We live a few hours drive from DH family so at Christmas usually visit. When we arrive we are rarely fed, his sister rarely turns up to say hello, often we are not fed and end up running to Tesco for a sandwich etc. Christmas spirit is on the floor. I mean completely non existant. We drink sugar in our tea, there is consistently no sugar as they don't. You can forget a Christmas drink and any sweet treats are carefully watched as too much is wasteful. Its a real joy. Over the years I've put on meals in and out, booked short breaks and taken food with us and created a buffet for everyone (always hoovered up) but I'm getting to the point that I can't be bothered. The but, and it's a big one, is that they are lovely people. Just a bit clueless and seemingly unwilling to have too much (any) fun. So, we sit in silence, desperately making conversation until we can go home.
This year I'm thinking:
A) Invite them to us, if they don't come fine but at least nobody is hungry.
B) Suck it up and visit. Its the weekend before Christmas so will be hectic.
C) Let DH go alone and pretend I'm working. He also finds them awkward (so he says but as they are his family I suspect not)
D) Please help me find a solution? It would be nice to actually enjoy their company and a visit as they are lovely people.
Gotta love the festive season!