I think they are being unreasonable. Kids deserve to wake up in their OWN homes on Christmas morning and play with all their new stuff and stay in PJs all day long if that is what they want to do. My parents divorced when I was 5 and we had to go to my dad's family every other year (drive to IL and spend a week in a totally boring house where we knew no one b/c his parents wouldn't come to DC to be with us) and my mom flew us to Puerto Rico to be with her extended family when it was her year. I learned very early there was no Santa b/c my mom packed all our gifts into a big duffle bag to bring. It blew! I always made a promise to myself that I would never make my own kids travel on/during Christmas until they were old enough to not want to do a Christmas morning tradition at home. People are welcome to come to us if they want, but guess what? They all want to celebrate in their own homes so we spend the holidays just the four of us and I LOVE it. We go out to a nice restaurant on Christmas Eve. Come home and have dessert by the fire. The kids watch a Christmas movie and DH and I relax by the fire. Once they are in bed we bring out the gifts. Christmas morning we do home made cinnamon rolls and coffee under the tree. Brunch is late morning, bagels, lox and all the fixings, dinner is out to our favorite Chinese restaurant which is always PACKED and festive. I wouldn't do it any other way.

Anonymous wrote:I noped out of celebrating the holidays outside of my home. My family knows that if they want to spend Christmas with my children that they come to my house. I spent the first 5 years of my kids lives (and the bulk of my own life) alternating holidays and travelling. Then I realized, no one else had to do that and I was the only being asked to travel, etc. So two years ago, I said everyone was welcome to come to my home but I'm not travelling for Thanksgiving or Christmas anymore.

Same. It was liberating.