Easter, though that will change now with LO.

New Years Eve, July 4th, Memorial Day, and Labor Day are celebrate with friends holidays with us.

rebaann

My only immediate family is my sister and she is 600+ miles away.  Needless to say, we don't see her in person very often.  DH's family is local, so we see them a lot.  I don't mind seeing them every holiday; I just wish we could see my sister, too.

c-elizabethf

I have two sides of family that do things and my dh has one so its pretty hectic because one is always the same as one of mine. I don't mind it though because we alternate and also because dh has only that family to see. So on thanksgiving we go to his family around 1 or 2, this past year it was 2 so we were able to go to my moms side which starts at noon. Then at 4 we go to my dads side. On Christmas we go to my parents really early, then we go to my in laws, then to dh's grandparents, then to my dads side, and then to my grandparents. Holidays are super busy lol, good thing the furthest house we go to is only like 25 mins.

New Year's Eve and day we go to my inlaws. Easter we go to both my sides( dh's family doesn't do anything). Fourth of July we go to his side but we might start alternating that. This year I think we will go to just his family because his sister and niece and nephew are coming down from Germany.

emmy236

Well we have been doing a Thankgiving with one family and Christmas with the other. My in laws have no desire to be around my family and my parents have no desire to see them. My MIL expects us to always go to them regardless of where we are. They had been renting cabins in the middle of no where for Thankgiving that didn't have tv/internet and it wasn't fun. The last time I went I was pregnant with DS and my SIL insulted me the entire time, MIL told me I ruined her thanksgiving because I should of known her daughter would be awful. I told DH I would never do that again with them. He's lucky he got me to go for Christmas this past year. This year we will probably go to Thanksgiving at their place if they have it at their home, if not I'm staying put and I don't care if it's just us. I think my parents will come down for Christmas this year.

mammie

   Our holidays could get a little crazy if I let them. My parents are divorced, we split holidays with SDD's mom,our group of friends also do something  and I occasionally have to work. 

   Thanksgiving  my family doesn't do anything so we just separate the days up. So usually DH's mom on the Saturday, SDD goes to her moms on the Sunday and our group of friends do dinner on the Monday. The days may switch around but we try to share.

   Christmas gets hectic. My Mom does Christmas the weekend before, Mil does it the weekend after. SDD either spends Christmas eve or Christmas day with us. Then boxing day my Dad comes and Boxing day evening dinner with friends.

Easter this year we are doing brunch with friends on good Friday, SDD will go to her moms for dinner. Saturday her grandmother is having Easter in the morning. Then Easter Sunday we go to Dh's family gathering at a conservation area. 

I found that we had to compromise and celebrate when we can not necessarily the day of. It has worked out pretty well and still allows us time to celebrate with just our little family as well.  

RoxZ32

I used to love getting together for holidays but trying to figure out which family to spend it with kind of ruins the fun.
Both families live within 10 minutes of us (just didn't directions from each other) so both expect us to be there. I prefer to spend them with my family because we tend to do things bigger - decorations, games etc. Plus I have 3 nieces and 2 nephews for L to play with. There are NO children in his family and they don't do anything exciting. We sit on the couch facing each other chit chatting about little things with a beer in hand, eat dinner then go back to sitting on the couch.
so for Christmas eve, we spend it with my family because his brother hosts it at his house with his wife's family (I went to HS with her sisters and I feel awkward) then Christmas Day we travel between both parents. Which I actually hate doing. We did Thanksgiving with my family and then we did it a couple nights later with his since they were scheduling it around his great grandpa at the time. This year for Easter, it's breakfast at my parents at 11 and dinner at his at 5. Exhausting.
I just wish I had a larger house so I could host a holiday or two!

blush64

Every holiday is with my family. My husband has not celebrated with his family since he was a child. His siblings do their own thing with their families and their mother passed away a long time ago.

I am lucky my husband is understanding. I come from a close but large family. We have several celebrations a year where almost everyone attends. (Christmas, an annual summer gathering, thanksgiving etc) we rent space to fit everyone.

We also celebrate each holiday with my parents and siblings, there are a dozen kids so far just between my sisters and myself.

Edit With my ex-husband we rotated the first couple of years. Each holiday morning one gouse and evening the other house amd the next year it would switch. That all stopped when we broke up. (He took off so every holiday was with my family only)

lizziebooper

We are lucky as all our family live in the same area. DH family is smaller then mine and his aunt hosts Easter on Saturday and we go to my parents on Sunday. At Christmas my family all go to church Christmas Eve and then to my parents for appitizers and gift opening then DH aunts Christmas Day.  Thanksgiving (being Canadian) we go to the Aunts on the Saturday and my family on the Sunday.