All things holiday

[xanthepants]

I figure this could go on for a couple months. And some of us don't want talk about it - some do. From what to get, to Ugh my family is driving me crazy! This could be a dumping ground.

I wanna start with, although this year I'm actually fine with going to ILs for thanksgiving (see how far I've come!) , I still want to cook my own thanksgiving meal at my own house and won't get to. I might still have my own Thanksgiving on Saturday. Because truly I want the week's worth of leftovers and to use my china.

[bliz1712]

I'm actually getting a head start on shopping this year and am almost done. I have NEVER been done before 12/15, so this is a first for me.

I'm super bummed because this is the year that V spends all of Xmas with her Mom. So she'll be gone for almost the whole week of Xmas. And she's not happy about it either. Her Mom is fine giving up her weekends throughout the year, even for V's B-day, but a major Holiday like this she wants to have her around for the show of it.

[nursedesi]

With both of our parents being divorced we usually have 5 thanksgivings to go to and 6 Christmases to do. I love the holidays but being so super crazy all the time makes me stressed and I can't fully enjoy it. We for sure spread our selves way to thin over the holidays! Luckily we don't have to go out of town for any of them.

[roo1582]

This Thanksgiving is going to be hectic and not so fun. The IL's wanted us to come down there to them, but we are going down for Christmas so I don't want to have to drive down for Thanksgiving as well. They will come up to us, but because of all the stuff we have going on, they will be with us for 4 days. We are doing Andrew's 1st bday party the Sunday after Thanksgiving. Usually the IL's make a separate trip to see us after Thanksgiving to cut their Christmas tree (yes, they drive 2.5 hours one way to cut a Christmas tree...) so we'll wrap all that in that little break too. I'm not sure I'll be able to survive being around them so much. I have a feeling its only going to cause more wars between all of us.

[babywinks]

This is a great idea! I'm so excited because I just got the kids some peppa pig PJs for xmas eve (it's our tradition now to open PJs on xmas eve). They will be so excited!

[junkytrunk]

The holidays are going to be crazy and very uncertain for us since I'm due on Xmas Eve. I plan on keeping everything normal as usual and then depending on when she comes, things will get changed around. My MIL asked to do Thanksgiving at our house this year. My bday is the day before and hers is 2 days after.

We usually have 3 Xmas'. MIL's family sometimes in the middle of December, FIL on Xmas Eve, and my family on Xmas evening. I'm hoping she comes before Xmas, so we can still do all the events with our families to keep things as normal as possible for M. I guess we will see...

[aimeefarrahfowler]

xanthepants I know I've posted about this a hundred times, but my family does a Saturday Thanksgiving and it is always better than the real Thanksgiving. (My parents are divorced with SOs and both my sisters are married and everyone is local, so Real Thanksgiving, we all go to the inlaws instead of trying to coordinate a million schedules and eating two meals)

Saturday Thanksgiving is a highlight of my year. We invite a few family friends and my parents still get along so we all get together and it is fabulous and leisurely and no one's feelings get hurt.

I've heard of people having a "Friendsgiving" the weekend after Thanksgiving and that sounds lovely, too.

So if you can't get your inlaws to come to you, do your own thing!

[snickers4everyone]

I'm only semi-excited for the holidays. I've always been super into it, but this year I feel very meh. I can't even seem to get Nicky's birthday party planned.
There's just so much headache over where we will celebrate something and when. Whatever we do, either my mom or MIL will be unhappy. I'm kind of over it.

[mrsplaydoh]

Love this post!

We host Thanksgiving, no big deal though, just 20 people/kids. I'm not a huge fan of Thanksgiving but enjoy looking through all the black friday ads with my sister and cousin which we always do after dinner every year.

Christmas we also do the 4 different houses all day long thing but Christmas Day is also my Birthday so I love it! We do cake and gifts Christmas night for me at my Grandfather's so I do love the hussle and bussle of it all since it's my day too!

My sister is also having a baby boy first week or so of December so looking forward to buying little boy stuff finally!

I did get a couple great holiday recipes from you ladies last year so if anyone has anything good to share in here, please do!!

