Holiday's...How do YOU handle them??!

Since our families are in TX and CT, we do the holiday split.

Thanksgiving with my family this year, Christmas with his...then next year, we switch holidays. This is our 3rd year doing this. I love it!

When I moved to PA to be with FH, I was clear about this - I have a much younger sister, my grandmothers are in their 80s, and I now live 3 hours away from them - I will be spending all major holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter) with them. Also, I have over 30 people on both sides of the family, so it's not often that I can get to see everyone in one place.

FH, on the other hand, has his mom and one aunt and uncle. His grandparents and dad have passed away. Plus, they live near us so we can visit them whenever we want. Not to mention that when we have kids, his mom will be able to see the kids on all the weekday holidays - their birthdays, halloween trick or treating, etc.

I told him he is welcome to come with me or stay with his family and I am ok with either decision. I see him every day so for me, the holiday itself isn't a big deal. Christmas would probably be the exception because he has spent it with us every year since the first year we dated. (con't)...

He also knows that his mom is welcome to join us, and she often does at Christmas. Usually he spends Thanksgiving with his family and Easter is 50/50.

It might seem selfish, but this was kind of the trade off for me agreeing to move here and away from my family, who I am very close to. And it works for us for now, although I know that something will probably have to change when we have kids.

We also always have New Years Dinner with his mom, and we also have hosted an early Thanksgiving dinner here the one year he spent it with my family.

@Amy V. – you always make my day with your comments. Not only are they hilarious, but they are always true.

@Erin C. – we did Thanksgiving with my Dad last Saturday. Then we split Thanksgiving between my Mom and FH parents on the day of. My family in the morning, his family in the evening.

It works. We don’t get an abundance of time with either family, but at least we get to see everyone. Lucky for us we living 40 minutes from my Dad, 20 minutes from FH parents, and 5 minutes from my Mom. It’s easier for us cause everyone is close. Would be a lot harder if there was more distance between all of us.

We both have families in the area- since we've lived together, we do thanksgiving with his family, then we have Xmas dinner at our house with his father and brother and my immediate family

This is our last holiday that we are celebrating separately. We have spent holidays in the past together and going forward we decided that Thanksgiving will me with my family since we will spend Easter with his family (They live closer and I work a lot of hours that time of year so it is just easier than traveling over 2 hours to my Aunt's house). We will then spend Christmas Eve with his family and Christmas Day with mine. Christmas Eve is really big for both of our families, but Christmas Day it is just me, my sisters, their husbands, and kids, so we felt bad if it was only them alone.

My family usually isnt off on holidays since all of the men drive trucks, so we spend the holiday on the day with FH's family and then usually we celebrate it a couple of days later with mine. For example, this year my dad works tomorow, so we will be eating with FH's family tomorrow night, and then with mine on Friday night.

Thanksgiving is with FI's family usually because my family doesn't do anything anymore since my Dad passed and my Mom is usually working (RN, 3rd shift). Last year I got to spend it with my half brother's family which was cool. I think I'll start doing that every other year. Christmas is harder. We go to my Dad's side of the family Christmas Eve because other than that and one summer party, that's the only time I see them. If FI's Mom's side has anything, it's then too so we do that beforehand. Then Christmas Day we stop off at my Grandparents (Mom's parents) and then off to FI's Dad's side for the majority of the day. We do my immediately family (Mom, sis, BIL, me, FI) whenever we're all available. Sometimes it's not until late January and we celebrate Christmas, BIL bday (in December), and Mom's bday (in December). It's a lot, but it works for us.

We didn't have issues with which set of parents to spend the holidays with. We live in AZ; my parents are in MD and his are in IN. After the first time back to MD during the holidays, I made it clear that I'd not do that again - too cold - but we did both visit this past Sept. His parents come to AZ and stay with him for 2 months every winter, so we have yet to go to IN.

