My family hates kids and is generally bitchy and mean...and my husband's stews passive-agressively if we dont do all their recipes and traditions to the T. Goodness, are they ever unhelpful and judgy. Both families just suck the joy out of holidays. DH and I have really 4 very young and delightful kids and we just got sick of fighting a loosing battle to enjoy holidays with them.

Now, we don't hesitate to decline offers to spend holidays with extended family now. We started our own traditions which I steer toward things we can do together and which give a sense of harmony and balance through the holiday weekend. A short walk to get exercise and exposure to nature if possible, a drive to see city holiday lights, a historic site to feel connection to history and tradition through time, something silly like a kid tallent show or a joke contest to just have a laugh, and food of course. We have a different food culture theme to the meal each year. Never the same exact recipe but traditional in being a very different turkey/sides every year. And, lastly, we love hitting as many of friend's Thanksgivings festivities as possible. So and so's at noon, another family's at 2pm, ours at 4pm, 6pm at another friend's grandmother's. it give us that joy and community we don't get from our own extended families.

Anonymous wrote:We decided to start our own tradition and travel during thanksgiving. Paris this year. Great time great food and great memories. I find holidays with the in laws so boring.

Love it!

My family is "boring" because I am an only child and my parents aren't close to their siblings so I don't have a big extended family. I love holidays at DHs because of his siblings, cousins, neighbors, etc. When there's a house full of people you can always leave the boring room and ask if anyone wants to run to the store, go for a walk, etc.

This year, to alleviate boredom, we went on vacation with my parents. It was fun and my parents got to brag on FB with pics of the vacation their daughter took them on.

We decided to start our own tradition and travel during thanksgiving. Paris this year. Great time great food and great memories. I find holidays with the in laws so boring.

Anonymous wrote:
8 year old DS's idea of fun is discussing entropy, chemistry experiments, the immune system, DNA, World War II, paleontology, early human evolution etc.
He has 2 scientist parents who think it's terribly exciting too, until we remember that other people may prefer talking about something else!
Sigh. Sorry guys. It's Asperger central here.

Lol humblebrag