[paddyb]

I said I would bring a pie or two to thanksgiving...now I just need to figure out what kind and when exactly I will be making said pie....

any suggestions are welcome on type FYI...but not pumpkin (someone else is doing that one)

[samelly]

Ugh... DH and I have lived far away from our families for the last 7 years and we haven't been with family at Christmas. As a result, we always kept Christmas very simple. We don't exchange gifts, or decorate. I do make a nice meal at home and we take DD to some Christmasy events (i.e. they have a night time Christmas light thing at the zoo). We mostly just enjoy a few days off work together.



This year my mom is coming. My mom is a little nutso about Christmas and she wants a tree, expects a giant meal, wants to bake cookies and all of that. I'm also going to have a newborn this Christmas, so that makes me want to keep things even more simple!  I tried to explain that to her already, but I'm not sure she gets it.  She's probably going to show up with a whole suitcase full of Christmas gifts and decorations.  So, I'm going to have to find some balance.

[babywinks]

Nov 3, 2015 13:38:43 GMT -5 paddyb said:

I said I would bring a pie or two to thanksgiving...now I just need to figure out what kind and when exactly I will be making said pie....

any suggestions are welcome on type FYI...but not pumpkin (someone else is doing that one)

Peanut butter pie is a tradition in my family thanks to my mom. It's awesome and can be made with regular crust or graham cracker. Rich and delicious and you don't have to bake it.

I also like pecan, Apple, or chocolate silk or mousse pie. Mmmm pie.

[xanthepants]

I just walked to Target and used my 25% off coupon and got Coco her silly Digi birds and American girl knock off (which was only $19 on sale). Score. Someone else can buy her a real one - this mom is too frugal for that.

Xmas this year I have semi committed to driving 12 hours back to North Platte NE the weekend before by myself with the bean to visit my family for xmas weather dependent. I'm tired of missing holidays with my family. I'm holding strong on xmas eve at our house and I'm not giving it up. Cold dead hands I say. I don't care much for xmas day so we will head over there after Coco has Santa at our house. I took back Christmas!!!! (And yes all the extended older family thinks I'm a jerk for it, but I don't care. The younger ones are happy because now they get to have their own xmas with their kids too)

[justbeth]

Love this post idea!

I'm not a huge thanksgiving fan. I don't eat much of the typical thanksgiving foods because I'm picky and don't do casseroles and stuff. To me thanksgiving is just a road block to get past so it will be acceptable to full on celebrate christmas! We eat thanksgiving lunch with my grandmother every year, it's crazy and my family is nuts. Poor DH. At least he likes the food, his family is vegan and eat Tofurkey, so it was actually his choice to go to my family celebration.

I'm crazy about christmas. We do all the christmas things, starting with the big Christmas tree lighting event at our mall this Saturday. Emma is pumped because every year they take all the usual horses off the carousel and change them out with reindeer, then the little bench gets changed into Santa's sleigh. She loves it and actually refused to ride the carousel for months last year after they changed it back.

Gifts are going to be frugal this year with the exception of the one 'big' gift we got Emma, the doc mcstuffins pet vet center which was on sale. Most of her other gifts I've picked up on consignment, but good condition.

[pinkluna]

Not sure what we are doing with family, but both sets of parents are in town and we do one big gathering each for Thanksgiving and Christmas so it works really well.

Currently planning our Friendsgiving, although we couldn't find a date in November that worked for all 6 families, so it's going to end up being a combined Thanksgiving/Secret Santa thing. Usually we do them separately so I'm kinda bummed. I secretly hoped the one family who couldn't make it in November would have said "go ahead and do it without us!" but they didn't. It should be fun though, we have some friends coming in from out of town and we get to meet their baby for the first time!

We're taking our family/christmas photos in a couple weeks. Excited but nervous since it's a new photographer we haven't used before.

[babywinks]

I bought cranberries at the grocery store today and will be making cranberry sauce shortly. I love holiday food.

[justbeth]

Oh yum babywinks! That's the one holiday food I love!

[junkytrunk]

I can't wait to go to Costco and get their pumpkin pie and hoard it all for myself. Those babies are only $6, huge and taste delicious. 1 piece a day won't hurt, right?

