A Different Holiday Celebration
There won't necessarily be anyone going " over the river and through the woods " to this grandmother's house this year. Blended families, holiday vacations and other logistics mean there's little chance we'll be sitting altogether at the holiday table at my house for either Thanksgiving or Christmas.
I remember all too well how hectic the holidays felt when my children were young. As a parent, I wanted to establish our own little family's traditions, but there were also parents and in-laws to visit. Children would become cranky by midday and still there were obligations to be met.
As a family we survived it, as families have and will continue to do. The memories, though, brought a new idea to my mind -- one that I hope will help my adult children and their families to enjoy their holidays with a bit less stress.
I am hosting a single get-together between Thanksgiving and Christmas for the family. Not only will the date be non-traditional, but also the food. As an adult, I care not for the date on the calendar when I am able to gather those dearest to my heart together. This non-traditional celebration also frees up the other family members from any feelings of obligatory visits on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
We also have five birthdays to celebrate and an engagement -- it'll be a crash course in celebration, but the important aspect is that we'll all be together with no need to rush somewhere else.
I'm putting together a buffet of food rather than a sit-down meal. It'll make the gathering less formal and hopefully less stressful for all.
How are you celebrating this holiday season?
NonTraditionalHoliday | Thanksgiving | Christmas | FOPP
Image Credit » Nemo Public Domain CCO License via Pixabay http://pixabay.com/en/restaurant-food-plate-dinner-297621/
Comments
Ellis wrote on November 25, 2014, 11:07 AM
I never thought it fair to drag children around the family at Christmas...
Andrewmorris45 wrote on November 25, 2014, 12:01 PM
I like your first commentary in opening of your post. I love reading about people on holiday and having a great time and the post is very interesting I am new here and still learning the ropes. And it's good that you can establish your own family traditions. Even if people like your friends or colleagues do not like it it's not up to them but up to you what you want to do.
maxeen wrote on November 25, 2014, 12:02 PM
I am not really sure of the meaning of thanksgiving, Sorry just from UK..I think you are wise to do that though ,I hate to be one to put pressure on people . I just leave the door open for whoever..
celticeagle wrote on November 25, 2014, 12:06 PM
Your plans sounds really nice and festive in their way. I am a very traditional person and I like to make some things up as I go but I also like the traditional ones. I will be writing one soon about just that I think and thank you for the idea.
MegL wrote on November 25, 2014, 12:23 PM
That's a good idea. For everyone to get together, it needs a large house, which is usually mine but in order to celebrate, we need to plan ahead, for the food, etc. Hmm, might just do the same thing this year.
WordChazer wrote on November 25, 2014, 4:28 PM
Our New Year celebrations are always a buffet meal, often together with friends, involving much food, much alcohol and an industrial amount of fun. Christmas with my parents is an evening meal, because my parents prefer it that way. My mother-in-law is usually away with family or friends, as she dislikes this time of year here in the UK. Sounds like you have yours well planned too. Hope it ends up being as good as it sounds like it will be.
Feisty56 wrote on November 25, 2014, 5:47 PM
Me either -- the poor kids were just able to open their packages and it's time to whisk them off here or there. Of course they would rather be at home with their new treasures than any where else. I'd be crabby too.
Feisty56 wrote on November 25, 2014, 5:49 PM
Now that I am older, I care much less about what other people might think and am more content in my own skin. This year, this celebration works for my family; perhaps next year it will be something different.
Welcome to Persona Paper!
Feisty56 wrote on November 25, 2014, 5:51 PM
Ah, Maxeen, I am sure there are many people living right here in the USA who aren't certain of the meaning of Thanksgiving either. The original celebration, as I understand it, was after a successful harvest, the Pilgrims and Native Americans in the area joined together to enjoy the fruits of their labors.
Feisty56 wrote on November 25, 2014, 5:52 PM
I am looking forward to your post. : )
Feisty56 wrote on November 25, 2014, 5:54 PM
I do my best to keep everything low key. The only expectations are that everyone shows up and acts with respect to one another. Fewer expectations result in less stress for me.
Feisty56 wrote on November 25, 2014, 5:57 PM
Thank you. Thanksgiving and Christmas are fun to celebrate for me, but I'm afraid I do very little on New Year's Eve except stay off the roads to avoid the partiers.
maxeen wrote on November 25, 2014, 5:59 PM
Well that certainly is something to celebrate. Thanks for that information.
OldRoadsOnceTraveled wrote on November 26, 2014, 5:17 PM
That was my mother's attitude toward holidays. It didn't matter to her when we got together, so long as we did. I'll be meeting family on Thanksgiving, then I have friends coming for the weekend. I may be pretty scarce here until next week.
Feisty56 wrote on November 26, 2014, 9:44 PM
I hope that you and Guiness have a safe and happy holiday. I'll miss you here for a bit, but it's good to know your absence will be due to you having fun.
AliCanary wrote on November 27, 2014, 1:31 AM
I really miss having kids around during the holidays--my oldest sister has her three daughters and all of their children, but they live pretty far away, so getting together is challenging. My other sister and I never had kids, so we just kind of hang out and have boring holidays.
twirllinks wrote on November 27, 2014, 11:24 AM
How, it looks like your hands are full this days. Yes that will be wise to set all those activities together.
Here uin Norway, it. It is not on their practice to celebrate thanksgiving but from this days there are a lot of advance Christmas party celebration, like in the school, at work and gathering with friends. The restaurants are fully book even on the hotel restaurants and museum restaurant. There is no vacant table if you did not reserved a table in advance.
We use to celebrate Christmas eve with families and in-laws gathering together and that will be fun =D
MamaOzzy3881 wrote on December 8, 2014, 1:46 AM
That was a great post! I loved your idea for a non formal get together between holidays with family and having a buffet as the meal