May your holiday be celebrated with those close to your heart.

Are you and your husband struggling to visit both families on Christmas? Has Christmas become stressful and unenjoyable for you? Do your kids just want to stay home Christmas day  to play with their new toys from santa? Are you always looking at the clock to make sure your on time for your next house? Do you get home so late on Christmas Eve ? Are you staying up until 3 or 4 in the morning getting your stockings stuffed and last minuet present wrapped for your kids? I have a solution for you.
To be honest it was really hard for me to do the transition at first. I was raised Italian Irish and we always had to make sure we visited on Christmas not the day before not the day after. Because the families had to see you on the holiday.

Raising 3 boys was crazy enough. Never mind celebrating the holidays with family. People who have kids know what I mean. We use to have to go to Connecticut , Massachusetts and New Hampshire in one day to see our families. So one year on Christmas my boys were playing with their new toys. I had to cut their playing short so we could do the holiday visits.Of course my boys gave me a hard time. I thought this is silly they should be able to stay home and enjoy their toys. After all Christmas is for the children. So that Christmas I discussed with  my husbands family Christmas next year at my house. My husband’s family  agreed .We decided the weekend before Christmas, our family Christmas would be celebrated. Wow !We have a great time now and there is no stress trying to rush to one house to another. It’s simple.  It took me a while but you know what,I can honestly say I love it. It keeps the spirit going longer my kids got to stay home enjoy Santa’s gifts. You really enjoy both sides of the family. It’s a real compromise and stress reliever for the parents. You can even switch it up each year if you like.  Of course my decorations can be appreciated by family now. Holidays should be celebrated and enjoyed. They shouldn’t be laborious or dreaded. So if you are tired of visiting everyone in just two days . Have two Christmases believe me it works, everyone wins. Besides it’s a lot of work for the host to prepare and feed everyone that shows up. At least you can give the respect to her by not rushing to another house.

If you want to enjoy your friends at the holidays. Host a holiday pot luck at your house with a yankee swap. Each person or family brings their favorite dish to share it’s fun. All you need  is a host food provided by the guests.

You can do it before the holiday or after the holiday . It has become a christmas tradition at my house. Happy Holidays Have a great day!!.