Reply to How can I gracefully bow out of Christmas next year?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]And, op I think your mom will be fine with it. You could invite her along if that’s an option. Or celebrate the week before.

I do a big Christmas party the Saturday after thanksgiving so everyone is still in town. We do a yankee swap with a $25 max. Then everyone is on their own for Christmas. [/quote]

She’s definitely not going to be fine with it, but after hearing her prattle on and on about how she hosted and bought gifts for years and did her share, I don’t really care. I do feel badly that my single sibling will be alone. Growing up, all family was local so holidays were a one day event, and my mom seems to remember it differently than I do. I remember my grandmother doing most of the work, even if it was at our house. 
The other people who come are cousins and their partners who I don’t speak to during the year and am just tired of hosting especially when they show up late, throw off my entire “plan”, don’t bring anything to help out. We also have to sit through their gift exchange while my immediate family looks on with nothing to open. My sibling and cousins are close. [/quote]

Your sibling won't be alone if they host your mom. I would reach out now to your sibling(s) to let them know you won't be hosting Christmas in 2024. Let them know you plan to email everyone a heads-up in March, but wanted to give them an early alert in case they are interested in hosting your mom or others, so that they can preempt your message with a "this year X is hosting" invitation.

Personally I wouldn't want to travel for Christmas. Rather than do that, I would just tell everyone in March that my 2024 resolution is to simplify and focus on my kids, and so we're doing Christmas alone this year. You do need to let people know really early so they can adjust to it. [/quote]

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