Apart from a week's holiday in the summer, the period between Christmas and New Year is the only time we get to spend more than a few days in a row together as a family with neither me or DH working. I really look forward to it and to just doing what we fancy, not having to get up or be anywhere at a particular time and generally chilling out.
We are seeing family on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day as well as this weekend but my increasingly irritating DM is trying to get us to meet her sometime between Christmas and New Year because she wants to go shopping in the big town near us. I really don't want to be tied down (and don't fancy hanging round crowded shops while she picks out what she wants) and suggested we try and do something after New Year before DD goes back to school (even though I could do without it) but she clearly thinks I'm being awkward :(.
I've posted before about how pushy DM can be - no matter how often we see her, or for how long, it's never enough. I read on here about people with older kids who don't want to see their parents as much and it makes me feel sad so I do try to accommodate DM despite us leading busy lives like most people. But I just wish she would realise that her constant nagging, organising, competitive business and petty attention seeking makes us want to see less of her instead of more.