[pinkluna]

ohh junkytrunk,that is good to know. We have a Costco opening near us this month and that will be added to my list!

[sarahandeddie]

I love the holidays and will probably start decorating soon since we'll be on vacation the first two weeks of December. I'm considering offering to host Thanksgiving because we now have the biggest house and it has very few stairs so it'll be easier on my grandparents. I'm just worried it'll make my aunt made because she usually hosts but also invites her family as well as mine.

The one thing I'm not looking forward to is dealing with the issue between DH and BIL. BIL got into some serious legal trouble (but has changed his ways) and DH can't be around him since DH is a cop. It's clearly written in his rules/regulations that he cannot knowingly associate with a felon. My family gives us a hard time every family event because of this. It stinks being in the middle.

[sarasansh]

I'm feeling really torn on Thanksgiving this year. On the plus side, I don't have to host AND I got out of dragging the kids to two houses in one day (the one big downside of having both families be local.) But on the other hand, with this MSPI diagnosis there's going to be a lot of yummy food I can't eat Thankfully my family is wonderful and trying to find some dairy free versions of my favorite recipes so I won't miss out on much.

Christmas is...ugh. It's just so overwhelming. H and I end up exchanging gifts on Xmas Eve because there literally isn't time on Xmas day. We'll start at my parents, who like to do things low key and easy, which is perfect. But then we'll do the afternoon/dinner at the ILs, who last year had so many gifts for Robin we couldn't even fit everyone in the living room. It was way too much. They also expect Robin to "perform" and be really into everything and take pictures and sit for dinner and be in the spotlight the entire time. As an introverted, highly sensitive adult raising a child who is exactly the same way, this is both my and Robin's worst nightmare on any regular day, but then throw in all the holiday stuff and it's train wreck. Last year Robin shut down, threw a tantrum, and then took a 4.5 hour nap and we had to open all his gifts for him. I know this year there will be even more pressure for him to open and be excited since he's a year older and it will probably be a shitshow again.

Okay, end vent. I do like the holidays and I am grateful for having such generous family that we get to see so often, but it just gets overwhelming at times!

[trixi282]

xanthepants, way to stay strong - TAKE BACK CHRISTMAS!!

We've been able to do our own thing quite a bit for Christmas in the past few years... but there's a tradition that's ending on my moms side of the family. My Aunts and Uncles all agree that this will be the last Christmas Eve with the extended fam. When we all started getting married and moving around the country, we did every other year - and we've always done Christmas Eve. So this year is the last one at my Aunt and Uncles house, and I've heard next year they're planning to sell their house too.

H has never been to my Full-Family Christmas, in all of our 14 years together - shocking I know... although I haven't been to one in 9 years either. So I told him we're going... we'll do a mini-Christmas at my moms house that morning, then drive an hour to Fam-Christmas that afternoon.

All I asked is that Christmas morning we have together, alone, as a family of four until at least 12:00pm. I'm taking my time with the girls and Santa, and gift opening, and then I don't care after that.

Although we vaguely made the notion we might host Christmas this year... but I'm not sure we're ready yet, the house is still a work in progress. So maybe next year - but we haven't discussed yet, so if that happens it won't be as relaxing in the morning, I'll have to prep food for people.

[trixi282]

Oh and Thanksgiving discussions began back in early October... ugh - anyway. BIL/SIL will be hosting at their new house, and since neither of them have ever hosted lots of family, nor made a Thanksgiving meal, it's kind of a Pot-luck style. Which I totally understand. So I am making my dressing/stuffing (that H loves) of which the regular recipe feeds an army, so that's good. That will be on Thanksgiving day.

Then, my family is super flexible, so we're going to do our own Thanksgiving on Sunday, so thankfully it won't be back to back... H works Friday and Saturday after Turkey Day (as he usually does), so that sucks... but it should still be a good weekend.

[starfishy]

I don't host for the holidays which is nice. The in-laws have written us off so that's easy. My mom does thanksgiving and Christmas dinner and she lives 2 blocks away. So who has two thumbs and the easiest holidays- this girl! Haha. I never complain.

