This year we spent a quiet Christmas at home, just DH and the kids and me. I like our quiet family Christmases, but I wonder if we are depriving our kids by not giving them noisy, boisterous Christmases fully of cousins and aunts and uncles.
As as kid I had divorced parents and one set of divorced grandparents. Christmas Eve and Day were filled with visiting family, sometimes as many as five different gatherings over the two-day period once step-parents were added into the mix. After DH and I were married and we added in his families' celebrations, things only got more chaotic. We never lived in Hometown during our married life, so the holidays always meant trekking back to Hometown and staying with his parents.
And then we had kids. It wasn't so bad making the rounds with just one kid. But the first Christmas back home with the twins and I was done. We had six celebrations to attend over the course of two days with 6 month old twins and a 3 year old in tow. Needless to say, it was not a pleasant experience, and with that I said no more. From that point on we would be spending Christmas in our own home. Anyone who wanted to join us was welcome, and we would come down after the holidays to visit our immediate families.
It was a good decision. And our parents did come to visit a time or two, when the kids were little. But then MIL got sick, and my relationship with my mother worsened, and most years it's just been the 5 of us. Now that the kids are older we sometimes travel, like last year.
Other years are like this one. On Christmas Eve we went to church, and then opened a few gifts and played games and watched movies together. Christmas Day brought more gifts, and a day of lounging in our PJ's, playing with our new toys. It's a pretty good way to spend a holiday. I just hope the kids feel the same.
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