well, things have changed and changed over the years.
As a child, up until marriage, I was used to being home with family. All of our family lived in new england states.
Then I got married, and hubby was used to all of his brothers and sisters and grandparents gathering Christmas day at his parents for the noon meal.
Then after clean up (kitchen), we would open gifts and all the grown ups sat around all afternoon talking, and the kids played.
Then we would eat dinner and visit a little more and go home.
Now that MIL has passed, and hubby and I are empty nesters...we are home on Christmas Eve. I cook all desserts and finish any gift wrapping etc. and we have a quiet evening.
Christmas morning I begin cooking early and kid and grbabies all come for noon meal, then we open gifts.
They stay until they have to leave to go to other family's houses, and hubby and I just laze around.
We stopped going to my mothers on Christmas eve, 20 years ago, when my stepf. passed away.
I think my mother regrets this now, but she let it all slip away, and everyone has other traditions.
One brother lives with her, so she is not alone.
When my kids were little we always went on 23rd to look at lights, then home to cocoa and cookies. Somewhere the week before the big day, we sometimes did Christmas caroling.
I usually read the Christmas story on christmas eve, and we had snacks.
We always had the emphasis on the real meaning for Christmas, and santa and things like that were part of the 'decorations' of the season, if you will.
I miss seeing my mother and brothers all together, but I accept it, bc I have tried and once you lose a tradition it is too hard to get it back together.
If you want this one, hang onto it. Mother may not want to come this year either, but she will eventually.
But, like us and many others, things may just change into something different.
As long as I have my husband and kids and grandbabies around me, I feel blessed :-D