How many Xmas gatherings do you attend? (Bitching inside)

closequarters

closequarters

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I do a Christmas with my family and a Christmas with my wife’s family. My wife tried to add a wrinkle to that this year and tried to drag me out of town (only 1.5 hours, but still) to Christmas with her father’s cousin’s family. I said wtf and hell no. I told her I only do Christmas with immediate family.

She is super pissed at me right now. Her arguement is that she has a small immediate family (where as I have 5 siblings and a bunch of nieces and nephews) so she needs to spend holidays with cousins, 2nd cousins, etc. because that’s her family.

I feel kind of bad because I don’t want to keep from spending time with her family but I also don’t want to start celebrating Christmas 3x a year, especially with distant relatives. Growing up we had 1 Christmas, my parents, my siblings and grandparents (if they wanted to come). None of this going to other people’s house BS.

Am I being a grinch? My wife says I just ruined Christmas.
 
One day all those cousins and uncles will die and you'll feel like sh*t about this
 
Pics of wife before I pass judgement.
 
My mums family, my dad family and my cousins on my mum's side.

So three things.
 
Just one with the wife's family. Mine are all dead or live far except mom so she usually comes over Xmas day for a bit.
 
Just one and it's not every year last year we didn't have one. This year I'm at it right now we do the party before Christmas
 
closequarters said:
Am I being a grinch? My wife says I just ruined Christmas.
Click to expand...

If she is close with them, it doesn't seem unreasonable that she would want to see them for the holidays. Without knowing all the facts & just having a surface view of the situation, yeah you sound a bit grinchy.
 
I end up having to go to 4-5 different places (xmas eve included) due to my parents being divorced and my fiancées parents being divorced. It blows.
 
muppet said:
One day all those cousins and uncles will die and you'll feel like sh*t about this
Click to expand...

I don’t mind visiting them or having them visit for any other reasons during the year, just not Christmas.
 
My wife is from the East Coast and we live on the West Coast. So one year we go there and next year we stay home. When we go there, we stay for a week and I wouldn’t say we attend multiple Xmas gatherings. It’s more like one giant one. It’s not bad though because they drink a lot (and they aren’t angry drunks. They’re the fun loving type). So it’s just 5 days of booze and good food.

When we stay home it’s Xmas eve with some extended family. Then Xmas with my immediate family.
 
Peteyandjia said:
If she is close with them, it doesn't seem unreasonable that she would want to see them for the holidays. Without knowing all the facts & just having a surface view of the situation, yeah you sound a bit grinchy.
Click to expand...

Perhaps but I don’t think I’m ever going to want to spend Christmas with distant relatives. There’s birthdays, weddings, and a bunch of other reasons to spend time with family.
 
ThinkGreen said:
I end up having to go to 4-5 different places (xmas eve included) due to my parents being divorced and my fiancées parents being divorced. It blows.
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At least those are your immediate family though. Do your parents all have new families? That would be good for them but probably worse for you guys.
 
closequarters said:
I do a Christmas with my family and a Christmas with my wife’s family. My wife tried to add a wrinkle to that this year and tried to drag me out of town (only 1.5 hours, but still) to Christmas with her father’s cousin’s family. I said wtf and hell no. I told her I only do Christmas with immediate family.

She is super pissed at me right now. Her arguement is that she has a small immediate family (where as I have 5 siblings and a bunch of nieces and nephews) so she needs to spend holidays with cousins, 2nd cousins, etc. because that’s her family.

I feel kind of bad because I don’t want to keep from spending time with her family but I also don’t want to start celebrating Christmas 3x a year, especially with distant relatives. Growing up we had 1 Christmas, my parents, my siblings and grandparents (if they wanted to come). None of this going to other people’s house BS.

Am I being a grinch? My wife says I just ruined Christmas.
Click to expand...

Enjoy your iPad!
 
I usually do xmas eve at my friend's sisters and dinner on xmas day with my family but this year I'm skipping tonight because I wont be able to make it out there until late and don't want to force people to stay awake to hang out with me and then get woken up at the crack of dawn by kids wanting to open presents
 
NHB7 said:
My wife is from the East Coast and we live on the West Coast. So one year we go there and next year we stay home. When we go there, we stay for a week and I wouldn’t say we attend multiple Xmas gatherings. It’s more like one giant one. It’s not bad though because they drink a lot (and they aren’t angry drunks. They’re the fun loving type). So it’s just 5 days of booze and good food.

When we stay home it’s Xmas eve with some extended family. Then Xmas with my immediate family.
Click to expand...

To be honest, if they were more fun we might be closer. If we were closer I’d be more inclined to spend the holidays with them. Our gatherings with them are pretty boring.
 
It's always a hassle at the holidays as to whose family you spend time with. The mothers side of my family always had a big Christmas get together. One year on Christmas Eve and the next on Christmas Day. Originally at my mother's home farm. Horse drawn sleigh rides until the 1970s. After my Grandfather died my mother and father started hosting. That ended when one of my mothers sisters got divorced and most of us cousins were married. Too many families involved. Some families celebrate on Christmas Eve only and expect everyone to be there. When I was married, my wife's parent's expected all three of their children to show up. My wife's brother and sister were both married to parents who expected the same thing. Her brother didn't go to either one because someone would be hurt if they went to the other.
 
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