Dealing with Christmas with a skid
I've been with DH for 4 years so this isn't really anything new, but every year I get so damn aggravated that our entire Christmas day revolves around skid!
BM and DH switch every other year - so last year, we had SD Christmas eve until noon on Christmas day. This year, BM has her Christmas eve until noon on Christmas day and then we get her.
BM lives 1.5 hours away so we have to spend all Christmas morning driving to get skid, then we have to come home so she can open her gifts, go to DH's family's house (even though we are seeing them on Christmas eve too but apparently that isn't enough for them since SD won't be there) & then finally to my family's house.
The constant running around is just so stressful & takes any would-be fun out of the holiday. I seriously hate it. I can only imagine how irritated I will be when we have a kid of our own & I have to cart him/her around all day to accommodate skid.
I would be Christmas cranky
I would be Christmas cranky too, with that sort of driving schedule. This is what happens when folks are anal about celebrating on the actual Christmas DAY. Takes the joy right out of the season.
In your shoes I would have DH go pick up SD on his own. Why would you need to tag along for the drive. That's three hours right there.
Same with repeating the Christmas visit the next day with his family. You just did it the Eve before...why do you need to go again.
Relax at home.
I certainly wouldn't be schlepping a baby around in the future.
Of course...I'm old and crotchety and don't care about making the whole world happy at my expense.
The only time you would need to drive would be to your family if you haven't seen them yet.
In our family we do the Family Christmas the weekend or two before...to take the pressure off of everybody.
^^^I'm the same way! No way
^^^I'm the same way! No way would I be doing all that riding around. When I was married, my mil thought we should schlep our kids' gifts four hours to their house so they could see the kids faces as they open up gifts from Santa Christmas morning! I sat down with my husband and we decided together that no matter where we went before/after Christmas, the kids would be waking up at our house Christmas morning and we were going to do what WE wanted, not what our parents wanted. The reason the in-laws thought we should do that?...Because that's what THEY had to do. Stupid people. Stay home and enjoy the holiday. Use your voice or you will always be miserable!
I don't actually have to
I don't actually have to drive with DH to get SD and I usually don't go on the drop offs/pick ups, but I feel bad making him ride alone on Christmas.
I would love to celebrate with family on a different day but my dad just passed away a few years back so I can't leave my mom alone on Christmas day.
I just think it's stupid. Their CO says every other year they get Christmas eve until noon on Christmas day. Why not just have both every other year. I think it puts entirely too much focus on skid. We shouldn't have to spend our entire holiday driving her back & forth. Ugh!
I celebrate Christmas with my
I celebrate Christmas with my family, and DH celebrates with his. It's all about skid anyway, so I don't really feel the need to tag along. Saves me two hours of car time and a whole lot of stress.
As a fellow grump, I also have not felt a pressing need to fulfill the latest commercialized expectattions of the holiday season for some time.
I would LOVE to do that. I
I would LOVE to do that. I can't stand being around MIL and SIL anyway, & every Christmas all they do is watch SD the whole time anyway.
Seriously, it's like they've
Seriously, it's like they've never seen an illegitimate child before. What's so entertaining?
LMAO! I know right. They
LMAO! I know right.
They literally just gather around and stare at her the whole entire time lol. & it's not like she's a baby, she's 5 (almost 6) years old. *puke*
Ugh. I hear you. Christmas
Ugh. I hear you. Christmas Eve, he has to drive an hour to pick up the kids, then we have to drive 2 hours away (SEPARATELY) to his grandmothers house, then he has to drop the kids off with BM (because if I am anywhere near her she will try to kill me. Yah.), then drive all the way back to where we live to spend the night with my side of the family.
I hope for your sake that Christmas is a little smoother for you this year. When you have your own baby, family will just have to learn to understand. End of story. You're a human being, not Wonderwoman.
Ha .. I wouldn't do it. My
Ha .. I wouldn't do it. My family gets together on off-days to avoid this very thing. If we can all agree on one thing, it's that we want to stay put in our homes come Christmas Day.
Right!! That's how I feel!
Right!! That's how I feel! The last thing I want to do is run around.
But even if we don't go to DH's parents' on Christmas, we still have to drive 3 hours to get skid. So irritating.
HE has to drive 3 hours to
HE has to drive 3 hours to get his kid
You're right. I am not sure
You're right. I am not sure what I'm going to do yet.
Normally I don't go to the pick ups and drop offs but for some reason I feel bad making him go alone on xmas.
This is one of the reasons
This is one of the reasons though I am sad it is the first Christmas DH and I will spend apart I get to enjoy my family. No midday exchanges, no drama of if timing will be off. Lunch on the 23rd, driving on Christmas Eve to see my family and driving home either Christmas day or the day after to a empty drama free house! Yes we will have to do all the Christmas stuff when DH gets home with his family but at least for the actual Christmas Day I get peace!
That sounds wonderful! Enjoy
That sounds wonderful! Enjoy yourself!!