Tommy said he wanted a train for Christmas. I was like no dude, you asked for one last year, got it and hardly play with it. We talked about other things. Now he wants animal hair salon playdoh (got it this summer. Holla!) and Dentist playdoh. Haha. Much easier than a train.

[britbratjf]

I'm so excited for Christmas!!! My favorite holiday

We are traveling to FIL & SMIL for Thanksgiving- about 2/2.5 hours away. We'll stay a couple nights (hopefully will get grandma and grandpa to watch the kids so we can go see Hunger Games!). Then come back & get our tree & decorate!

I'm sure MIL will want to do a Thanksgiving with us too which bugs the crap out of me. I like thanksgiving fine but don't understand the point of celebrating it more than once. Maybe if we didn't get a chance to see her often I would indeed but she lives 15 min away & we see her a lot.

Christmas is crazy for us because both our parents are divorced. We do a big Christmas Eve dinner with my Dads family, Christmas morning is just us & Santa then that afternoon is a big dinner with my moms family. The weekend before or after (depending on when BIL has his kids) we'll do Christmas with FIL. Not sure when we will squeeze MIL in...maybe Christmas Eve day since H is off but this will again depend on BIL. But I'm excited to see how excited Dagny gets & am looking forward to making cookies, visiting Santa, watching Christmas movies, etc.

[aylafsu1881]

Nov 3, 2015 14:41:08 GMT -5 babywinks said:

I bought cranberries at the grocery store today and will be making cranberry sauce shortly. I love holiday food.

What recipe do you use? I liveccranberry sauce and tried to make it a couple of times. It was way to tart though.

[aylafsu1881]

Nov 3, 2015 14:11:50 GMT -5 xanthepants said:

I just walked to Target and used my 25% off coupon and got Coco her silly Digi birds and American girl knock off (which was only $19 on sale). Score. Someone else can buy her a real one - this mom is too frugal for that.

Xmas this year I have semi committed to driving 12 hours back to North Platte NE the weekend before by myself with the bean to visit my family for xmas weather dependent. I'm tired of missing holidays with my family. I'm holding strong on xmas eve at our house and I'm not giving it up. Cold dead hands I say. I don't care much for xmas day so we will head over there after Coco has Santa at our house. I took back Christmas!!!! (And yes all the extended older family thinks I'm a jerk for it, but I don't care. The younger ones are happy because now they get to have their own xmas with their kids too)

Yesss! I put my foot down when we had E that I wanted Christmas eve and morning at our house. The ILs like to rent a condo on the beach which is nice butdoesn't have trees or decorations. To me that is not how you spend Christmas with kids.

We are doing thanksgiving with the ILs and I usually make a dessert or appetizer. Not sure what it will bbe yet.

paddyb what about a chocolate bourbon pecan pie? I make one following Paula deans recipe. It is easy and really good.

[gk12]

sarasansh I have some good vegan recipes for sugar cookies and oatmeal cookies if you want them. I've been dairy free since Mira was a baby.
It's nice that your family is willing to make food you can eat. I always have to bring food for Mira and I.

[paddyb]

aylafsu1881 that sounds amazing

[aylafsu1881]

Nov 3, 2015 13:58:02 GMT -5 samelly said:

Ugh... DH and I have lived far away from our families for the last 7 years and we haven't been with family at Christmas. As a result, we always kept Christmas very simple. We don't exchange gifts, or decorate. I do make a nice meal at home and we take DD to some Christmasy events (i.e. they have a night time Christmas light thing at the zoo). We mostly just enjoy a few days off work together.



This year my mom is coming. My mom is a little nutso about Christmas and she wants a tree, expects a giant meal, wants to bake cookies and all of that. I'm also going to have a newborn this Christmas, so that makes me want to keep things even more simple!  I tried to explain that to her already, but I'm not sure she gets it.  She's probably going to show up with a whole suitcase full of Christmas gifts and decorations.  So, I'm going to have to find some balance.

I forgot about cookies! I used to do that with my mom growing up and loved it. I need to pick as couple to do with E this year. We usually do sugar cookies but I like to vary the second one. Maybe a white chocolate cranberry cookie would be good.