The biggest issue I had was celebrating EVERY holiday with his remarried ex's family to supposedly placate his daughter, who is now 23 (and living in Japan). I put my foot down last year when there was no reason for us to spend the holidays with his ex-wife since his daughter wasn't even in the picture. I could not believe the ex had the gall to ask why they weren't invited to Thanksgiving dinner last year. Truly, I (and her current husband) had had enough of her droning on and on about when she and my FH were married (they've been divorced for 20+ yrs.) every time we saw them. Seriously, who does that?

We would go to my grandma's for Thanksgiving 1 year and the next to his family. This year we are staying home. Christmas was the biggest problem. Christmas Eve my grandma's then Christmas our daughter had to unwrap her gifts from Santa then get ready to leave for his grandmas then to my moms. It got to be she did not get to enjoy Christmas. Last year we invited everyone to our house for dinner but my parents will not come over and his family went to another family members house. So for the most part we just do our own thing for the hoildays which is fine with me.

His family doesn't do much for Thanksgiving, so we will be at my brother's Thanksgiving turkey day extravaganza (his words not mine). Last year at Christmas we did 2pm at my brother's for Christmas with them and my folks and one of my grandmother's. Then we went to dinner with his mother, step father, grandparents and aunt and uncle at a local steakhouse. on Christmas day we went to visit my other grandmother for brunch, then went to his father and stepmother's house.

I think that this year, since Christmas eve was the hardest last year (2 towns in one evening) we are going to my family's on Christmas eve. My grandmother in town will be gone to my aunt's in Colorado (my cousin is also graduating with her Masters in Criminal Justice in December), so we will go to his mother's in the morning (farthest from us), then stop by his grandparents' on the way to his father's house.

Lol-I was worried that it would be hard with two families, and instead i have three to juggle. his parents' don't get along. We told them that when we have kids we will not be making all these stops, and they can suck it up and be adults and come to our place on Christmas or they won't see their grandkids on Christmas.

Well ... this is super easy ... for us ... DH works Holidays (when we are home), so I go see my family and then we plan a trip or two out to where DH's family lives thorugh the year ... I prefer it this way as neither one of us really gets along with each other's parents and sibilings ... so there is next to no awkwardness which is great!

Together we have 5 kids, most of whom are adults with their own homes and kids. So, we switch it up each year. I still cook a full Bird Day meal with all of the trimmings and pies because we like leftovers.

Christmas is usually always at my house. I am seriously Christmas crazy. Everything in my house is replaced withe something Christmas. I collect Spode, Lenox, Possible Dream Santas and every kind of odd Santa you can imagine. I love it. However, this year, we are being Kranks. We will do a tree, our nativity and outside lights only. We are heading to Florida and having Christmas with Cate and her hubbie in their new home. Down their she does the Italian 7 Fish celebration on Christmas Eve and her MIL does Christmas dinner. When we come home, we will have a mini Christmas for my youngest daughter. She gets three Christmases this year: Florida, at home and with the ex.

We spend them with my family. His family doesn't really have a clear crisp idea on what family means. Mine on the other hand is close. I made it very clear that all major holidays will be spent with my family.

We have decided to spend Christmas Eve with my family and the day will just be us at home.

We all pretty much live in the same area, so we all get together every holiday. We alternate whose house we'll be at each holiday. We even get together sometimes and meet at my SIL home in Georgia. It works well for us.

We trade off. One family gets Easter/Passover and Thanksgiving, the other gets the winter holidays (Hanukkah or Christmas, sometimes both). And since we started the schedule before other family members were engaged/attached/living on the same coast, other family members work on our schedule.

We have 3 sets of parents (mine split when I was young so I have 2 sets of my own now.) We still haven't really figured out the holiday thing. Luckily (and unluckily) for us they all live in the same city as us, so we feel obligated to spend Christmas with all of them. For thanksgiving, we usually have one big one with my mom, stepdad, dad, stepmom and other family members. Last year we hosted one big one with all the parents. FH's family has a strong Christmas eve tradition of dinner/presents being opened, so we usually go there since my family doesn't have any major traditions on the 24th. Christmas day last year (our first year living together) we opened gifts at home, then went to my moms, then his parents, then my dad's for dinner (my mom/stepdad came for that as well.)

It was hectic but aren't all Christmases?