Holiday Plans?

This will be the second Xmas since my mum died.

Last year I stayed at home, didn't speak to anyone all day, was pretty depressed.

The only person I could realistically go and see is my sister, but she lives 200 miles away (7 hours on public transport) and I dont really have any money, so I will probably spend it alone and being depressed again.

Obviously it is possible to go and volunteer for some charity and do something positive & useful, but it isnt very likely I'll do that.

 

We'll do Thanksgiving over at my middle daughter's apartment again. This is the third year she's done the Tgiving meal. That pretty much makes is a new tradition.

My parents are coming down for Xmas so we'll be doing Christmas Eve over at my sister in law's house, I imagine. Christmas morning will be done here or (again) over at my daughter's. She really likes taking the reins of the family gatherings. And I like her taking them.

I was kind of down last Xmas and didn't decorate my house at all. I'm feeling better this year and I think we'll go all out.

 

I haven't even started to think about it yet. Maybe I should.

 

This will be an interesting one for us.
We always have a family get together for Thanksgiving. It's the one time of year I know that we will all be together.
And this year Hannukah will happen on the same day.
To top it off we leave for Disney World with our kids the Monday after Thanksgiving.
In summary, there will be a total of 5 kids under 6 getting together for Thanksgiving and Hannukah, and my guess is they are going to be totally wired up about it.
The part I'm most looking forward to? Serving the Thanksgiving turkey that we raised.

 

We only travelled back to Maryland at Christmas 2x to my parents when my youngest was little. After that, I insisted on Christmas Day in our own home. My parents came out to see us, or, in later years did not (due to the cold and old-age). Mom is dead and Dad, due to his dislike of Christmas and our weather is coming out for Thanksgiving this year as there can be a drastic difference between end of Nov and end of Dec between here in the Chicago and Maryland, where he's resided for 25 years. He will drive out, as he insists.

We used to travel to spouse's parent's home when our youngest was little later, on Christmas Day, but it was a cramped affair as spouse has six siblings, most married and the house was tiny and frankly, filthy, and dear MIL can't cook to save her life (everything from a can or from a platter at the Jewel).

The bunch of them still insist on doing a big get-together on Christmas Day so mostly we miss them as I have Christmas dinner for my family at my home on Christmas Day. I keep inviting the in-laws, now just MIL, over but she goes to her daughter's.
My only sib does T-Day his wife's home.

There is family politics and estrangements at play and who wants to deal with all, that especially when things are supposed to be festive?
Unfortch, this year my own eldest son won't be joining us for any holiday as he has excused himself from our family (read all about his earlier years on TFP 4.0 where I'm Double D). Things have not changed for the better.
So, for American Turkey Day it will be Dad here with me, hubs and younger son. The next day, my birthday, we are going out to Wildfire with the same bunch, plus my bro and his wife. Christmas, we'll see not my Dad but bro, wife, son #2, hubs and me. To sort of compensate for the lack of involvement with hubs' family we (spouse, son, me) are taking out his mom and her sister on Nov 1. Aunt Eleanor's 84th b-day is Nov. 3. She and I get along really well. Both women are now widowed so I think we'll make a tradition of it.

Last year to take the stress off spouse who'd been working 7 days a weeks for YEARS, we skipped Christmas entirely and went to Disneyland and some other places in SoCal where I'd once lived. This year, tho I'm looking forward to a tree and the decorations and stuff (stockings!). I've learning a bit about holiday cooking. Some of my sides went over big last Turkey Day so there will probably be a repeat this year, maybe try one new one for T-Day and X-Mas. Oh, we love a fresh wreath on the door, too.

 

I haven't really thought about it yet, to be honest. Usually, I do Thanksgiving with Lordeden 's family, then Christmas with mine. Last year, I couldn't make it up to Ohio, so my mom and grandma came down for a very quick visit a few days before Christmas. That was nice, but not likely to happen this year.

I DO really need to make it back home this year. I saw my Mom & stepdad briefly last month, but I haven't seen anyone else in over a year.

