Do you only have your partner and kids at Christmas?

[purplespink]

Our Christmas is always DH&I and our dc. We’ve gone from a family of 4 to 5 this year. We never see extended family at Christmas as that’s the way we like it, I can never fully relax when we have guests over or are guests to someone. We’re not going to change it (nor do I want to) but is this usual? Do most people see extended family? We only see extended family a few times a year anyway.

DH, DD and I. We love it. We try to go and see his family between Christmas and New Year but thats it.

Just me, DS and DH. Personally I love it, DH and I fully relax have a drink and eat whatever we want whilst DS gets to play with his toys and not be dragged away (it's a two hour drive to family so not ages but enough to have to get up and out if you want the day with them). We're close with both our sides of the family and if either set of parents were ever alone and unhappy about that I would want to see them but to me actual Christmas day is about relaxing and seeing my two favourite people. Everyone else can wait a day or two.

I’m not that close to my family, we just spend Christmas Eve and Day with our children. For those asking what I’ll do when my kids grow up, they can do whatever they want to do at Christmas. We don’t own the holiday because we created them. My family are always welcome to come to us at Christmas but one of their excuses is that they won’t be able to drink very much.

Nope, it’s me, DP, 2 DC, DM, Dsis & DB and his girlfriend ☺️ every year. Back when we lived in London when I was much youngerWe used to go to my nans. Would be me, my brother, mum dad, uncle, aunt, grandad and my nans best friend and her daughter if she was around. Over the years it diminished and my aunt and uncle moved away had family’s of thier own, my little sister came along, my grandad died, DP started joining us and then I had DS. It’s roughly been the same, we have the same menu every year. Think of it as Groundhog Day on Christmas Day 😂

Growing up, it was only ever my parents and brothers at Christmas apart from a couple of years when a cousin lived with us.

My DH's birthday is on Christmas Eve, so it's just me, him and our 2 DC from 24th-26th December. Family can visit us on either side of those dates.

I used to go to my Grans at christmas. I prefer to spend christmas alone these days and think about the new year and make plans. I usually visit them boxing day, if i am not working. But as i have grown older i see them less.

Disclaimer: not religious, didn't grow up in a family that made a big fuss about Christmas or have any extended family nearby. Ex came from a teeny, rural village where his Grandparents, Parents (with other child still in situ), uncles and aunts all lived but 'celebrated' in their own homes. I thought it odd that they didn't just get together for a glorified Roast Dinner - perhaps with alternate hosting. His grandparents were literally so grateful when they were invited to ex's family Christmas at my behest - they lived around the corner! I stopped going after a couple of years (never discouraged ex) because admittedly, wanted to spend very limited time negotiated off work in my own home and not worrying about mega money to get to back of beyond for aforementioned glorified roast dinner and personal exchange of tat (no one ever mentioned religious element!), or being able to relax / take a breath because fretting about getting back in time for work - knowing I'd have to take up the slack because amount of people who would be suddenly sick, had issues with transport, family emergencies etc. It did cause major 'oh woe with us' issues with ex-PILs because Prodigal Son couldn't be arsed to go without me since I was the one that sorted out all the logistics so wish they'd been more like @atamlin!

We used to love hosting everyone. Now though, we have children with SEN and we like them to feel comfortable at home, without the need to mask.

It's just our small, nuclear family and we like it that way.

I've only got 3 other people in my entire family, so tend to be together on Christmas Day, although alternate years we are one down as DD goes to her dad. When/if I no longer have Christmas with the other 2, I'm quite prepared to have Christmas alone. Apart from anything else, no matter how lovely the person, other people's Christmases are weird.

I grew up with big family Christmases. My Mum was an only child so her parents always came to stay for a few weeks over Christmas. My Dad's family all lived within a few miles so they all (grandparents, aunts and uncles and cousins, various widowed great aunts and uncles) came to us for Christmas dinner so Mum would host in the teens each year with help from GPs and us as we got older. As kids we loved it.

When our DC were small and we lived in a smaller house we just stayed at home. We hosted PILs a few times but we didn't have room for them so they had to stay in a hotel. Now we have a big house and host lots of people for Christmas and New Year (alternating DHs family and mine). It's hard work (I had 12 people in the house for a week one year) and I complain about some of the guests but it's important to me that my children spend Christmas with their grandparents.

Just me, DH and our 3 children every year and we all love our little Christmas day together. DH doesn't see his family anymore (half live abroad and he doesn't get on with the rest) and we see my family on Boxing Day and have a big new year break together where we do presents, eat too much, celebrate etc

spending it with my husband 3 children and my best friend and her daughter. X

Always family, I spend the rest of the year just us
my kids would hate not to be part of a big family day with cousins and games, all
opening presents together

I don’t see it as what makes my life easier, I have always done what they prefer

take it in turns to host, last time I did it we had 16 of us

We tend to mix it up, we always stay home (too many animals to be away) we’ve spent the last 2 years just the 4 of us, this year we have BIL and his family coming to stay Xmas eve to Boxing Day. It will be great fun buy exhausting so next year will just be the 4 of us again. I just think spend it how you feel happiest, we love a big family Xmas, they are great fun but expensive and hard work, we also treasure a small Xmas and have been known to just really kick back, chill and order in a curry.

just us or we go on holidays

sometimes we fly back to ireland to family around the 28th/29th for a few days - sometimes my parents come over - always casual - never do a roast - we usually make a load of curries in advance and have those.

even before kids we used to both separate and see families or wed fly off out on xmas day somewhere for 2 weeks - never really into the traditional christmas