To think there'd be a higher proportion of happy people at Christmas if everyone stopped in their own homes and did their own thing?

[AgentZigzag]

Yeah yeah, Christmas is the season to be jolly with others, sharing, partying, pleasantries etc, but I think there would be a higher proportion of people happy if we just fucked everyone else off on the 'big day' and stopped at home with our immediate families doing not much.

Of course you might enjoy spending your time with your nearest and dearest family and friends, but I'm sure if this is the case you wouldn't mind letting the norm do an about turn so everyone else can stop pretending they're having a good time with whinging/farting PIL/Mums and Dads/DSis/DB/SIL/BIL/BILs nerdy train spotting convos?

Get up with your own DC, open your pressies when you want, mong out all day in comfy clothes and your fave tipple/munchies, leisurely ply DH/DP with alcohol whilst he's cooking, snooze after dinner, bed after a couple of crappy films - what more could you want?

Well, there might be a higher proportion of parents with young children happy. Not sure about the rest of the population.

That's exactly what I am planning!

We are abroad and DH only has the weekend off work, so not enough time to go anywhere else. It will just be the 3 of us.

we have stayed at home the last couple of years for xmas (me, dh and 2 kids). We go and visit my mum on boxing day instead. (dh's family is 330 miles away so we dont see them)

I fully intend to mong... :) even though will be at MILs!

True. When we lived in UK, had to do the drive from Sheffield to Norwich...shudder...in very bad weather.
PIL, although very nice, had strange customs and did not like people to drink much. Whole point of Christmas I think

Then we moved to Australia. PIL came for one Christmas, which was very nice, but all our Christmas holidays have been lovely. We wake up in our own home when we want and DC open gifts. Easy dinner (usually seafood or BBQ) and lots of drink.

I am looking forward to this year as we have had a hard year and I am planning some nice easy meals and time with darling DS and DD.
Lots of DVDs, games on Wii etc.

We have absolutely no stress on Christmas day! Oh and we spend a lot of time in the pool as usually very hot. Nibbles and fancy drinks poolside.

Sorry justabout, it just didn't enter my head about any alternative meanings to the word, the other words I thought of just didn't seem to fit slob out/blob out/chill/relax.

Would you mind awfully drfay, if I told you just how much I hate you?

By the pool indeed...

yanbu and that is why we do, I get called selfish though.
but why should I drive miles so that dd can sit in her wheelchair all day(strange how they always want me to go to them)
so we stay at home just the 4 of us(and when it is our turn mil)

yes some parents with children might be happier (personally this year I'd love to be able to visit someone for a couple of hours on Christmas day as I'm a LP and my ExH is having the DS's for a couple of hours on Christmas day so I'll be at home on my own ).

But there are plenty of other people who don't have children would be even MORE unhappy as they would then spend Christmas alone.

It's understandable that you feel this way but despite the 'inconvenience' of a slightly more stressy Christmas I'm pleased that I live in a family that actually gives a shit about each other.

So YANBU when it comes to short term happiness.

But YABU when it comes to it long term.

Let's hope your dc don't feel the same about you one day!

S'ok AgentZZ

We live in Brisbane so you know...hot on Christmas. Mind you I found it very strange when I first came and it was boiling hot and we went to the beach. Seemed so wrong somehow...

But now after 12 years am used to it.

sorry OP, I much prefer my version:
we drive to parents' lovely house and get cooked for and plied with high-quality alcohol for a few days, while amusing and much-loved uncle takes it in turns with MIL to entertain kids.
Can't everybody else just do it our way?

High quality alcohol you say seth...?

I could be swayed

My parents seemed very happy to spend a few days and nights with us last Christmas, being totally cared for, and DD was enchanted to have her grandparents here and asked very specifically for us to invite them again this year.

And I am very happy indeed to entertain everyone and host a lovely party for my sister and her family too!

So, OP, YABU.

yup Agent. Champagne, good wine, very old port, take your pick. And you can have as much as you like, there is always another bottle.

YANBU.

We spend the day in pyjamas. We eat chocolate selection boxes for breakfast. If people come round then they can expect the house to be mostly filthy covered in wrapping paper. Tough luck.

This is in contrast with my own childhood xmases which were awful. I have only just recovered (nearly 40).

I must admit that when we had Ds1 we told everyone that we weren't prepared to take child, and all that involves plus Fc presents plus everything else up and down the country at Christmas, but that they were more than welcome to visit us. We stuck to this even more when DS2 arrived.During the 12 christmases since we have hosted my mum and step dad, and MIL and step FIl, usually on alternate years, however when we moved to hampshire it was too far for my step dad to drive so we had a few quiet christmases on our own too, which were also nice.
However, we now live relatively close to both sets of parents (having my mum and step dad and idiot DB2 this christmas) and as the parents get older we might change how we view our "no travel" rule at christmas.
The only thing that would ruin it for us would be the fact that if we stayed at MIL and SFIl, then FIl and SMIl would expect us tos pend part of christmas day with them, and thus we'd have to split our times equally etc.

When we're old and grey and on our own at Xmas we'll look back on these stressful times with young children and grandparents wistfully

agree bigchris.

YABU, for me personally. The day at home, just nuclear family? How is that different to any other day/weekend whatever? You boring shite!

Our family (my IL family that is)Christmasses are great. PIL's all their children, partners and kids, assorted waifs and strays....food and drink and board games and fun. On Stephen's Day cousins and aunts and uncles and neighbours and guitars and fiddles and flutes. And LOTS more drink.

It's absolutely brilliant and I wouldn't miss it for anything. The trick is to actually like your family and enjoy their company.

Some friends of ours get random foreign students for Xmas via the Host organisation, sounds like they have a brilliant time.