 

I try not to celebrate anything, I am usually dragged (kicking and screaming) into family events. If it was my choice, the holidays would be spent using Christmas decorations for target practice.

Bah-humbug!

 

This will be the first year since 2009 that I have a significant other with which to split holidays, so it's going to be interesting. His family has invited my mother, sister, and nephew to join all of us for Thanksgiving, which my mother seems to plan on doing. Otherwise, we will do Thanksgiving with my family a week or two before the holiday, then spend the holiday + day after with his family. For Christmas, things will be simpler - his family tends to do everything on Christmas Eve, and mine always waits until Christmas Day. Yes, it will suck to have a 4 hour+ drive on Christmas morning, but we'll make it work. We then plan on going to DC for a few days around NYE to celebrate with a mini vacation for just the two of us. Hopefully, my mom will be okay with taking care of our puppy for a few days, otherwise we're going to have to find a boarding situation for her.

 

Over the years, I've come to enjoy Thanksgiving more and more. This year my mother and brother will be here. Maybe a brother in law and his SO, also. Maybe a son and his wife, maybe not, they may end up at her parents. Doubt if my other son will be able to fly back for it. I like the rush of activity early in the morning to get the turkey in the oven. I make the dressing. It takes a lot of prep but I love the recipe. Then after the initial flurry of activity there's a lull, clean up the kitchen, enjoy some coffee and pastry.

No plans yet for Christmas. A lot will depend on my son's schedule in December. He's a pilot and its nearly unthinkable for him to be here actually on Christmas. By then, my other son and his wife will be in their new house. My side of the family lives 90 minutes away. It will all come together eventually. We'll have a Christmas celebration here whenever my oldest can get here in Dec and another celebration at my sister's house sometime around Christmas if not on Christmas. It will be the first without my father which I think is going to be more difficult than I imagined it would be.

 

Thanksgiving will be a roadtrip to visit my sister in Atlanta!


This will be the first Christmas I will get to spend with my family in 7 years. I'm ecstatic.

The biggest and most favorite family tradition is the gingerbread house party - all of my cousins, and their friends/significant others/(and now kids because we've all grown up) get together at my aunt's house a few days before christmas and make gingerbread houses. Each year they get more and more elaborate, and we all team up. My mom hosts Christmas Day dinner and the houses come over for everyone else to see.

We also do a family night of driving around looking at Christmas Tree lights. I haven't really celebrated this holiday since the last time I was home, because I was always alone. It feels nice to have something to look forward to again.

 

My mom started bugging me about my plans for the holidays back in August. Not surprisingly, I told her I had no idea yet what I was doing, but things have begun to take shape since then. Thanksgiving will be at my sister's house with her family and my parents. It's likely I'll be joining my parents and sister's family at my parents' house for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, though Mom was hemming and hawing so much about needing me to finalize those plans in order for them to figure out where they were going to celebrate it (at my sister's or my parents' place) that I finally told her to figure out what the hell they were doing and where, and either I'd be there or I wouldn't. No big deal.

My family's most meaningful holiday traditions always centered around things we did together in New York, and this will of course be the first Christmas since they've sold our house and moved away. It's weird to think of passing the holiday season with no connection to my home state for the first time, which is part of why I'm so excited for plans coming together to drive to New York with GeneticShift for the first week of January, after we spend New Year's Eve together.

Did I say I was excited? I meant ecstatic.

 

Love how this sounds ...till the very end. My mom was all about Christmas as she was an orphan and knew many Christmases with nothing. She always made sure our Christmases were very full, family-centered gatherings. And now we are approaching the third Christmas without her. It is hard. Memories are what sustain us.
--- merged: Oct 22, 2013 at 5:53 PM ---

GOOD FOR YOU!
Sounds so fun and you are so overdue!

 

I plan on working way too many hours this holiday season, and generally not pay any attention to either thanksgiving or Christmas. Might be fortunate enough to pick up a Christmas shift for the healthcare job and get the holiday pay.
Got rid of the tree last year, but it had not left storage for at least 2 years even then.