Balancing the Hoildays

STRESS!!! How do all you ladies balance the Hoildays? Do you run between familes trying to fit EVERYONE in? Any tips, on how to nicely decline going to certain homes, in the intrest of saving time and sanity????

TIA

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Thanksgiving we have it at my house, so both families are here.
Xmas Eve is a big thing at my inlaws house, and Xmas we go to my parents house.

Easter...we alternate on whos parents house we go to each year..

Good luck

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Once we got engaged, we decided we would alternate Thanksgiving each year...last year we were at my DH's family, this year we'll be at my parents house.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Thanksgiving with my parents.
Christmas Eve, with my parents.
Christas Day
AM: My families house
PM: Inlaws
New Years Day: Im having both families over here.
**Usually do breakfast with my inlaws on Thanksgiving**

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Last year and this year have been easy. All of our family is 1200 miles away.

None of our family is coming down for the holidays. But it's ok with us I like it more when they come to visit on non holiday times because to me it feels like they are coming to see us because they want to not because they feel obligated too because it's a holiday.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

We are lucky that we everything falls into place relatively easily, we just have some timing issues.

Thankgiving: My sis & bil are coming over for dinner.

CHristmas Eve: Usually we go to DH's Brother but they will be away this year so we are going to go to a friend's house that has a Christmas Eve GTG.

Christmas Day: We go to my sister's for brunch and then go to DH's aunt's for dinner.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Ours are usually pretty well split up too.

We do Thanksgiving at my family, day after with his family (leftovers!).

Christmas we usually alternate, so this year it's Eve with his family, brunch on Christmas Day with his parents. Christmas Day with my Family.

Easter is my family because we spend Palm Sunday with his family.

I refuse to travel between houses all day long. It creates stress and clock watching.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

For me its easy, DH's family lives in another country.

My sister;s IL's live in Phili. We always try to do holidays together- and they are always invited up here. Since we both have small families (no extended families), its pretty easy. We all get together either in NY or Phili. It ends up working out. They just try to be fair.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

It's hard...we try to split the holidays but, it doesn't always work out and then we end up fighting about it...

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Since we have been together, we alernate the dinner and dessert...

This year it is my family for Thanksgiving dinner and his family for dessert. The families live pretty close to each other so it is not a big deal.

It has been working pretty well for the past 4 years

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Oh I hate the holidays.. We run around like mad people trying to get to both families.. I can't wait till I have a house and can just host the day myself.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

My FI has a very big family so Thanksgiving we go to his mom n dads for dinner and my mom n dads for desert. Then on Christmas eve we go to his cousins house with his father's side of the family. Then we go to his mom n dads and open gifts and eat breakfast for dinner. Then Christmas day we go to my mom n dads in the morning then we go to his aunts (mother's side) for dinner then we go to my aunts for desert. So that's how we Balance the holidays Crazy

Christine

Message edited 11/16/2005 10:02:01 AM.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

I really don't like the idea of spliting the day in half and driving all over and being rushed. So this year we are going to my family for thanksgiving (dinner) which tends to be earlier, and then to BF side for dissert. But for Christmas. Eve will be with my family, day with his.

I think it works fair and fits everyone in.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Ours has worked out so far.

Thanksgiving: early lunch at my mom's, then off to in-laws (they eat late) for a second dinner and dessert.

Christmas eve: everyone meets at church, then dinner at my mom's.

Christmas Day: my sister has breakfast at her house, then it's off to the in-laws.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

The holidays are always crazy. If we do Easter with my in-laws, we do Thanksgiving with my family. Christmas Eve, we spend some time with the in-laws and then we spend time just the 4 of us. Christmas my family does brunch and then we do to hubby's aunts house for dinner and desert.
Sometimes I just want to do nothing, it is so tiring going all over the place sometimes, but we do love to see everybody, so those few days a year won't kill us.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Message edited 5/21/2006 12:53:53 AM.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

We alternate Thanksgiving, we go to my family on Xmas Eve, DH's family on Xmas Day, my family New Year's Eve and DH's family on New Year's Day. The rest of the holidays during the year are spent with my family since IL's do not do anything to celebrate them.

Message edited 11/17/2005 9:18:32 AM.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

Ok so thanksgiving we alternate one year FH family next year my family

x-mas what we do is go to his family for x-mas eve which is a big thing for them then x-mas day is my fathers side of the family then we celebrate little christmas as well in January and we celebrate that with my mom's family. So no one gets hurt Easter we usually spend with my family cuz his parents live upstate and its to far for one day so we will go to my family for dinner and his for dessert and then the next year we reverse it

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

We alternate every holiday. One year my family, the next his. It has really helped us to keep sane by not having to drive halfway across the workls to make everyone happy. Both our families live near enough to us that we see them all plenty.

Re: Balancing the Hoildays

I dread the holidays for this reason. DH's family is in Boston and mine is here. Last year we tried to do Christmas Eve and morning with my Mom, then Christmas night with his family. We spent Christmas Day in the car!

Now, we are alternating Thanksgiving and Christmas between the two families. Good for me this year, but not next.