Visiting family?

[ChristmasFamilies]

Ok so name changed as I don't want this to link to my previous posts and discolour responses.

Genuine answer a or b or c question. Which most applies to you? Trying to settle a dispute in my circle about the norm.

On Christmas if you have grandparents to your kids (ie your and your dp parents) that live 2+ hours away. Do you -

A) split Christmas doing one year at one family and one year at the other meaning children don't spend Christmas at their home?

B) spend Christmas at home and grandparents visit you and your children?

C) just spend Christmas at home with your own children and visit family on Boxing Day/etc?

My parents and PIL are only ten mins down the road but it's still C every year.

B. We have a big old farmhouse so can fit everyone in

B - we stay at home and everyone comes to us! Christmas is about family so I really don’t understand why people do it alone but hey ho it’s their choice! We also invite any friends round that are at a loose end.

Id say B at least until the kids get older as in teenagers ,then id do A but every 3rd year both families would come to me x

DPs and DPILs live 20 minutes apart, but 2.5 hours from us. DD is a Boxing Day babe. No one has yet deigned to come visit us for Christmas (although some come for 26th or later days).

So we have a D - different to the above option.

We stay at home relatively frequently, offering others to come but basically going out to see extended family after mass for short visits and then going home to cook turkey for 3.

We go "down home" quite a few years too, but we mostly rent a cottage those years for the entire Christmas week, visiting both houses on the day (and eating 2 dinners due to timings! ugh, my waistline!), hosting others (whoever is available - open invitation) on 26th, and trying to catch up with others on other days.

Really don't get all the travelling around on Christmas Day. Sounds hellish.

"Hey kid here's loads of new toys. Now put them all away as we have to drive for X hours to see folk we can see any time during the year".

At the moment A. And then visit the other one straight afterwards.
GPs live in opposite directions and it's not just us but other sibling and family.
However, rather than make the kids get in a car straight after opening presents we just have stockings on Christmas morning before heading off and have our own Christmas at home some time over the holidays. I do a Christmas dinner with all the trimmings and we do presents etc. so often we end up having three 'Christmas' days.

Luckily dh's family have never shown any interest in Christmas so we alternate, one year at ours, one at my parents and my siblings join us wherever (both single). We both have big enough houses to host for several nights

Definitely stay at home Christmas Eve and Day and do your thing. Then choose to visit parents either on Boxing Day or another time before new year and perhaps stay for a night or two if they are able to put you up. It’s a bit flat for everyone after Christmas Day so perhaps you could plan to do a few nice things together- panto, national trust property, walk on beach, pub lunch etc. Or make it clear that they are welcome to come and stay with you during this time. Don’t blame the grandparents though if they don’t give presents until they see you - some grandparents like to watch the kids open the presents from them.

Ours only live an hour or less away but we see no one Christmas Day. Just have a nice day in, the three of us. Then I go to my parents Boxing Day whilst DPs at the football and his family come round on the 27th.

I spent Christmas Day growing up having a house full of family and hated not being able to just play with my new stuff, or watch the Christmas specials, or having to be careful younger cousins didn't break my new things so I'm not gonna do that to DD.