All my life we've had a set Christmas schedule of going to my father's parent's on Christmas Eve, our close Family on Christmas morning, my some of my mother's family Christmas afternoon (until my Grandmother died about five years ago, after that it was just close family all Christmas day), and then most of my Mother's side the first weekend after Christmas because there are like 50 something of us and it was the easiest way to get us together. This year, it's different.
Yesterday we had the family party for my Mom's side because it was decided it would be better this year to do it before Christmas. It seems generally agreed upon that it was a good idea to make the change. Often people are burnt out by the time that party would roll around in pervious years so people wouldn't come or just be really tired. Plus, it would sometimes line up too close to New Years so even more people wouldn't come. This year people were in better spirits and more of the family showed up.
Some family politics came to a head this year on my Dad's side and we didn't attend the family get-together on Christmas Eve. Ignoring the fact that my family wasn't there, the party itself will be difference since it won't be at my Grandmother's place and will have a much different feel than before since different people are throwing it and it's seemed to serve a different purpose over the last four or five years (more focus on different families than before). So, it's a loss, but I think I kinda like the outcome. Instead, we just spent the night at home and had a steak dinner with just the immediate family. It was quiet and nice, something I like. Since all this crap started the past years at that party have been ackward and it's always gone on too late. It was nice to just be home and comfortable the whole time. My parent's and I visited my Grandmother on Friday, so we still got to see her.
Tomorrow will just be with the immediate family all day. The plan is to open presents in the morning and make that lobster dinner I made the thread about sometime in the evenning.
So yeah, for the most part this Christmas is more low key and that suits me just fine. I'm generally not the biggest fan of large family parties to begin with and this way I can focus on being down here for the reason I actually came down: my parents, brother, sister-in-law, and nephew. I'd like Aimee to be in the picture, but we have never spent a Christmas together since she always spends it with her family. Fair enough I suppose since I (sorta) get her the rest of the year.
