Are many of you are finding it more and more difficult to at arrange holiday plans? I have two children not living in my town. They may or may not get off the day after Thanksgiving or before or after Christmas.
What are you Planning?
Two of our daughters live in Boston. The come home for Christmas , one will for Thanksgiving too…my extended family also lives in MA and my mom’s having a big birthday right after Christmas…so traveling will be complicated for us this holiday season.
We usually host a Christmas part for employees the day after Christmas but I just can’t do it this year. Peopl are going to be disappointed but it has become increasingly difficult for me to balance what little time we have as a family and having a party too
Only one of our 4 kids (DS2) is still in college. He will be home for the holidays. Our teacher daughter (DD1) & her husband live near to us and will be here too, although they have to visit his famiily too. DS1 is 1500 miles away and DD2 is 3000 miiles away- neither can make it home for Thanksgiving or Christmas due to work commitments. Both are coming home the 1st weekend in Dec. and we will celebrate a “faux” holiday- not sure yet exactly what that will entail. The teacher is expecting in Feb. and her friends are having a shower that same weekend (at our house since it is centrally located) so they can include DD2. It will be hectic but hopefully a lot of fun as we rarely get everyone together at once. Christmas day may be quiet for us as probably only DS2 will be here. I thought about celebrating in the morning and then taking him to the Lakers game that night, but the Lakers are so pathetic right now we will probably find something else to do!
Neither of my daughters will be home for Thanksgiving. I thought this was a first but then remembered that two years ago, neither was home for that holiday because D1 was on a post-college-graduation trip around the world (by herself!) and D2 was studying in southeast Asia. I assumed D2 would be home for Christmas but this morning, she said she might go on a trip with a friend. I encouraged her to “go for it,” but I got a little teary after sending my message, thinking about being alone at Christmas.
Neither kid let will be here for Thanksgiving.
We will celebrate Christmas on December 28, because that is when everyone will be here.
Join the club. Son’s g/f has a twin and a brother, which is far more pulling than seeing just a old mom. Understanding takes strength.
Our kids have spent Thanksgiving with us more since they graduated from college–never spent Thanksgiving with us while they were attending college. I’m happy! They’re welcome whenever they can come! By a funny co-incidence, S should be on my flight from HNL to IAD, after Thanksgiving–him returning home and H & I going to meetings I will be attending in Washington, D.C. 
A kid on the other side of the country, so that’s not going to happen. The other kid works at a cancer research hospital and they don’t “close” much so that’s probably not going to happen for Thanksgiving, probably for a bit at the end of the year.
All 4 of us are flying for a Christmas visit with the respective in-laws. They’re all getting on, who knows how many more holidays we’ll have with them. DS will be here for Thanksgiving (he lives nearby); daughter who lives on the other side of the country will have Thanksgiving with her first cousins in Washington DC. I’m so glad she’s doing this. She didn’t grow up around her cousins, and she’s shy, so I’m delighted she’s strengthening ties to people who will be her only family, besides her one brother, when DH and I are gone. The older I get, the more important these familial relationships become.
All our children will be here for Christmas, along with D2’s fiancee and his parents. We haven’t met them yet so it’s a bit nerve-wracking! The problem is, we usually spend Christmas with H’s parents and siblings too but can’t this year because H will be working.
I know the girls will be disappointed because they love to have Christmas at Grandma’s with their Aunts and Uncles. However, Grandma’s house only sleeps 7 and we are now a group of 16 and it just can’t happen anymore. Not in a way where everyone is comfortable. Sigh… I will be happy one day to travel to wherever my girls are but as of now, they are thousands of miles apart. I think we’re all in the same boat.
Thankfully we will be staying locally so we don’t have the stress of holiday travel.
I have the fortune of having daughter with me for both of the holidays.
Since she is an only child the holidays would be just like any other day by myself if she wasn’t visiting.
For the last 6 years, ever since my parents moved near me, my house has been the place to be for holidays. So in that sense, it’s easy. There are no decisions to be made, and we never have to travel, so that’s good.
D hasn’t been here for Thanksgiving since junior year in college. She stayed on campus with friends that year, and on campus with her BF the next year. Her college was a difficult all-day journey from us, so that made sense. Senior year, her retail job made it impractical/impossible for her to take a week off for Christmas.
Last year was her first Christmas after graduation. She and her BF had relocated to Seattle, so a much easier flight to NorCal. His family is up there, so they had Christmas Eve with them, then caught an early Christmas Day flight down here and stayed for a week. It was really wonderful to have them for that long. Plans haven’t yet jelled for this year.
S is still figuring out his flight to join us for Christmas. D is up in the air as to when she’ll be in HI. We are going with the flow. My parents and sibs are here.
S1 goes to Splash at MIT the weekend before TG, so he will work in the NY office after Splash and then hop the train to NJ where we all have dinner at BIL’s. S2 will come up with us.
In December, it will be DH, S2 and me at my dad’s because the rest of the family shows up then, too. Not where I prefer to be since the rest of the family celebrates Christmas and we don’t, but I want to see folks, so there we go.
I am lucky, my older daughter leaves in the same city as me, and the younger one will be home for the holidays. This year D1 is wearing her big pants, she is hosting the Thanksgiving dinner. The only awkward thing is my ex is also invited, and my mom will also be there. But we are all going to be a family for my kids’ sake.
For every xmas since our kids were babies, my siblings and their families always come back to NJ. We all look forward to the get together. Kids learned how to play poker from their Italian uncle. We eat a lot of good food and drink a lot of wine. very much looking forward to it.
Oldest is 22yo and still living at home, youngest is 15. I hadn’t thought about it, but luckily, years ago we started hosting Thanksgiving dinner and have others coming to our house so even when the kids can’t make it, we will have company. On Christmas and Easter we host an open house/brunch and have a big crowd, so again we will have plenty of company even when the kids can’t make it. Although, I will certainly miss having them around if they ever can’t make it.
This will be the first Thanksgiving that S will not be celebrating with us. He is studying in London and he has classes that day. D and her new H will join us.
S will be here for Christmas (yay!), not sure about D and SIL. He works in healthcare and they live 4+ hours away. They may come to our house, stay at theirs or opt to visit his family. We have set no expectations for them, it is their choice.
My son out in CA gets a lot of vacation time. He takes the whole Thanksgiving week off, though he usually flies back on the Saturday not the Sunday to avoid crowded planes and crazy traffic. S2 is currently living at home. I should found out if his girl friend would like to join us, but even though she’s from Hong Kong, she seems to have a lot of relatives living here. Last year she spent time with them. My nephew and his girlfriend are probably coming down from MIT, but his mother will probably stay in DC this year.
Wow…listening to your stories, I better appreciate this time. Both boys in college, just an hour away for both. Will be here for all holidays.
Mine are in their twenties and well beyond college. They live in other parts of the country, a plane ride away from us. Neither will be here for Thanksgiving, and one is questionable for Christmas. He just started a new job and may not be able to get any time off.