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[quote=Anonymous]Agree you need to take the initiative and make some of this happen if it’s important to you. I live the furthest of my siblings and am also the organizer. I plan backpacking trips with my brother and his kids, find the vacation house for us to share every couple of years over thanksgiving, encourage my sister and her kids to meet us skiing. I take a week or two every summer and just drive around New England visiting them or meeting them for mini trips. My nuclear family has never spent a Christmas at home. It helps that I have willing siblings who all get along but my kids would have much less of a relationship with their cousins if I didn’t make a lot of sacrifices to make it happen, including giving up certain things like Christmas morning in our own home.

We also cultivate some of the same vibe locally with friends. There are a couple families we vacation regularly with and a larger group that does potlucks and Halloween and the occasional group camping trip. It’s not the same as cousins but pretty cool to see this group of high schoolers that have had shared experiences since early childhood. That’s not at all to say that these things are pre-reqs for a happy childhood, but if these are things you really want for you kids, take action to make them happen. Rent a cabin and invite some friends. Plan a trip and bring along a cousin.

My mom died when I was a young adult so I knew if I wanted these things for my family, it was on me to make them happen. I can imagine I might not have done that if she was still alive and I instead depended on others to organize.[/quote]

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