When did you stop going to your parents for Xmas?

[splendidisolation]

How old were you and why did you stop?

Age 44 and we always go to my folks, my dsis and family friends too. We all chip in and bring 2 or 3 dishes for our family Christmas meal.

Everyone has a lovely stress free time.

When DD was born. Until then we alternated between DH's parents and mine, but when she was born we said we were staying at home from now on and anyone who wanted was welcome to come to us. What tends to happen now is that PIL come to us and we try to visit mine not too far off Christmas (my mother and MIL don't really get on).

I was 48 the first time I didn't go 'home' for Christmas. We had to stop as my mother couldn't cope with the whole family descending, even though for a few years the whole family had taken the burden from her by doing the cooking etc.

I still miss it. Christmas hasn't been anything special for 4 years now.

Always see parents on both sides on Christmas Day. They live quite near and are lovely. Christmas dinner is just us though atm.

35. Because they both died.

I'm 53 and have only spent one Christmas without my parents! Sometimes we have Christmas at one of the siblings houses but we are always all together - I love it.

Started doing alternate Christmases at my parents and in laws once I got married at 28. Always see them around Christmas if not on the day. Although this is the first year we have our own house rather than a flat so it might change in future.

Never!

35, when they had both died. It kills me (38 now) and I find Christmas agonisingly painful.

Welshmaenad Me too.
I feel so jealous hearing of people in their 40s and 50s who still have Christmas with their parents ..

26. DH and I's families live at opposite ends and sides of the country: our first Christmas together we spent rushing round trying to please everyone. Nobody was satisfied, and we were exhausted. Never again.

When I was 21.

I'm.44 we still go, dh has no family to speak of so there's no every other year I was a nurse for years so worked some Xmas days dh and the kids still went though my son's disabled so I don't work now so we go every year, I love my parents they are in their 70,s we either help to cook the dinner or go for a meal and stay at mum and dad's.

Welsh, Hollie, me too.

Sucks doesn't it?

When DC1 was born and they started coming to me "because children need to be in their own home at Christmas"

21 I think, I had just moved in with DP (now DH) and we had our first Christmas alone together in our little rented house. We had a lovely time . We did go and visit families after Christmas.

Since then we've always had at least Christmas Day at home, with varying levels of visiting/travelling.

My family came to us for DS's first Christmas, that was pretty special. He was 5 months and we were so sleep deprived, but having mum and dad and my brothers there was lovely.

I was 45. There was no way my lovely mum was spending Christmas alone. DD was little (under 4) and DP was understanding. She was late 70's at the time, she literally ordered everything online. The year she ordered DD a very posh kiddie pram and seeing DD's face when her beloved granny dragged it out (poorly wrapped 😀) from under the stairs was priceless.

21. I was wondering how to tell them I was going to spend it with the family of this dodgy older man I'd picked up (21 years later that's MrNC!), finally got the courage to tell them that (but not that I'd rather kill myself than have another Christmas with my mother), and it turned out they'd booked the holiday of a lifetime over Christmas and were wondering how to break it to their only child who had no other family in the country. So relief all round.

Spent the next 16 years with ILs, until we had own kids. And even have my parents over for a few hours and enjoy it.

Never!
My parents have a massive house and there are quite a few of us.
My ex doesn’t celebrate Xmas so he doesn’t have any claim on it and I’m single.
Other siblings alternate between my parents and partner’s parents.
Christmas is lovely and I would hate to have to have it on my own.

Been to my mums every year and I'm 32, she just loves doing the meal. She is on her own too so could never leave her alone. I feel like all the days around Christmas are basically the same so we have our own Christmas day at home on one of the other days.. I actually prefer Christmas Eve and Boxing day for some reason.

When I got the hint of them insisting visiting me before Xmas day 😄

I moved away and it got to difficult dragging kids and stuff on trains to visit them. Forget my age

I'm 60, and along with my family, will be celebrating Christmas with my DM in my childhood home. The actual meal will be nearby at my DB's as catering got a bit much for my mother a few years ago. Plus she is a terrible cook, a skill she passed on to me!

Wouldn't want to go anywhere else
I'm 47

Chair
Its like an awful club that no-one wants to belong to

Never, really. The odd year away on holiday.

I'm 38 and I still can't host Christmas, and my DParents still can. I really want to become the host, but that's the property market in the south east for you. In their generation there was a definite passing of the baton, but not for us.