For the past 2 years, we’ve spent Thanksgiving in New York with Chris’ family. This year, we’re spending Thanksgiving here with my family - and headed to New York for Christmas. Maybe we’ll even hang around for New Years in Times Square? That might be fun!
We’re actually doing the Christmas in New York for a few different reasons. Most importantly, Chris hasn’t spent Christmas with his mother in about 6 years - so it’s time he spends that time with her. Second, the kids have off for 10 days (that includes weekends) and we’re using this time as an opportunity to do a family ski trip together. We’re looking at either the Catskills or the Poconos for the ski trip - - but we’re due for a family vacation together.
My son is approaching 18 over the next year - - looking at high school graduation shortly after . . I just really feel like we need to take the opportunities we have available to us now to spend good and fun time together over the next year and a half before he gets too busy with life, work, maybe college, relationships… you know, the kind of stuff that takes kids away from home and off into their own lives as adults.
We’ve been talking about a family ski trip for the past 2 years, but it always seems like something else came up and we couldn’t quite fit it in. We’ve looked at Tahoe, Aspen and Utah - - but New York has much available in the way of ski resorts - - plus, Chris gets the added benefit of spending Christmas with his mother for the first time in 6 years.
It’s a bit of a departure for us - especially the kids and I - because we’ve always spent every Christmass at my mother’s house with my family. But you know how it is when you get married - suddenly you’re having to make holiday decisions with TWO families, instead of one. My brother has it easier - his wife’s family lives locally - so they can split the day. It just so happens that Chris’ family lives in New York - so we have to make decisions to split the holidays up between Wisconsin and New York. I think Mom will understand, considering it’s been 6 years since he spent Christmas with his mother. Besides, while the kids will miss the usual Christmas traditions that we’ve enjoyed for the past 15-17 years with my family - - it will also be very good for them to enjoy a family vacation and get an idea of what REAL skiing is like on a REAL mountain, as opposed to skiing on our local ski hills (in Wisconsin, we ski on HILLS not MOUNTAINS).
Now all I have to do is call my Mom and let her know. Heh - wish me LUCK.
And speaking of skiing - we finally picked up our season pass for our local ski resort here. Now all it needs to do is some serious snowing! *snow dance*
4:32 pm on November 1st, 2006
I will wish you luck - because to this day my own mother doesn’t understand why we can’t just drive 600 miles with two kids in one day.
Sorta like walking uphill both ways, eh?
4:54 pm on November 1st, 2006
Are you saying you can’t walk up hill both ways? Really??
4:53 pm on November 2nd, 2006
I have friends that live on the inland side of Maine, and yes, there’s supposed to be some great skiining in that area.
After seeing my roommate and Mrs. Knight’s cousin trying to do both his parents and hers every holiday (including the 4 hour drive between places), Mrs. Knight and I immediately told our parents that we were splitting holidays and alternating. Thanksgiving with my family and Christmas with hers one year, Thanksgiving with her family and Christmas with mine the next. We’ve never regretted it! Every now and then something comes up where we have to switch things around for a year, but we just do somebody two years in a row and keep alternating. Both sides seem to be fine with it knowing that it isn’t completely set in stone if Great Aunt Gertrude, who only one person in the entire family can pick out of a police lineup even with a picture of her, decides she’s going to make the trip for Christmas. Of course, our family situation is a bit like yours where we see my family whenever we want, which makes it a bit easier too.