Thread: Holidays - how do you handle both sides of the family?

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For those that are married with kids ... how do you handle splitting time with both sides of the family for Holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter?

Looking toward the "Holiday" seasons ahead, we are just plain done with all the driving and shuttling around to appease both sides. We have several options on the table, but I'm curious what has worked for you all.

I am with ya there! We have always visited both families for all Holidays. It was hard when the kids were young and made for a very long day. My family lives about 1 hour and 15 minutes away and then from there we would have to travel 45 minutes to his family. Then another 45 minutes back home. We still do it now only for Christmas cause we do Thanksgiving. I guess you have to start a tradition early on by going to one family and then the next day or weekend go to the other's family. Or swap Holidays......one family Christmas and one Thanksgiving and swap the following year. It is always hard and we try to stay an even amount of time at both. I figure it is to late to change things now and my Mom is 90 and still living on her own so we will continue to do so. None of my kids are married either but once they do we will stay home and start our own traditions.

When my daughter was about 3 or 4 we quit going to everyones house and told them to come to our house, my wife at the time enjoyed all the cooking and having everyone there. I usually drank like a pig!!

We live 200+ miles from my parents house, which is the side we most get along with. My wife has some issues with her parents, one of them being they are hoarders. Yep.
Their house is not fit to visit. However, they are now retired and are trying to force themselves into Holidays with us. We used to live in the same town as them, so swinging by and doing dinner somewhere or having them over was an option.

Now, we pack up our two boys, 3 and 1, and head to my parents usually for 1 or 2 nights. We swing thru her parents, adding an hour onto the drive, on the way back. We usually end up getting home around midnight and it flat wears me out as I almost always have work the next day.

My brothers have young kids and all the cousins love being together. My wife's brother is unmarried with no kids.

Ugh.