Holidays are a bit complicated for us...
We have a family of four, my parents, my brother, and I. Not too complicated. Now, my brother's girlfriend pretty much gets to decide where they spend their time, and unfortunately, my mother always gets second choice. Like, they'll go for Christmas supper at her parents place, and my mother has to settle for lunch, or whatever... every holiday is like that, mother's day, easter.
I try to manage our time a bit more fair, because I know my mum feels hurt by this, and I totally understand why. Sasha's family is big, and they do big suppers on the given holiday. They can't really start catering to everyone schedule because that's really complicated! Sasha has a twin brother and an older brother, and they have two other step brothers. We figure, if you dont' make it, then you don't make it, that's it that's all.
I think we may have Thanksgiving this year at my parents' place, we did last year at my in-laws'.
Christmas is strange. Sashas's family celebrates Christmas eve, where they get all dressed up, go to 10pm mass, then come home, eat, drink (My MIL makes a huge assortment of hors d'oeuvres and stuff) and get semi-plastered (these are some pretty fun people) and then we all open gifts and turn up the music and party till 4am. We usually head out a little earlier and drive to my parents house about an hour or so away, and sleep there for the few hours of 'night' left. Then we get up and have Christmas morning with my family, where we open stockings and gifts and my parents make a HUGH brunch and sometimes a turkey lunch.
There is just WAY too much food in one day! Then we head back sometime in the afternoon to Sasha's parents place, and we help get ready for traditional Christmas supper.
Our parents are just going to have to get used to the fact that when we have our own family, we're going to have to really pick and choose what we want to do by ourselves, and which holidays we want to be hosts and guests. Right now, it's a lot of running around, and trying to be fair, and trying to keep one person's feeling from being hurt, in favor of another. Every-Single-TIME!!!!
We don't have our own kids yet, (we will next year, there's one with a timer on it right now) but this is the first time we live in a place that's big enough to decorate and get a tree for the holidays this year, and you can bet your butt that I'm buying a Christmas tree, even if it takes up the whole living room!
Ok, that was a long post, props if you actually read till the end, lol!