Where do you spend Christmas and who with?

[bbbum]

I find Christmas stressful, trying to fit in divorced parents and DH's family too.... How do you do it? Who do you see and when?

Just the four of us! Me DH DD and DS! Much happier since we agreed to do that. My family aren't exactly Christmas people so thankfully they don't even mind us not inviting them. We will see them on another day.

We have a separate Xmas day (presents, huge dinner, the full works) on another day in the holidays, when DSCs are here - they spend the 25th with their mum each year as that's what they prefer, so they get 2 Christmases :o

DH and I always spend Christmas in our own home and invite my DM, my DBro his DF and this year we have DS :)

If anyone can't make it or spends it elsewhere we tend not to worry as they know they are welcome and we don't take offence if they're working or have other arrangements.

I think with divorced parents I would make the decision to spend Christmas day with just the immediate family, and see everyone else after Christmas, but before New Year and just be blunt and tell them as you don't want to be seen to be favouring one set of people over another.

A lot of people do alternative Christmas's, one year with one set of parents, the next with the other - this might be worth doing?

we go to my parents with the kids and there is all my 6 brothers and sisters their partners and children and whoever else my mum has invited because they had no one else for christmas :)

boxing day we have a small gathering with my fiances parents and some of our friends :)

We sometimes have 3x Christmases to fit in my two sets of parents and then his too... But it's always us doing the running around, and 3 turkey dinners and the expected fresh enthusiasm is not always fun. Plus we have DD to consider now and if we ever wanted to do Christmas at ours on our own, that would be 4 bloody turkey dinners.

Alternating not such a good option with 3 sets!

Christmas day at home, the three of us - me, DH and 10y DD. Always have done.
Christmas Eve we visit both sets of parents.
Boxing Day parents and siblings with families, if around, visit us.
Also see family at other times over Christmas.

Christmas day
Morning - opening gifts with our DDs. Phone call to DH's DMum who always goes away for Chrismas.

Lunch and afternoon is going to be spent with my family (yay - DH not always keen to go, but has agreed this year!)
Evening, we all go round to my sister's house. (We take it in turns and it will be my turn next year!)

A couple of days later we will go to MILs when she gets back from her hols.

Christmas Day and Boxing day always spent with 8 friends.

Due to us all working in the public sector some or all of us will have shifts over the Christmas period so whoever is not working Christmas Day provides a Chrismas lunch served at about 2.30 (for all on early shifts) and everyone contibutes to an evening buffet which people dip in and out of as shifts finish.

Then we repeat the process on Boxing Day at somebody elses house.

This means everybody gets a christmas lunch at some point and we get to spend time with friends we love.
We have done this for 20 years now - seen each others children grow up and now some have children of their own......brilliant.

We celebrate Christmas with our families on a week end before the actual event- 2 Christmases YAY!!!

We spend Christmas at home just me, OH and our 5 DC.
We shut the front door on Christmas eve and on't open it again until some time between christmas an new year.
Very stress free!

We alternate every year - have done since been together.

One year with PIL, next year with my family. Whoever we don't spend Xmas day with, we spend boxing day with. Its the only fair way we could think of.

This year I am doing Xmas day at ours for PIL and we will go to DM on boxing day.

At home, just the three of us.

We do my family on boxing day and DH's family at some point between Xmas and New Year, and usually stay over for a few days.

All our family are about 2 hours drive away.

Xmas day with in laws (mil, FIL, bil, SIL) me DH, new baby and big kids this year. Next year big kids are with their dad on Xmas day. Usually go to see my parents between Xmas and new year, although doubt that will happen this year as baby will be less than 3 wks old (not arrived yet)

I hate cooking and hosting so am greatful that mil will never let us not be with them. (and me and my parents are more than happy to celebrate after the actual day).

At home (4 of us), and PIL come to stay. We're always at home and anyone is welcome to stay. they're all at some distance so a 'stay' would always be more than just one night. My parents are unlikely to ever come to us at Christmas, but we see them in the autumn. We are considering going to them in the next few years. We used to alternate before kids and then stopped travelling altogether - in every case we'd be travelling at least a whole day to get to see any of our families.

At home, with DP my two sons, my first husband, my mother, my sister, sisters boyfriend (and this year their new baby)

We go to my parent's house and celebrate with my parents, DS, DBil and DN, 9 of us in total. We spend new year with PIL.