Are you hosting Grandparents for Christmas/Eve?
Last year my mother *declared* that she will be staying with us Christmas Eve so that she can wake up with Lil Miss on Christmas morning. Ok, swell.
So I guess I need to get her a stocking too, right?
How are you managing gift opening? I mean is it going to be the gifts from Santa, and then Mom and Dad, and then Grandparents? I think my mom is going to want Lil Miss to know which gifts are from her specifically --- though I think it may be pointless with a not yet 2 year old. Last year we had all the gifts open, set out and ready to play with. I only wrapped 2 or 3 boxes, and they were clothes and books. We let her discover toys on her own, and it was a lot of fun. I would rather do that again then plop her down in front of a pile.
My mom won't be staying all day. I think she will leave right before or after Mass. So its going to be A LOT to cram into a 3 hour period. (I hope Santa leaves me a starbux on my night stand becasue I am so not a morning person!)
How are you handling the holiday?
Re: Are you hosting Grandparents for Christmas/Eve?
Since Jordan & I have been together we stay the night at my IL's, along with my SIL, BIL & their 2 kids. We all get up together Christmas morning and open gifts together.
MIL gets everyone a stocking, we open those first while everyone is still waking up. Then everyone kind of just starts opening, we don't really go one person at a time...though we do take it pretty slow so everyone can see what everyone got. Before someone opens, that person just says who the gift is from so we know if it came from Santa or someone else.
I really enjoy it. It's become a tradition and even though we're cramped, I really enjoy watching everyone open up their gifts.
We aren't hosting anyone, thank goodness. But we have a lot of traveling to do.
We are starting the morning at our house. K will open presents from us and we will open our gifts. Then we are going to my mom's. K will open her gift from them and we will have breakfast. Then we have to go to my Grandma's house, 2.5 hours away (sigh), and have dinner and open gifts over there.
My grandma was going to come to my mom's house but with my Papa's broked leg it is going to be too hard to travel still. Since he is facing a 6-8 week recovery time.
We still haven't figured out exactly what we'll be doing. It used to be a tradition (before all the cousins grew up) to get together at my moms and open presents from aunts/uncles/grandparents on Christmas Eve, then Christmas morning we would be at different houses and open presents from our immediate family.
My mom just announced that since she cooks on Christmas day that she doesn't also want to cook on Christmas eve and suggested KFC. Jeff said he would prefer that to her cooking. lol. He wants to do fondue though because that is a tradition in his family for Christmas Eve. His parents will be here from Florida and I think staying at my mom's house.
So short story long....i really have no idea! I'm thinking Christmas Eve at my mom's house, doing fondue if not too many people will be there. (we did it with like 20 people a few years back and it was too much work!)
Christmas morning I think it would be good if the IL's and my mom came over to watch G open his presents/stocking and have breakfast maybe and then go to my mom's for lunch/dinner later. I got stockings out for Jeff's parents so I guess I should find something to fill them with! Big Lots here I come!
My IL were originally planning on coming over early this next week and staying through Christmas since they will be driving back from Arkansas (DH's aunt passed away and the funeral was out there, but since his back surgery was today, we weren't able to go). But now its looking like they won't be here until right before Christmas since they plan to stay out there a while to get some things squared away.
But when they get here we will have MIL, FIL and SIL staying in our little house for a few nights. I really wish we could have some alone time with C for his first Christmas, but it will be kind of nice to have them here since we don't see them all the time.
Our plan is to go to my sister's house on Christmas eve, with my family (including my mom and sister, her DH and 3 kids), my ILs, and my sister's ILs and their extended family. We have never done this before so it will be interesting, but i think it will be more of a festive party than a family bonding time. Christmas day we will open gifts here and then my family, including IL, sister and her family will be going to my mom's for most of the day to open presents, and relax and then have an early dinner.